The folking.com music archive for album reviews and news

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).

All recent review and features posts below (where available) can be ordered below through our UK or US Storefront 

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Martha Tilston announces spring tour

Following the autumn 2021 launch of The Tape, her debut feature film which she wrote, directed and starred in, singer-songwriter Martha Tilston has announced her ...
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Kenneth I Mackenzie announces new album

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Kenneth I MacKenzie has announced the release of a new Scottish traditional music album inspired by the history and landscape of the ...
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THE BLUES AGAINST YOUTH – As The Tide Gets High And Low (Escape From Today EFT087)

The Blues Against Youth is a new name to me and As The Tide Gets High And Low came as a very pleasant diversion. It’s ...
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JAMESTOWN REVIVAL – Young Man (own label)

Produced by Texas singer/songwriter Robert Ellis (who also plays on the album), Young Man is the first album by the Texas quintet led by founder ...
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The Twangtown Paramours announce new album

The Twangtown Paramours is an award-winning American band, the core of which is husband and wife, Mike T. Lewis and MaryBeth Zamer from Nashville. Mike ...
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AOIFE O’ DONOVAN – Age Of Apathy (Yep Roc Records)

Aoife O’ Donovan’s new album, Age Of Apathy, is a wonderful and very modern American folk record that allows earthy acoustic instruments to float with ...
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BURBRIDGE AND BOOTH – Icons (ICONSICD)

It’s an odd thing how a piece of music can take you to a particular place or mood or part of life. And there’s something ...
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TRIP – A Drop for Neptune (Trip Music Records CD001)

The contemporary Scottish folk scene definitely isn’t short of talent, and this debut album from Glasgow based band Trip, further demonstrates the scene’s robust health ...
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MEGAN HENDERSON – Pilgrim Souls (own label MHM01CD)

Megan Henderson is a fiddler, pianist, singer and composer and a member of one of Scotland’s finest bands – Breabach. Surprisingly, Pilgrim Souls is her ...
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NITEWORKS – A’ Ghrian (Comann Music CM006)

It must be admitted that folk-electronica is (like most electronica) a genre that has passed me by up to now, so although A' Ghrian (released ...
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MICHAEL VEITCH – Wachtraum (own label)

Michael Veitch’s Wachtraum (Days Of Dreams) is a lovely folk record with a few pop puzzle pieces played to perfection. And it’s a concept album ...
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First acts announced for Knockengorroch 2022

Scotland’s leading world ceilidh is back, as Knockengorroch is set to return music to the hills and people to the land once more, 19 - ...
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Le Vent Du Nord celebrate their 20th anniversary with new album

The multi award-winning band, Le Vent du Nord (the Wind of the North) have toured the world, playing over 2,000 concerts and are about to ...
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Official folk charts for December 2021

Today, the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the DECEMBER ...
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Ray Laidlaw and Billy Mitchell present The Lindisfarne Story – Chapter 5: 50 Years Of Fog

The Lindisfarne Story is a celebration of the life, times and music of the North East of England's most beloved band, Lindisfarne.  Founder member and ...
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MICHAEL JOHNATHON – Cosmic Banjo (Poet Man Records PMR70031)

His third album in two years, Cosmic Banjo, as the title suggests, sees the Kentucky-based singer-songwriter focusing on his long neck banjo playing skills, adapting ...
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BEN SURES – The Story That Lived Here (own label)

Ben Sures’ album The Story That Lived Here is filled with “unfinished conversations” and is coloured with characters who “dream of dolphins and having a ...
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Mark Harrison announces spring dates

Happy New Year to everyone, and all fingers remain crossed! We have a lot of great dates coming up this year at all manner of ...
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Gabriel Moreno announces new album

Gabriel Moreno is a Gibraltarian poet and singer songwriter who has been performing for the past twenty years in Gibraltar, Chile, Peru, Italy, Spain, Germany, ...
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Wolf & Clover announce second album and launch concert

Wolf & Clover is excited to announce the completion of their long-awaited second album, twelvemonth and a day, to be released Tuesday, February 1st  2022 ...
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POLICE DOG HOGAN – Overground (Major Tom Records MTCD008)

