This is a list of everything we have on folking.com in date and month order. So if you like trawling the depths of the site for amazing content that you may have missed then this is the place to “net” an article, feature or review or two.
The archive is a work in progress as we still have gaps to fill from 2009 back to 2001. Most of the missing content are older album reviews which require reformatting with each article having to be submitted back on to the site with album covers and links to where they can be obtained from (where available).
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JON PALMER ACOUSTIC BAND – One Fine Day (Splid Records SPLIDCD 26)
Jon Palmer is a fine songwriter and a good bloke to have a pint with – both of which endear him to me. One Fine ...
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THE SMOKE FAIRIES – Darkness Brings The Wonders Home (Year Seven Records)
The Smoke Fairies new album, Darkness Brings The Wonders Home, is music that coughs up a bluesy and very British folk rock beauty. You know, ...
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Maverick announces first names for its thirteenth year
Maverick, the UK’s first and finest Americana festival is pleased to announce first names for its lucky thirteenth outing! This year‘s event will take place ...
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GEMMA MAE ANDERSON – Life (own label GMAZE2CD)
Like many musicians, I'm all too well aware of the risks and consequences of joint damage and pain, especially in my own age group (let's ...
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THE OLD SWAN BAND – Fortyfived (Wild Goose WGS434CD)
The Old Swan Band, rightly lauded for its longstanding championing of English dance music, broke a 20-year recording hiatus in 2014 to mark its 40-year ...
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BLACKBIRD & CROW – Ailm (MIG MIG 01652)
I don’t believe that anyone has coined a term for the music that Blackbird & Crow play. I’d like to suggest “gothic folk-rock”. Other artists ...
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JULIE ABBÉ – Numberless Dreams (Anisogoma Records ANIS001)
She doesn’t sound it but Julie Abbé is French and grew up in Poitou-Charentes, south of Roquefort and North of Bordeaux, which sounds like a ...
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DEBORAH ROSE –The Shining Pathway (own label)
Originally from Newport in South Wales but now based in Worcester, the pure-voiced Rose comes impressively endorsed by no less than Mary Gauthier and Judy ...
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Gate To Southwell Festival – first names announced
There’ll be an excellent, eclectic and truly international line-up at this summer’s 14th Gate To Southwell music festival (June 4th-7th). English roots stars Show Of Hands, the ...
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MIKE ZITO – Live From The Top (Gulf Coast Records)
Mike Zito, Blues Music Award winner whose 2018 album First Class Life entered the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart at number one, has re-released Live ...
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Andy White announces new album
Andy White is a Belfast singer-songwriter whose first EP Religious Persuasion, and 1986 debut album Rave On Andy White kick-started a career which includes twenty ...
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THE AERIALISTS – Dear Sienna (Fiddlehead Records)
Although The Aerialists’ Dear Sienna spins in a distant orbit around any Irish Pub’s dartboard hub, it’s a wondrous Canadian album filled with acoustic magic ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Sounds From The Great Garden: A Lismore Gathering (Clincart Music CLINC770190010)
A double CD ‘concept’ album, the title refers to the historic description of the Scottish island of Lismore, the music within it, all recorded at ...
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DÀIBHIDH STIÙBHARD – An Sionnach Dubh (Wildtune Records)
Dàibhidh Stiùbhard’s An Sionnach Dubh (aka The Black Fox) is an album that touches deep Irish roots and is graced with immense subtlety. Dàibhidh’s vocals ...
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DAVEY DODDS – Toadstool Soup (Coalshed Music CSM031119)
Davey Dodds, rather belatedly it must be said, has had fame thrust upon him all because of a song he wrote back in the 1970s ...
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FRUITION – Broken At The Break Of Day (Fruition LCC FLC012)
A promising roots-rock five-piece from Portland, Oregon, Broken At The Break Of Day is their second mini-album in three months, a seven-track collection of catchy ...
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Irish duo Blackbird & Crow announce their second album
The musical cosmos of Blackbird & Crow is almost infinite, ranging from soul, blues, psychedelic rock, from Americana to Irish Folklore. Maighread Ni Ghrasta and ...
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THE EPSTEIN – Burn The Branches (Zawinul Records ZWRO102)
Having followed The Epstein for many years, I’m constantly reminded of how difficult it is for a top quality band to find the break they ...
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Sam Lee announces new album, Old Wow
Sam Lee plays a unique role in the British music scene. He is a multi award-winning singer with a rich and soulful voice, a committed folk song ...
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MARTYN JOSEPH – Days Of Decision (Pipe Records PRCD029)
What do we know about Phil Ochs? He was a member of the 50s/60s protest movement and a prolific songwriter admired by his contemporaries. He ...
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THUNDER AND RAIN – Passing In The Night (own label)
Thunder And Rain are a four-piece band from Colorado who play Americana-esque music that is influenced by a mix of styles from classic country to ...
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RAGTOP DOWN – Contents May Settle (own label)
They took their name from an old Little Feat song which should give you a clue about where they’re coming from. Except that Ben Tunningley, ...
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TOMMY SANDS – Fair Play To You All (Spring SCD 1066)
The picture on the cover of Tommy Sands recent album is a literal illustration of an old Irish saying which, in England, is only uttered ...