Police Dog Hogan, for those of you yet to encounter them, combine British folk/pop/rock songwriting with overtones of Americana courtesy of Eddie Bishop’s fiddle and ...
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MATT McGINN – Time Well Spent (own label)

Begun in mid-2021 as the follow-up to Lessons Of War but then placed on the back burner as other priorities took precedence, McGinn’s encounter with ...
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STEVIE SIMPSON – Sunshine State Of Mind (own label)

Stevie Simpson, colloquially known as One Bloke One Mandolin, probably made the best decision of his life when he decamped to Spain before things here ...
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Copperplate Podcast 267 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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VINNY PECULIAR – Artists Only (Shadrack & Duxbury SADC015)

Alan Wilkes’ fourteenth album since making his solo debut back in 2001, Artists Only is a concept album as such from Bromsgrove’s answer to Ray ...
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SEAN TAYLOR – The Beat Goes On (own label STCD116)

Sean Taylor’s new release The Beat Goes On is rich in its soundscape. Taylor plays guitars and piano; producer Mark Hallman plays, mostly, bass, drums ...
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TOM OAKES – Water Street (Window Weather Records WWR00002)

It is often said that we hear what we want to hear. This could begin to explain my initial reaction to Tom Oakes latest offering, ...
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KEITH JAMES – Can You Imagine? (Hurdy Gurdy HGA 1919)

To misquote somewhat: Keith James’ catalogue is rather like a box of chocolates. He is famed for his interpretation of the songs of other artists, ...
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CHRISTY MOORE – Flying Into Mystery (Sony 19439645982)

A new studio album from Christy Moore is a rare treat these days. His previous, Lily, was five years ago and in the intervening time ...
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LINDA MOYLAN – The Merchant (Talking Elephant TECD470)

Linda Moylan comes originally from Waterford and is now based in London. The Merchant, her second album, was produced by Phil Beer and mixed by ...
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SARA COLMAN – Ink On A Pin (Stoney Lane Records)

Sara Colman’s Ink On A Pin is a gorgeous tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell. And this album is a departure (and perhaps, even ...
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DAMIEN McGEEHAN – Kin (MCG002)

Released in October, Damien McGeehan’s new album, Kin, could be described as Irish music, heavily influenced by his native Donegal – which would be both ...
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Flook announce spring tour dates

Sat 22 January        GLASGOW - CELTIC CONNECTIONS (special guests of Elephant Sessions at their 10th Anniversary) Wed 2 February       CARDIFF Acapela Thurs 3 ...
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Glasgow band TRIP announce their debut album

A Drop For Neptune, the debut album from Glasgow based six piece band TRIP is a culmination of four years of musical kinship that started ...
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GWEN MÀIRI – Douze Noëls (own label TELYNEG001)

Gwen Màiri grew up speaking Welsh in Scotland and now lives in Glasgow where she is, naturally, learning Gaelic. She is a trained harper on ...
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THE McDADES – The Empress (own label)

The McDades are a trio… except there are five of them. Jeremiah, Shannon and Solon are the McDade siblings (although Shannon is now Shannon Johnson) ...
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STEPHEN JACQUES – Soul Hydraulics (own label) 

Virginia’s own Stephen Jacques has delivered the latest in an extensive discography, his 2021 LP Soul Hydraulics. Known for his work under the moniker Box ...
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Megan Henderson announces debut solo album

Pilgrim Souls is the elegant debut solo album from Glasgow-based musician Megan Henderson, set to be released on Friday 21st January. The beautiful record proves ...
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SINGLES BAR 73 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

A film composer turned folkie, ROLY WITHEROW follows up last year’s Ballads And Yarns album with a more back to basics five-track EP entitled Down ...
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FLY YETI FLY – Make A Ring (own label)

Fly Yeti Fly’s Make A Ring is a beautiful folk album that, to quote Emily Dickinson, is filled with “only Gossamer, my Gown - My ...
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Johnny Cash box set due in January

Johnny Cash's newly-unearthed 1968 At The Carousel Ballroom live album - captured by Grateful Dead sound wizard Owsley "Bear" Stanley - gets limited-edition box set ...
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Janis Ian announces her latest and final album

For Janis Ian, The Light At The End Of The Line bookends a kaleidoscopic catalogue that began with her 1967 self-titled debut at age fifteen ...
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CAITRÍONA O’LEARY – Strange Wonders – The Wexford Carols Vol.II (Heresy Records Heresy 026)

If you like your Christmas music in the classic, not to say classical, style then Strange Wonders may be to your taste. Caitríona O’Leary is ...
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Cambridge Folk Festival announces first names for 2022

“The jewel within the UK folk festival circuit” (Songlines Magazine) returns after a two-year hiatus and Cambridge Folk Festival is delighted to announce the first ...
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Will Varley announces May 2022 tour

Following his recent run of intimate headline shows acclaimed alt-folk singer-songwriter Will Varley has announced a major UK headline tour for May 2022. In October, ...
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Peggy Seeger announces her 2022 tour

Peggy Seeger, the undisputed queen of folk & political song, has announced 29 UK dates on her 2022 First Farewell tour. Covering the UK from ...
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DANNY BRADLEY – Small Talk Songs (DBRDLYCD001)

Danny Bradley released his debut album Small Talk Songs on November 22nd. You may not have heard of him but his website gives an impressive ...
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BRUCE COCKBURN – Greatest Hits (1970-2020) (True North TND786)

With a man like Bruce Cockburn the title Greatest Hits has a certain tongue-in-cheek vibe. Not for him the glamour of the pop charts but ...
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MARK JOSEPH – Vegas Motel (own label)

Singer/songwriter Mark Joseph is a man who likes to keep busy. Between full-time gigs playing with Big Wu, Momentary Lapse Of Floyd, and other projects, ...
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Police Dog Hogan announce their fifth studio album

UK Americana artists Police Dog Hogan release their fifth studio album, Overground, on Friday 14th January 2022. Engineered and produced (with the band) by George ...
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CATFISH KEITH – Land Of The Sky (Fish Tail Records FTRCD019)

Catfish continues his prolific recording career. Land Of The Sky is his twentieth album overall and his third in the last three years. After last ...
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THE LITTLE UNSAID – December Songs (Reveal Records Reveal 181CDX)

A few months ago The Little Unsaid’s John Elliott was exhorting us to Lick The Future’s Lips and, following a tour of that album, he ...
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THE TREETOP FLYERS – Old Habits (Loose Music)

The Treetop Flyers’ new album, Old Habits, hums a very British tune, while “going down to old, old Woodstock”. And yes, that’s a Van Morrison ...
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THE NORFOLK BROADS – Yonder Green Grove (own label)

The Norfolk Broads – I love that name – are Eleanor Dale, Daisy Johnson, Anna Cornish and Helen Cherry from East Anglia; I’m not going ...
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JOE TILSTON Tightrope (Our Records OUR001)

The bass player from punk/ska band Random Hand makes a solo album and it’s reviewed on folking.com? Oh yes, definitely. Joe Tilston (that bass player) ...
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BROOMDASHER – The Country Diary In Song Live (Clean Sweep Records CS0121)

For readers of a younger persuasion: Edith Holden’s Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady was the coffee table book de jour in the 1970s, spawning ...
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VIDEO WALL 21

We begin this post with a premiere from SERIOUS SAM BARRETT - 'Every Night Has An Ending'. Sam tells us: "This song is inspired by ...
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IAN A. ANDERSON – Please Re-Adjust Your Time (Cherry Tree CDTREEBOX025)

During the Hot Vultures reunion tour Ian A. Anderson opined that there wouldn’t be any more reissues from his back catalogue. Then everything went wrong ...
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Beth Nielsen Chapman to tour UK in 2022

If you are going to a Beth Nielsen Chapman concert get ready to laugh and cry and, well, just fasten your seat belt. One thing ...
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Gretchen Peters announces 2022 tour