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JIM AND SUSIE MALCOLM – The Berries (Beltane Records Belcd113)
Jim and Susie Malcolm’s The Berries is an exquisite album of Scottish folk music. This is a record of harmony, in which Jim’s Scottish porridge-pure ...
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ARFUR DOO & THE TOERAGS – Till Death Us Doo Part (own label)
Unless you live in the Essex area some explanation may be required. Arfur Doo & The Toerags have been together for twenty years but have ...
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SAM WEBER – Everything Comes True (Sonic Unyon Records)
Sam Weber’s Everything Comes True is a warm walk in favorite forest. It’s a record of commercial appeal that still contains the wooded feel of ...
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Video Wall 12
Welcome to our final Video Wall of the year which also affords us a peek into 2020. With that in mind we begin with SAM ...
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WAYWARD JANE – Old Train (own label WJ002)
Wayward Jane are a quartet from Edinburgh who play old-timey and Americana as though they were born to it. In fact, Michael Starkey has lived ...
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ANNE LISTER – Astrolabe (own label)
I’ve known Anne Lister for so long that I can’t remember when and where we first met. There was a certain festival and a certain ...
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KATIE BLOUNT – Dark Water (own label)
There are pure and acoustic “diamonds” in Katie Blount’s new album, Dark Water. It’s a lovely listen. Now (the great) Sandy Denny altered the opening ...
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STEVE WINCHESTER – Magik (own label)
You may suspect from the title of Steve Winchester’s album, Magik, that it might be a touch fey. True, he strays that way a little ...
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KELLY STEWARD – Tales And Tributes Of The Deserving And Not So (Glass Wing)
While I don’t find her voice as distinctive as Linda Ronstadt, to whom she’s often likened, the Illinois singer-songwriter’s sound is firmly rooted in the ...
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Wayward Jane release their second album
Wayward Jane are renowned in Edinburgh and beyond as exponents of a unique, transatlantic interpretation of American folk and Old Time traditions, whose sound is ...
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Brooke Annibale announces debut European tour for March/April 2020
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Brooke Annibale announced today a new batch of European tour dates for early 2020. Her first ever European tour, the dates begin on April ...
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JOE HENRY—The Gospel According To Water (Earmusic)
Joe Henry’s The Gospel According To Water is an acoustic, melodic, and eclectic warm root that wraps its deep soul around very vital American folk ...
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Anne Lister announces her new album
Twelve songs, which, like the astrolabe of the title track, measure time and space. One song written in 1970, another written in 2019. A ring ...
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THE MANIACS – The Maniacs (own label)
If there is a band more miss-named than The Maniacs then I’ve yet to discover them, although those who know him will testify that Paul ...
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The Great Fife Road Show returns
One to look forward to in January…The Great Fife Road Show featuring; Maureen (Chalmers) Blyth, Davie Craig, Barbara Dickson, Noel Farrow, Cilla Fisher, Jim Herd, ...
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Jez Lowe publishes his second novel – The Corly Croons
2019 has been a busy year for North Eastern writer Jez Lowe. He has just completed a thirty-four date nationwide UK tour as part of ...
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THURSDAY’S BAND – Chittagong Tattoo (CRLP018)
I think this is very good. Thursday’s Band released Chittagong Tattoo, their second full album, in November. Sometimes, you go to watch a live band ...
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SINGLES BAR 47 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
We’ll leave Christmas until later if you don’t mind. Belle Of The Ball is the debut solo recording by AINSLEY HAMILL of Fourth Moon and ...
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THE MILK CARTON KIDS – The Only Ones (MCKR001)
The Milk Carton Kids released The Only Ones on December 6th. This is the band’s fifth studio album since they first came to prominence in ...
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PAULA WOLFE – White Dots (Sinb Records SIB0318CD)
Her first new album in a decade (Lemon, Staring and Find are being remastered for a 2020 reissue), during which time she built her own ...
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Steve Hogg recreates a long-lost classic album
A ‘lost classic’ album featuring the combined talents of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman has been re-created by British singer/songwriter, Steve Hogg, 50 years after ...
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ELAINE LENNON – Elaine Lennon (LSR001CD)
Elaine Lennon releases her debut album on January 24th. Unless you knew the background, you wouldn’t know it was a debut album. Findlay Napier has ...
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MISHRA – The Loft Tapes (Hudson MSR004)
Fronted by guitarist Ford Collier and vocalist-banjo player Kate Griffin, winners of the inaugural Christian Raphael prize at last year’s Cambridge Folk Festival, and augmented ...
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JOHNNY CAMPBELL – From Hull And Halifax And Hell (Subversive Folk Records SF002)
Johnny Campbell is a singer/songwriter/guitarist from Manchester who has not forgotten the sixties although I suspect that he’s too young to have actually been there ...
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JUDY COLLINS with JONAS FJELD and CHATHAM COUNTY LINE – Winter Stories (Wildflower/Cleopatra)
A seasonal collaboration between Collins, Norwegian singer-songwriter Fjeld and the North Carolina bluegrass outfit, recorded over the course of just a few days, Winter Stories ...
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JOHN MOSEDALE – We’re Not Packing Parachutes (own label)
Earlier this year we reviewed Twenty Seven, the debut EP by Hereford singer-songwriter John Mosedale. Now he returns with his first full-length album, We’re Not ...