Planning a series of special appearances in the new year, Peters will be packing in a mixture of fixtures that range from unmissable full-band live ...
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Kathryn Williams and Carol Ann Duffy collaborate on Christmas album

Kathryn Williams, the Mercury-nominated, folk inspired singer-songwriter, has added to her impressive list of previous collaborators this Christmas by teaming up with celebrated poet Carol Ann ...
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MALCOLM MacWATT – Settler (Need To Know Music NTKBB2021MM)

Playing all instruments except bass (Phil Dearing) and with Kris Drever on guitar for one track, Malcolm MacWatt’s Settler continues his melding of Scottish and ...
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MATTIAS LIES – Turning Points (Mta Productions/ Quality Recordings)

Mattias Lies’ new folk album, Turning Points, continues (as did his last record, Highs And Lows), to calm the hot lava ash of the current ...
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BEANS ON TOAST – Survival Of The Friendliest (BOT Music)

For the unaware, Beans On Toast releases an album every year on his birthday (December 1st). Last year was his fortieth and he released two ...
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SETH LAKEMAN – Live at Stoller Hall, Manchester, 17th November 2021

With a special 15th anniversary edition of his breakthrough Freedom Fields album as well as a brand new album, Make Your Mark, to celebrate, Seth ...
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MABILENE – The Other Side (own label)

Houston native Jenny Weaver, aka Mabilene, will be releasing her debut full-length album, The Other Side, this week. Though unlike many debut projects, this one ...
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SINGLES BAR 72 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

THE CURSE OF K.K.HAMMOND is London born slide guitarist and self-professed hermit Kristelle Karina who has a thing for resonator guitars and early Delta blues ...
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Frazey Ford – new single and UK tour dates

Following huge acclaim for her 2020 album U Kin B The Sun, Vancouver Soul-Americana artist Frazey Ford finally returns to UK shores this month for her ...
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The Norfolk Broads announce their second album

The Norfolk Broads sing traditional songs from the British Isles and America, usually unaccompanied. They are drawn to songs that tell a story, and the ...
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SETH LAKEMAN – Make Your Mark (Honour Oak Records)

One of the most distinctive voices, literally and metaphorically, in contemporary folk music, Make Your Mark, self-produced, is Lakeman’s 11th solo album and, joined by ...
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GARETH DAVIES-JONES – Truth Tradition Prophets & Loss (HWM019)

Gareth Davies-Jones released his new album, Truth Tradition Prophets & Loss, at the end of October. The album is a collection of traditional and self-penned ...
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OLD BLIND DOGS – Knucklehead Circus (own label OBDCD015)

Old Blind Dogs are veterans of almost thirty years. Co-founder Jonny Hardie is joined in the current line-up, which has been together since 2016, by ...
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MEGAN NASH – Soft Focus Futures (Acronym)

While this is her third album, I have to confess it’s my first encounter with the non-binary Saskatchewan-based singer-songwriter. Clearly I have been missing out ...
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KATE GREEN – A Dark Carnival (own label KGCD002)

Kate Green has hidden her musical light under a bushel for a while. Her first record, An Unkindness Of Ravens, was released in 2007 and ...
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VISION THING – Woman Like Me (own label)

Offered at a bargain £5, Woman Like Me, a ten track collection, is essentially an introduction taster for newcomers to this outstanding Southport folk-rock outfit, ...
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COLIN JAMES – Open Road (Stoney Plain SPCD1434)

Open Road is the twentieth album in the distinguished career of Colin James. The Canadian guitar-slinger has famously rubbed shoulders with many of the all-time ...
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THE DAUGHTERS – Golden Shore (own label)

The Daughters' debut album Golden Shore is delightful, and something beautiful to come from a horrible year that saw the world stand still due to ...
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SKINNY LISTER – A Matter Of Life & Love (Xtra Mile)

Skinny Lister’s A Matter Of Life & Love rocks with a very modern punk (aka rogue) folk pulse. The album is positive proof of two ...
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MARTYN JOSEPH – 1960 (Pipe Records PRCD034)

Martyn Joseph was born in 1960 and is now sixty years old – a pleasing synchronicity (or should that be symmetry?) that just had to ...
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Copperplate podcast 265 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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The Official Folk Chart – October 2021

The Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the October reporting ...
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Spell Songs announce their second album

Spell Songs, the ensemble created in 2018, is to release their second album Spell Songs II: Let The Light In, on 10 December 2021 via Thirty Tigers ...
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DEVIN HOFF – Voices From The Empty Moor (Songs Of Anne Briggs) (Kill Rock Stars)

American bassist, composer, and arranger Devin Hoff’s album Voices From The Empty Moor (Songs Of Anne Briggs) condenses the wild and weird unearthly folk eerie ...
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Phil Cunningham returns with his Christmas Songbook

Following the huge success and popularity of Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook over the last 15 years, the show will be returning to venues across Scotland ...
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Kate Rusby announces her Christmas tour dates

A Kate Rusby Christmas Concert perpetuates the tradition of Yorkshire carols, specific carols sung in the crowded pubs of South Yorkshire. Kate sat in the ...
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LACHLAN BRYAN & THE WILDES – As Long As It’s Not Us (Social Family Records SFR0124)

Already a huge success in their native Australia, while the blurb talks of a different direction, pushing the definition of Americana to its limit, even ...
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MARGO CILKER – Pohorylle (Loose Music)

Sometimes a CD arrives on my desk and gets overlooked for no good reason and Margo Cilker’s debut album, Pohorylle, is one such. I got ...
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Martyn Joseph announces new album

‘I was shadow boxing with my dad a couple of years ago’, remembers Martyn Joseph. ‘As a kid he always wanted me to toughen up, ...
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LOUIS DE BERNIERES – Despatches (Khaki Angel Records KARCD02)

Louis de Bernieres releases a double album called Despatches on November 12th. Though De Bernieres has - how should I put it? - a more ...
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FINE LINES – Deadbeat Lullabies (Parade Recordings PARCD015)

The 12-string revival continues to gather steam with the third album from the British folk-rock septet fronted by David Boardman and Zoe Blythe and featuring ...
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ARCHIE BROWN AND THE YOUNG BUCKS – Diddley Bow (own label)

Archie Brown And The Young Bucks have been pub-folk rocking (in one form or another) all the way from Newcastle, circa 1976. And their new ...
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Bruce Cockburn announces Greatest Hits collection

With 34 previous releases, 13 JUNO wins, two Hall of Fame inductions, countless honorary Doctorates, Officer of The Order of Canada — and new inductee ...
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HANNAH JAMES & TOBY KUHN – Sleeping Spirals (Jigdoll Records JDR 003)

Hannah James has covered a lot of ground in a career that now spans two decades as a singer, songwriter, step-dancer and an innovative accordion ...
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Strange Wonders – The Wexford Carols, Vol. II

Brings Together Folk, Classical and Traditional Music Luminaries to Present Ireland’s Greatest Christmas Music. Out Nov 12th on Heresy Records Produced by Ethan Johns and ...
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JACOB & DRINKWATER – More Notes From The Field (own label)

A highly contemplative and reflective collection, More Notes From The Field, the second of the duo’s studio albums, is a largely unhurriedly–paced affair. It opens ...
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ROBB JOHNSON – Minimum Wages (Irregular Records IRR118V)

Robb Johnson’s second album of the month is a more conventional set of guitar based songs with like-minded friends in attendance: Jenny Carr and John ...
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Isla Ratcliff announces her debut album

Emerging Scottish traditional artist Isla Ratcliff will release her exciting debut album The Castalia on Friday 19th November, inspired by her experience of the traditional ...
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CHARM OF FINCHES – Wonderful Oblivion (AntiFragile Music)

A close harmony duo from Melbourne, Australia, sisters Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes have been likened to First Aid Kid while other influences include Sufjan Stevens ...
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KEVIN BRENNAN – The Clown & The Cigarette Girl (Revolver REVXD331)

Kevin Brennan is MP for West Cardiff – something of a first for us – and has chaired the Parliamentary All Party Folk Music group ...
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IAN M BAILEY – Songs To Dream Along To (Kool Kat Musik PURR2203)