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Starting line-up revealed for the annual Towersey Festival
Folk favourites Kate Rusby, Steeleye Span and Show of Hands are some of the confirmed acts that will welcome festival-goers at Towersey Festival’s new home ...
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FolkEast announces first names for 2020
As Early Bird tickets go on sale for the eighth FolkEast, England’s most easterly folk festival, organisers have announced the awesome Afro Celt Sound System ...
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TRACK DOGS – Fire On The Rails (Mondegreen Records)
Track Dogs’ Fire On The Rails is folky and funky with trumpets galore and the occasional violin that soars above the usual musical fray. A ...
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THE SERVANTS’ BALL – The Servants’ Ball (D.Wink CD13)
The West Sussex Gazette, December 15, 1938 The other evening, I had the good fortune to be assigned by this paper’s editor to attend a ...
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GWEN MÀIRI – Mentro (Erwyd ER004)
Gwen Màiri is of Scottish/Welsh ancestry and, if you wish, you may explore the mysteries of Yr Hen Odledd for yourselves. Gwen is a tutor ...
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Knockengorroch Festival announces first names for 2020
The first acts for Knockengorroch Festival 2020 have been announced and will include an exciting array of traditional, electronic and world music acts, bringing sounds ...
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Cambridge 2020 tickets on sale next week
Tickets for Cambridge Folk Festival 2020 go on sale on Tuesday 10 December 2019. The Festival takes place 30 July – 2 August 2020 in ...
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Award Winning Underneath the Stars Festival announces first acts for 2020
Paul Carrack (Friday), Kate Rusby (Saturday) and Suzanne Vega (Sunday) are the first names to the be announced for the seventh Underneath the Stars festival ...
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BEANS ON TOAST – The Inevitable Train Wreck (BOT Music)
Every year since 2009, Jay McAllister has released a new album of protest and social comment songs on his birthday, December 1. He’s now 39 ...
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MATTHEW ROBB – Dead Men Have No Dreams (own label)
It’s no mean feat to release an album which stays in the mind for both its music and its sense of authenticity. Two years ago, ...
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Cropredy 2020 line-up announced
Fairport's Cropredy Convention three-day open-air music festival announces the line-up for the 2020 event. Now in its forty-first year, the festival will take place on ...
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BENJI KIRKPATRICK AND THE EXCESS – Gold Has Worn Away (Westpark Music LC07535)
Gold Has Worn Away by Benji Kirkpatrick and The Excess is a real grower of an album. Benji Kirkpatrick, Pete Flood and Pete Thomas deliver ...
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JUDE JOHNSTONE – Living Room (BoJack BJR2221960-3)
As I noted in my review of her previous album, Johnstone is better known as a songwriter than a performer in her own right, her ...
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KIM THOMPSETT – The Hollows (Meniscus Hump)
In case you’re wondering that’s Newgrange on the cover and I had a clever paragraph linking Kim Thompsett’s Irish heritage with her music. Then I ...
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YVONNE LYON – Songs For Christmas (own label BC112)
Continuing to add to this year’s musical Christmas tree, Lyon brings her Celtic folk influences to a collection of self-penned seasonal songs and reworked traditional ...
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FRANK BIRTWISTLE – Volumes 1-4 (own label)
Frank Birtwistle is a guitarist and composer based in Sheffield who has released a set of four EPs of solo pieces – twenty-eight tracks in ...
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KATE RUSBY – Holly Head (Pure PRCD57)
Having already released the excellent Philosophers, Poets & Kings, Rusby returns with her second album of the year, the fifth in her ongoing biennial festive ...
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Yvonne Lyon releases Christmas album
Yvonne Lyon's new album Songs For Christmas is an outstanding and engaging collection to herald the festive season. Featuring five original Christmas songs and seven ...
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ATLANTIC UNION – Indulgence (Blue Island Records CD 20191)
When I reviewed the last CD from Atlantic Union here, I noted that "I’m looking forward to hearing where they take us next." Their new ...
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MOIRAI – Framed: The Alice Wheeldon Story (WildGoose WGS433CD)
I’m sometimes amazed at the historical material that musicians succeed in writing about, from Gary Miller’s epic Mad Martins to Amy Goddard’s poignant ‘Remembering Aberfan’ ...
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JACK LUKEMAN – Northern Lights (own label)
Released to coincide with his Songs For The Winter Solstice tour, this live recording from the Unitarian Church in Dublin finds the deep voiced Irish ...
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THE YEHLA COLLECTIVE – Steel Strings And Iron Curtains – Songs that Ignited The Downfall of Communism (Sun King Records)
It's just 30 years on from the Czech Velvet Revolution (more commonly known in Slovakia as the Gentle Revolution) that marked the transition from one-party ...
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CHRISTY MOORE – Magic Nights (Columbia 19075991082)
Magic Nights is the sequel to Christy Moore’s 2017 album, On The Road. Conventional wisdom says that a sequel is never as good as the ...
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PAUL MOSLEY AND THE RED MEAT ORCHESTRA – You’re Going To Die! (Red Crow CROW001)
“You’re going to die and so am I. Why are we sitting here listening to all of these lies?” I rather wish that Paul Mosley ...
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RANT – The Portage (Make Believe Records, MBR8CD)
The quartet of superbly talented individual fiddle players – Bethany Reid, Jenna Reid, Lauren MacColl and Anna Massie – who in combination make up Rant, ...
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Steel Strings And Iron Curtains – English versions of Czech political songs
Released for the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Steel Strings And Iron Curtains comprises ten famous protest songs by Czech folk masters Karel Kryl ...
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SMITH & McCLENNAN – Small Town Stories (White Fall Records)
Smith & McClennan’s Small Town Stories is a beautiful folk record of oxymoronic depth. It’s authentic folk music which oozes (heaven forbid!) with commercial appeal ...
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Folk On The Pier 2020 – all you need to know
FOLK ON THE PIER Pavilion Theatre Cromer, North Norfolk 8, 9, 10 May 2020 Nineteen highly talented acts plus an extended Fringe Festival will ensure ...
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Hilary James’ English Sketches is re-released
Hilary James' "elegant singing" (Daily Telegraph) has received much acclaim: quintessentially English but easily crossing the great musical divides from British folk ballads to blues ...
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VETIVER – Up On High (VJCD251P/LC 29868)
Vetiver is the vehicle for the music of Andy Cabic and the album Up On High was released earlier in November. Up On High is ...
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SEAMUS EGAN – Early Bright (THL0003)
The Seamus Eagan Project release Early Bright on January 17th. The launch will be at the 2020 Celtic Connections in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ...
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Mishra announce their debut album
Award winning new band Mishra release their debut album The Loft Tapes on December 7th Mishra are an exciting new band based in Sheffield and ...
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LORRAINE JORDAN – Send My Soul (Hazelville Music HZ013)
Born in Wales of Irish parents, a purveyor of Celtic soul, this is her fifth studio outing on which, accompanied by a host of backing ...
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HARP & A MONKEY – The Victorians (own label)
We have waited a long while for Harp & A Monkey’s fourth album but, despite the hints they dropped, this may not be the album ...
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FREEBO – If Not Now When (Poppabo PB2005)
A mainstay on the L.A. session scene for over 40 years, most notably spending nine years as bassist to Bonnie Raitt, since 1999 he’s also ...
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MAY ERLEWINE – Second Sight (TC0001)
May Erlewine releases Second Sight on December 6th. iTunes describes the genre as Country & Folk – I’d add Rock into those two descriptions. Erlewine ...
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EMILY JANE WHITE – Immanent Fire (Talitres TAL113CD)
Given its description as about a planet and a species on the brink of extinction, you should not enter Immanent Fire expecting bright sunny melodies ...
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CATHRYN CRAIG & BRIAN WILLOUGHBY – The Cooley & Mourne (Cabritunes CAB010)
I should begin by saying that The Cooley & Mourne is, for me, the best album that Cathryn and Brian have made to date. The ...
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LEIF VOLLEBEKK – New Ways (Secret City Records)
Ottowa born, Montreal resident Leif Vollebekk returns with his fourth full length album, New Ways, following on from its 2017 Polaris Music Prize nominated predecessor, ...
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PROVINCIALS -The Dark Ages (Itchen)
A Hampshire duo comprising guitarist and author Seb Hunter and singer Polly Perry, formerly of Polly & the Billet Doux, here accompanied by Dan Parkinson ...
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SINGLES BAR 46 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles
Swiss-based BLACK SEA DAHU’s new EP, No Fire In The Sand, conjures the ghostly sound of Mediterranean waves that carry the swell of spooky folk-rock ...
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BAND OF BURNS – The Thread (own label)
Two years on from making their debut with the Live from Union Chapel album, the twelve-strong outfit return with their first studio recording, The Thread, ...
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Winter With Mandolins re-released
Originally released in 1992 Winter With Mandolins is always popular at this time of the year. Features Russian style massed mandolins (‘Christmas Candle’), Celtic inspired ...
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ROSU LUP – The Ranger (Majestic Creature Records)
The name is Romanian for ‘red wolf’ (and inspired by Sufjan Stevens’ The Sleeping Red Wolves), the Philadelphia duo comprises Jonathan Stewart and Josh Marsh ...
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TIM HOLEHOUSE – Come (Aaahh!!! Real Records)
Tim Holehouse releases Come on November 15th. The album is his eleventh release but is a move to a more folky/country style after earlier incarnations, ...
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SOFIA TALVIK – Paws Of A Bear (Makaki Music)
Sofia Talvik’s Paws Of A Bear is wonderous backward glance to the singer song-writer halcyon days when melody, sincerity, and simple beauty sang to hushed ...
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CUA – In Flight Off The Islands (ANSEOCEOL006)
Cua (pronounced coo-ah) release their new album, In Flight Off The Islands, on November 25th. You’d probably recognise the genre as Irish/Celtic folk music but ...
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LUKE JACKSON – Journals (First Take Records FTCD004)
He’s still only 25 but Journals is Luke Jackson’s fifth studio album, not forgetting a stunning live set two years ago. I was knocked out ...
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Kate Rusby announces new Christmas album
Pure Records presents Holly Head, the 5th Christmas album from award-winning folk singer Kate Rusby. Like Petrolheads are mad about cars and Cureheads have a thing for ...
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Flemish trio Ward Dhoore – new album
Ward Dhoore – Acoustic Guitar & Mandolin + Hartwin Dhoore – Diatonic Accordion + Koen Dhoore – Electro Acoustic Hurdy Gurdy Their new album, August, ...