Earlier this year, Bailey released an  EP of four songs in collaboration with Daniel Wylie from Cosmic Rough Riders. The response was encouraging enough to ...
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Christy Moore: new single and album

Legendary singer/song-writer, Christy Moore, returns with his new single, ‘Clock Winds Down’. The song is the first taster from his new studio album, Flying Into Mystery, which will be released ...
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Joe Tilston releases his second solo album

Joe Tilston is the bass player in punk band Random Hand. Tightrope is his second solo album which follows on from his debut album Embers ...
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SINGLES BAR 71 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

THE STORY SONG SCIENTISTS, Findlay Napier and Megan Henwood, are widely regarded as two of the finest songwriters in the country. On the evidence of ...
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Louis de Bernieres releases double album of original songs

Despatches is the new album from Louis de Bernieres, recorded and mixed by David Edward Booth at Louis’ home in Norfolk, and David’s studio, The ...
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Katie Melua releases acoustic version of Album No. 8

Georgian-British singer-songwriter and musician Katie Melua is set to release Acoustic Album No. 8, a collection of acoustic reworkings of her acclaimed 2020 release Album ...
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ROBB JOHNSON – Your Affectionate Son (Irregular Records IRR117)

There seems to be no stopping Robb Johnson. Your Affectionate Son is the first of two new albums he’s about to release and there is ...
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Boo Hewerdine announces mini-album

Master songwriter Boo Hewerdine returns with another new release hot on the heels of his recent Selected Works collection comes Singularities (Reveal Records, November 5th) ...
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THE MATTHEWS BAARTMANS CONSPIRACY – [distant chatter] (Talking Elephant TECD468)

Iain Matthews seems to have a restless streak when it comes to musical collaborations; collaborations that have produced some fine music over a long career ...
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SCOTT LAVENE – Milk City Sweethearts (own label)

Scott Lavene released Milk City Sweethearts in September – and it’s a belter. Lavene’s first album under his own name, 2019’s Broke, had spots of ...
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Simon Mayor & Hilary James announce new album

Lockdown might have been a time of few physical journeys, but for Simon Mayor & Hilary James, free of concert commitments, it was a chance ...
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MÀNRAN – Ùrar (own label MAN05)

It strikes me that the epicentre of British folk-rock has been moving steadily northwards with the times: from London, where everyone headed, to Oxfordshire, when ...
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Seth Lakeman announces new studio album

Emerging from lockdown, Seth Lakeman explodes back on the music scene with stunning new studio album Make Your Mark set for CD and digital release ...
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SASKIA– Where Are We Heading (Music Without Measure MWMCD009)

The second album as part of Griffiths-Moore’s deal with the Atlanta-based Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, again recorded at Abbey Road it’s an all acoustic set ...
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Old Blind Dogs announce new album

Knucklehead Circus is the spirited and long-awaited new album from stalwarts of the Scottish traditional music scene, Old Blind Dogs. Their 14th record, which is ...
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WILL VARLEY – The Hole Around My Head (Yellow Cake) 

Singer/songwriter Will Varley has emerged with his first new material since 2018’s Spirit Of Minnie with ‘The Hole Around My Head’, the title track and ...
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OVER THE MOON – Chinook Waltz (Borealis BCD275)

Over The Moon are Canadian roots/swing duo Suzanne Levesque and Craig Bignell who live in a ranch in the foothills of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. Their ...
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DANNY GEORGE WILSON – Another Place (Loose Music)

Australian born Brit Americana singer Danny George Wilson’ s Another Place is a wonderfully weird concoction of folk and rock music that continuously stops time ...
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ROB PETERS -The Moon That Thought It Was The Sun (Wafer Thin WATT 059)

Producer, songwriter, singer, and engineer, Birmingham born and based Peters has had a lengthy musical career, initially as the drummer with 70s fractured reggae-infused new ...
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Devin Hoff revisits the songs of Anne Briggs