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DAVID CAMBRIDGE – Songtales (own label DC001CD)
David Cambridge’s story is a familiar one. He had a serious, responsible job, ran a folk club as a student, played guitar and sang and, ...
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Kim Thompsett announces long-awaited second album
Kim Thompsett presents her second album The Hollows - available on CD, vinyl and digital download. Exploring themes that are rooted in nature, mysticism and the arcane, ...
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TWELFTH DAY – Face To Face (Orange Feather Records OFR005)
Twelfth Day’s Face to Face creates a new element on the folk periodic table. There’s a nice current angle to this music that embraces traditional ...
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HOPE IN HIGH WATER – Bonfire & Pine (Fish Records FR01)
I haven’t heard Hope In High Water’s debut album, which is a great shame because Bonfire & Pine seems to be its mirror image. It ...
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Annie Dressner releases new single, ‘Nyack’
‘Nyack’ is the new single from Cambridge-based New Yorker and Alt-folk singer songwriter, Annie Dressner... ‘Nyack’ has already picked up some amazing radio support from ...
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ATLANTÆUM FLOOD – One Day (Schoolkids Records)
Atlantæum Flood’s One Day isn’t really folk music, per se. Rather, it’s a (mostly acoustic) musical journey with wonderous electric guitar that is “the brainchild” ...
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Luke Jackson – new album coming soon
There’s no argument that Luke Jackson has one of the most remarkable voices out there. And now with his fifth studio album, the 25-year-old can ...
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SMITH AND BREWER – Another Shade Of Smith And Brewer (Own Label SMBR01)
Since first being introduced to each other by Joan Armatrading in 2015, Ben Smith and Jimmy Brewer have strode ahead boldly. Another Shade Of Smith ...
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Kirsty Almeida announces new studio album
Singer-songwriter Kirsty Almeida is set to release Moonbird, her first studio album since 2014’s Déjàvoodu on her own independent label, All Made Up Records. Currently ...
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PONS AELIUS – Fire Under The Bridge (own label)
Pons Aelius’ second album picks up pretty much where Captain Glen’s Comfort left off. ‘Fire Under The Bridge’ opens the show with three tunes by ...
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THE LILAC TIME – Return To Us (BMG)
The first new music since 2015’s No Sad Songs, Stephen, Claire and Nick Duffy return with their first release for a major label (not that ...
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Celtic Woman – new album
In the years since its 2005 debut, global musical sensation Celtic Woman has emerged as both a formidable multimedia presence and a genuine cultural phenomenon. ...
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Seth Lakeman announces new album and UK tour
Multi award-winning folk singer Seth Lakeman will release his new album A Pilgrim’s Tale on February 7th 2020, in a year that marks four centuries ...
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CHRIS FOX – From The Shadows (own label)
Chris Fox sent me a link for the lead single from From The Shadows and I thought it was little gem of songwriting. ‘I’m In ...
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MATT PATERSHUK – If Wishes Were Horses (Black Hen Music)
Matt Patershuk’s If Wishes Were Horses drinks from the fount of pure western Canadian country spring water—with a folky blues chaser. There’s nothing Nashville about ...
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NICK WYKE & BECKI DRISCOLL – Cold Light (English Fiddle CD04)
I’m sure that Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll won’t mind me saying that they have taken a big step with this album – they all ...
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FRANC CINELLI – Night Songs (Song Circle Records)
Franc Cinelli released Night Songs in September. Cinelli was born in Rome, grew up in London, has lived in New York, learned to play violin ...
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LANKUM – The Livelong Day (Rough Trade)
Comprising brothers Ian (Uilleann pipes, concertina) and Daragh (guitar, piano) Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada (fiddle, viola, banjo, double bass) and Radie Peat (bayan, harp, keyboards), the ...
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Beans On Toast announces new album and tour dates
The cult songwriter Beans On Toast announces the title of his next studio album, plus an extensive run of UK dates for Winter 2019/20. A ...
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Video Wall 11
Where to begin with the plethora of new videos that have arrived since last time? With Paul Mosley & The Red Meat Orchestra and the ...
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Ashley Hutchings to open new series of concerts
Eathorpe Village Hall Back To The Roots concert series will begin at the beginning A new series of music events will begin at 7.30pm on ...
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BILLY PRICE – Dog Eat Dog (Gulf Coast Records)
Billy Price, inducted as a Pittsburgh Rock ‘n’ Roll Legend, released Dog Eat Dog in September. If you’re looking for folk music (not unreasonably since ...
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ALASDAIR ROBERTS – The Fiery Margin (Drag City DC742CD)
Following the path laid out with Pangs, Alasdair Roberts has recorded another album of new songs that sound old. I must say immediately that I ...
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CATFISH KEITH – Catfish Crawl (Fish Tail Records)
Catfish Keith released Catfish Crawl in September and is currently touring the UK. Catfish Crawl is the eighteenth album by a stunning acoustic blues player ...
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WILLIE CAMPBELL & BAND – Dileab: A Legacy (Comhhairle Nan Eilean Siar CNES2019CD)
Recorded live, Dileab sees the Western Isles singer-songwriter join forces with seven equally local musicians Jane Hepburn MacMillan, Andy Yearley, Paul Martin, DC MacMillan, Neil ...
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KIZZY CRAWFORD – The Way I Dream (Freestyle Records FSRCD128)
Kizzy Crawford has been making music for a while but her début album The Way I Dream is only just on the verge of being ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Sunshine Of Your Love: A Concert For Jack Bruce (MIG Records MIG02192)
On the 24th October 2015, a year after the death of Jack Bruce – widely acknowledged as one of the best electric bass players of ...
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HARRI ENDERSBY – Mazes (Ivy Crown Records)
Mazes is the second enchanting album from Durham singer songwriter Harri Endersby. It follows on from her excellent 2017 debut album Homes / Lives, which ...
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JAMES McARTHUR AND THE HEAD GARDENERS – Intergalactic Sailor (Moorland Records)
James McArthur and The Head Gardeners’ new album Intergalactic Sailor is a wonderful folk record that is quiet, dreamy, and very melodic. This album has ...
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GREENMATTHEWS – Roots & Branches (Blast Records BFTP013)
GreenMatthews, who have appeared in these pages before, are Chris Green who plays keyboards and a variety of stringed instruments, and Sophie Matthews who plays ...
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JAKE AARON – Fag Ash And Beer (own label)
You should never judge a book by its cover, we're told, and the same is true of album covers. I took this album for review ...
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AMY HOPWOOD – All At Sea (own label)
Amy Hopwood hails from the seaside town of Weymouth, in Dorset, so it makes sense that her inspiration would either come from the land or ...
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BELLA HARDY – Postcards & Pocketbooks (Noe NOE12CD)
I still tend to think of Bella Hardy as one of the bright young things of folk music but she has already done more than ...
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BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – the winners
Leonard Cohen inducted into Radio 2 Folk Awards Hall of Fame Dervish and Wizz Jones win Lifetime Achievement Awards The winners of the BBC Radio ...
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LEONARD BARRY DECLAN FOLAN SHANE McGOWAN – Hurry The Jug (own label)
As soon as I started to play Hurry The Jug I was struck by an indefinable warmth in the music that immediately made me feel ...
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DOGHOUSE ROSES – We Are Made Of Light (Doghouse Roses)
Glasgow’s Doghouse Roses’ album We Are Made Of Light oozes Americana, but it still lingers with the taste of a great Old Chub Scottish ale ...
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JOHN RICHARDS – Bring Back The Spring (Working Joe Music WJMCD2019)
John Richards is credited on his new CD Bring Back The Spring as "John Richards, Songwriter". And it is indeed quite possible that you have ...
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Christy Moore announces new live album
Christy Moore’s new album, Magic Nights, will be released worldwide on 22nd November 2019. Featuring 26 songs across two discs, Magic Nights is a further ...
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BIRD IN THE BELLY – Neighbours And Sisters (GF*M Records GFM011)
“Delightfully dark” is how I’d describe Neighbours And Sisters, the second album by Brighton collective, Bird In The Belly. I haven’t yet heard their debut, ...
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Larkin Poe – folking award winners announce European tour
Nashville-based sister duo Larkin Poe have today announced a European Tour throughout May 2020. Following their sold-out show at London’s Islington Assembly Hall late last ...
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RANT announce their third album
RANT is the meeting of four of Scotland’s finest fiddle players: two from the Shetland Islands and two from the Highlands. Their third album, The ...
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FELICITY BUIRSKI – Committed To The Fire (Tree of Life FJB2019CD3)
Committed To The Fire was actually released earlier this year, but somehow slipped under the radar; however, albums of such quality should not be allowed ...
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NATALIE MACMASTER – Sketches (Linus)
Natalie MacMaster’s Sketches bows new life into the great fiddle tradition. And please, forget for a moment that she’s immensely popular (with a Christmas album ...
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Smith & Brewer announce their first studio album
Smith & Brewer release their debut studio album on November 1st. Recorded over the course of a week in early 2018, using a makeshift studio ...
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NIALL KELLY – Promenade (Glovebox Records, GL103)
Promenade is Niall Kelly’s third album release, and a Kickstarter project, as is ever more commonplace these days. A dozen or so years spent deeply ...
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AWKWARD FAMILY PORTRAITS – Everything We’ve Done Up Until Now Except What We’ve Done Since (Holy Smokes Records)
Awkward Family Portraits (that’s the band name) recently released Everything We’ve Done Up Until Now Except What We’ve Done Since (that’s the album name). The ...
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JIM MORAY – The Outlander (Managed Decline MD001)
For The Outlander, his seventh solo album, Moray dispenses with any original material to focus on a set of ten traditional numbers, some familiar, some ...
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CARL HESSION, FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM AND EIMEAR COUGHLAN – Úrnua (own label URN001)
Carl Hession is held to be one of the finest accompanists, arrangers and composers in Irish music; a veteran of Moving Cloud and a number ...
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DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS – Dragons (Thirty Tigers 41767CD)
Dragons, the tenth album by the Memphis-born, Nashville-based Holcomb finds him in jubilant form, even if many of the songs touch on mortality, with his ...
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KIRSTY McGEE & THE HOBOPOP COLLECTIVE – The Deafening Sound Of Stars (HoboPop HPCD0012)
Kirsty McGee is something of a veteran now but she has operated under many people’s radar including, sad to say, mine over the last few ...