Bassist, composer and arranger, Devin Hoff has been studying the music of Anne Briggs for over a decade, transcribing, practicing, arranging and performing songs from ...
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REG MEUROSS  HARBOTTLE & JONAS – Songs Of Love & Death (own label)

I’ve waited several decades for someone to use this title for an album - I’ve long thought that Songs Of Love & Death summed up ...
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DAN WALSH – Live At The Floodgate (own label)

We all tell jokes about banjo players even when we know better. But I’ll tell you this. See Dan Walsh on his current tour and ...
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In The Echo – new concept album recorded at Earlsfort Terrace

In The Echo is an eight-track concept compilation album, curated and produced by Ross Turner. Recorded in various locations in the historic National Concert Hall ...
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CARAVAN – It’s None Of Your Business (Madfish SMACD 1212)

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, Caravan, along with Soft  Machine, were the leading lights of the so-called Canterbury Scene, in effect a ...
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SARAH MCQUAID – The St Buryan Sessions (Shovel And A Spade Records SAASCD002)

Many eagerly-anticipated tours were wrecked by the onset of that wretched pandemic, including an aborted six-week tour by Sarah McQuaid. Sarah and her long-time sound ...
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NATHAN EVANS FOX – Wasted Love (own label)

Raised in North Carolina and now based in Nashville, originally trained as a hospital chaplain, Wasted Love marks Fox’s fourth album which, written as his ...
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The Trials Of Cato – new album and tour dates

The Trials Of Cato - One of the real discoveries on the folk circuit in recent times their debut album won Best Album at the ...
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MISHRA – Reclaim (Shedbuilt Records MSR005)

Reclaim is the second album from the global folk collective Mishra, it is a lovely relaxing collection original and traditional Indian influenced folk music and ...
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KARINE POLWART AND DAVE MILLIGAN – Still As Your Sleeping (Autumn On Hudson Records)

Karine Polwart and pianist Dave Milligan’s Still As Your Sleeping, in a non-literal biblical sense, is metaphorically, as pure as the Euphrates River on the ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Sense Of The Place (Stonehaven Folk Club SFC001)

Stonehaven, as our Scottish readers all know, is a coastal town south of Aberdeen. The Stonehaven Folk Club is one of the founders of the ...
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GRANNY’S ATTIC – The Brickfields (Grimdon Records GRICD005)

For their fourth album together, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, George Sansome and Lewis Wood have returned to their origins in that The Brickfields is a purely instrumental ...
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Reg Meuross and Harbottle & Jonas announce collaboration

Born from a remote collaboration for Harbottle & Jonas’ highly successful (400,000 views and counting) #savingthegoodstuff video series, Songs Of Love & Death has evolved into ...
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Dan Walsh announces live album and tour dates

Recorded just before the first lockdown, Live At The Floodgate is the first live release by top banjo player, singer and guitarist Dan Walsh. Recorded ...
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JINNWOO – Dreamcreatures (Square Leg Records)

Ben “Jinnwoo” Webb has been building a reputation over recent years both as a soloist and as a member of Bird In The Belly and ...
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Beans On Toast announces new album and tour dates

Released on 1st December 2021 via his own BOT Music imprint, Survival Of The Happiest is a record all about hope, positivity and camaraderie that ...
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FRANK RICHARD – Rough Enough (own label)

Rough Enough is Frank Richard’s first album. That’s a pretty unusual statement when you discover that Richard's learnt guitar in his teenage years - taught ...
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ROSENBLUME – Rosenblume (Rosenblume Records)

Rosenblume’s self-titled album is a well-produced (with full backing band) collection of songs that glance with melodic memories at the American folk-rock sound of the ...
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Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox on tour

Unleashed and on the road again, two of the UK’s best known and loved singers - Billy Mitchell (Lindisfarne, Jack the Lad, Pitmen Poets) and ...
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KATY ROSE BENNETT- Alone On A Hill (Little House On The Hill Records, LHHCD01)

Written and recorded in her hillside home office/hallway studio while living in isolation on the rural fringes of Birmingham, Alone On A Hill (the title ...
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DUIR – Drome (own label)