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Bella Hardy announces retrospective collection
BBC Folk Singer of the Year Bella Hardy found her first home in folk music through a childhood love for ballad books. A self-taught ‘fiddle ...
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THE WHISKEY TREATY ROAD SHOW – Band Together (own label)
Band Together is an album that came to me out of the blue. First impressions – with a name like The Whiskey Treaty Road Show ...
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FINN PAUL – Wind & Stone (Independent Release IWCD001)
Scottish singer-songwriter Finn Paul says, accurately enough, that his music "… is about fantastical nonsense; pirates, dreamworlds and mystical islands. But more than that it's ...
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Copperplate Podcast 240 – Presented by Alan O’Leary
folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, yes you guessed it, the one and only Mr. Alan O'Leary with his ...
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CHRIS CLEVERLEY – We Sat Back And Watched It Unfold (Opiate Records OPI001)
I loved Chris Cleverley’s first album, Apparitions, which appeared in 2015. That was four years ago so he hasn’t rushed into recording his follow-up. In ...
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PIERRE SCHRYER & ADAM DOBRES – Mandorla (SDP-56169)
In early September Pierre Schryer and Adam Dobres released Mandorla, an album which features tunes from across the world. Schryer is one of Canada’s leading ...
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TIM GRIMM – Heart Land Again (Cavalier CR255624)
Twenty years on from the release of his debut album, the Indiana-based Americana singer-songwriter revisits Heart Land with a re-recorded version alongside two new numbers and, ...
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Burning Salt Live In London
Burning Salt have a knack when it comes to finding interesting venues. The last time I saw them was at Shrewsbury Unitarian Church, an impressive ...
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Jon Boden announces new album
Chicago-born and Sheffield-based folk outlier Jon Boden has recently announced his fourth solo album, Rose In June, which is due for release November 1st on ...
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MEGSON – Little Bird (EDJ EDJ024)
As well as their adult material, Stu and Debbie Hanna also regularly play shows for young audiences, introducing them to child friendly traditional folk songs ...
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SINGLES BAR 45- A round-up of recent EPs and singles
SARAH YEO is British but she is more deeply steeped in the sounds of America than some Americans. Safe is a five track EP of ...
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MEAN MARY – Cold (Woodrock)
That’ll be Alabama-born. Florida-raised and Nashville-based singer-songwriter Mary James, an early musical prodigy from a musical family (guitarist brother Frank and co-writer author mother Jean) ...
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ALAN PROSSER & AL CLARKE – Living In Clover (Rafting Dog Records RD055)
Alan Prosser and Al Clarke have a Canterbury connection: Alan with Oysterband (who took their name from a connection with Whitstable in case you’re confused) ...
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WOOKALILY – Everything Is Normal Except The Little Things Inside My Head (Roxy Records RRCD001)
Almost five years on from their debut album, the female Belfast folk noir five-piece return with a follow-up marked by the confidence and experience gained ...
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3HATTRIO – Live At Zion (Okehdokee Records)
3hattrio release Live At Zion in November. What do you get if three musicians find themselves living in the desert but have arrived there with ...
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John Tams rejoins Home Service
If you thought Home Service had gone a bit quiet of late here’s some good news - the band is back with some great gigs ...
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LUKE DANIELS – Old Friends & Exhausted Enemies (Wren Wren019)
Let me own up and say I blow somewhat hot and cold regarding Daniels’ music. I wasn’t a fan of Revolve & Rotate, for which ...
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JACKDAW – No Cactus (DUGUY/CUTTHROAT 3747-02)
Jackdaw release No Cactus on October 3rd. In very broad terms, you’d classify the album as Americana. From this point onwards I want to write ...
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HANNAH JAMES AND THE JIGDOLL ENSEMBLE – The Woman And Her Words (BMC JDR002)
What with Hannah Elizabeth and Hannah Martin, Hannah seems to be a favourite name among the contemporary English folk circle at present, this particular Hannah ...
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SAYER & JOYCE – Makes You Stronger (Gulf Coast Records)
Sayer & Joyce released Makes You Stronger on September 20th. Makes You Stronger is one of those blues albums that just makes you want to ...
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REG MEUROSS – Raw (Hatsongs HAT021)
The third of the solo back to basics recordings Raw trilogy reunites him with Geoff Hocking, the man who recorded and engineered everything he did ...
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Smoke Fairies announce new album and 2020 tour
Smoke Fairies have announced the release their first album for four years. Darkness Brings The Wonders Home will be released on January 31st coupled with ...
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JOHNNY COPPIN – 30 Songs (Red Sky RSKCD122)
Covering four decades 30 Songs, a new compilation from the Stroud-based singer-songwriter amply serves, were it needed, to underscore his status as one of the ...
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OONAGH DERBY – Breathe (own label KTM002)
In real life Oonagh Derby is a PR representing a number of distinguished Irish artists. Behind that façade, however, there is a diva waiting to ...
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JACK RUTTER – Gold Of Scar & Shale (own label RUTTCD025)
There can be no doubt that Jack Rutter is one of the finest young interpreters of traditional song in the country. For his second album, ...
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PAULA RYAN – Turas Cumadóir (Maverico MAVO/SA/1003)
Born and bred in Tipperary, Ryan is the working definition of a solo artist, writing, arranging and performing everything (and that includes bouzouki, marimba, bodhran, ...
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Leonard Barry, Declan Folan and Shane McGowan announce new album
The origins of the trio can be traced back to Tubercurry and Bunnanaden, the heartland of the famed South Sligo tradition where both Declan Folan ...
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Band Of Burns announces first studio album
Recorded by the twelve members of the band in Watercolour Studios last year, The Thread is a true representation of the band's international influences, and ...
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THE MINING CO. – Frontier (own label)
The third album from London-based Irishman Michael Gallagher in as many years, he’s declared this as his romantic album, both in terms of songs and ...
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BRUCE COCKBURN – Crowing Ignites (True North Records TND 737)
Bruce Cockburn, legendary Canadian artist, released Crowing Ignites on September 20th. This is Cockburn’s 34th album and is made up of eleven new compositions – ...
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The Roundhouse announces its 2020 In The Round season
Celebrating its fifth year, the Roundhouse presents In The Round, a series of shows devoted to intimate performances set in the venue’s iconic main space, staged ...
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STYLUSBOY – Routes (Tortoise Recordings)
Although Coventry singer-songwriter Steve Jones released the Out Upon The Ocean EP in May, it’s been six years since his last studio album, Hospitality For ...
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Hannah James announces her new album
Described as 'a true original' by the Guardian, spellbindingly innovative musician and dancer Hannah James and her most recent project The JigDoll Ensemble, announce the ...
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DARRIN BRADBURY – Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs (Anti-)
Darrin Bradbury’s Talking Dogs & Atomic Bombs spins in the echo of John Prine’s “speed of the sound of loneliness”. That said, this music doesn’t ...
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PP ARNOLD – The New Adventures Of (Absolute/Ear Music, 0214038EMU)
PP Arnold never quite became the global soul superstar she deserved to be, despite that rich, wounded voice giving the defninitive rendition of Cat Stevens’ ...
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Darrin Bradbury announces new album
Known for blending dark humor with obvious-once-you-hear-them observations on everyday life, Darrin Bradbury’s songs are both funny and thought-provoking. Today, Bradbury is proud to share ...
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DOM PRAG – Young Man On A Ferry (own label)
Young Man On A Ferry is another album that arrived out of the blue. Dom Prag is based in the Southampton area and, although this ...
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LISA BASTONI – How We Want To Live (own label)
How We Want To Live, the Massachusetts singer-songwriter’s fifth album is a collection of songs informed by an absent father and her recent divorce The ...
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Tommy Sands announces new album
A new album release from Tommy Sands is always a special event but Fair Play To You All on Spring Records is perhaps one of ...
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STEVE LOGAN – Shaking Hands With The Devil (Moondragon Records SLOG 026)
Steve Logan, Song-Poet, Cambridge-based, from Wales has a new album Shaking Hands With The Devil. The DJ Johnnie Walker used to have a slot called ...
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BEMIS – The After Hours (Mayfield Records)
This time I have the advantage of knowing who Bemis are before I start. Actually the Portsmouth band have gone through a change of line-up ...
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Dave Pegg Cropredy 2019 Interview
Paul Johnson and Darren Beech catch up with Dave Pegg at Cropredy 2019. In the interview we talk about the wind, the weather and health ...
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CATGOD – Feel It Go Round (own label)
An Oxford-based five-piece centred around siblings Robin Christensen-Marriott and Catherine Marriott, they trade in slightly woozy, hushed pastoral psychedelia that clearly has an affinity for ...
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STEVE PLEDGER – Alone In The Dark (Noisy Dog Records NDCD02)
As Steve says “live is what happens in a space…in a moment” but he produces a damn good approximation on his mini-album Alone In The ...
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HOTH BROTHERS – Workin’ And Dreamin’ (own label)
Having already released his own solo album earlier this year, Bard Edrington V now returns in company with fellow songsmith Boris McCutcheon on a project ...
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MERRY HELL – A Documentary: A Year in the Life (own label)
Exactly what it says, A Year In The Life follows the much acclaimed and awards-festooned Wigan outfit across the course of a year from February ...
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SHOW OF HANDS – Battlefield Dance Floor (Proper Records PRPCD156)
Battlefield Dance Floor is the 18th studio album from Show Of Hands, a band that is one of the most recognized Folk acts of the ...
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Topette!! announce their second album
Following a season of smouldering live shows across the UK and Europe, acclaimed Anglo-French acoustic dance band Topette!! have been back in the studio to ...
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CHRIS WHILE AND JULIE MATTHEWS – Revolution Calls (Fat Cat FATCD041)
I’ve listened to a good deal of Chris While and Julie Matthews over the years but I don’t think I’ve heard them produce anything as ...
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ROAD NOT TAKEN – Fragment (own label)
A new Bristol-based folk four-piece comprising pure-voiced singer Anita Dobson, Claire Hamlen on fiddle, guitarist Ant Miles and Joe Hamlen providing bass, banjo and harmonium ...
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ASHLEY SOFIA – Shades Of Blue (own label)
Raised in the Adirondack Mountains and now based in Nashville, Shades Of Blue is Sofia’s second album, a baker’s dozen of self-penned folk rock tracks ...
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