How to review a band that are unique? Perhaps two-in-one? One to try and capture the spirit of Duir; one which takes you through the ...
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SINGLES BAR 70 – a roundup of recent singles and EPs

Based outside L.A., AIR COOL JENNY are multi-instrumentalist Americana duo Helen Rose and Kramer Sanguinetti, the self-released First Flight being their debut EP, The Lost ...
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Video Wall 20

Things are moving very slowly out there in the real world as Boris Johnson rearranges the deckchairs on the Titanic but videos are still appearing ...
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ASHA McCARTHY – Epitaph (own label)

Performing Western classical, North Indian classical and folk music, Asha McCarthy plays a cello specially adapted for Hindustani music, Epitaph being her debut album, a ...
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SERIOUS SAM BARRETT – The Seeds Of Love (Ya Dig? Records YD008)

Taking its title (and several tracks) from an anthology of folk songs from the British Isles gifted to him by his wife, the nasally-voiced, clawhammer ...
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JUSTIN BERNASCONI talks to Cameron Gunnoe for Folking.com

The Melbourne songwriter dives deep on writing, family, and influences for his new album Sleeping Like A Maniac and underlines the value in getting comfortable ...
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THE COUNTY AFFAIR – Off The Grid (Sonnet)

Back in the 70s, Nottingham teenage best friends Tony Regan and Kevin Brennan formed themselves a country band. Then in their 20s, after going to ...
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SAM KELLY & THE LOST BOYS – The Wishing Tree (Pure PRCD71)

The Wishing Tree is a very fine work and if you’re honest you wouldn’t expect anything else. It also has the feel of a band ...
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WATERTOWN CARPS – Mermaids (Rose Parade Records)

You may remember the name Yo Zushi, a British-Japanese singer-songwriter who was a leading light of the UK freak folk scene, releasing two albums between ...
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SCOTT MURRAY – There Was A Love (own label)

Scott Murray’s There Was A Love is a lovely record of folk melodies that slow dance amid a piano-graced exquisite band that’s coloured with harp, ...
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Rosie’s Ghost announce their debut album

“The duo behind Rosie’s Ghost, Sally Peters and Jessica Kunze, sing a cowgirl’s story straight from the heart on their new album, Bandida. The self-penned ...
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CRAIG EDMONDS – Craig Edmonds (own label)

Craig Edmonds makes his recording debut with a very impressive piece of work made more so by the fact that he’s done it all himself: ...
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Jacob & Drinkwater announce new album and tour dates

Songwriting duo Jacob & Drinkwater have announced their new album More Notes From The Field will be released on the 29th October through Polyphonic Life ...
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Granny’s Attic announce new album

Vibrant trad trio Granny’s Attic are releasing their fourth studio album, The Brickfields, in October 2021. While their previous two releases - 2019’s Wheels Of ...
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Sarah McQuaid announces her new album

Born out of the pandemic and due for release on October 15, The St Buryan Sessions will be the sixth solo album by award-winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter ...
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Skinny Lister announce new album and tour dates

Skinny Lister are back! Their fifth studio album, A Matter Of Life & Love is out 22nd October 2021 on Xtra Mile Recordings and ushers ...
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SEAN DEVINE – Here For It All (own label)

With Here For It All, his first album in six years, the trebly-voiced Montana songsmith delivers a solid and instantly accessible set of country songs ...
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THE FRANK BURKITT BAND – Silvereye (own label FW8007)

Based in Manchester, despite their name this is actually a duo, Frank and Kara Filbey, although Silvereye has them accompanied by double bassist James Geluk, ...
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BROOKS WILLIAMS & AARON CATLOW – Ghost Owl (Red Guitar Blue Music 2102C)

I’ve been a fan of Brooks Williams since I first encountered him at a festival running a session from a table outside a pub because ...
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SERIOUS CHILD & ANDY RUDDY – Talk About The Weather (Four Left Feet FLFR21021)

Talk About The Weather is a fascinating album, written and recorded by two singer-songwriters separated by age and distance. Serious Child, (aka Alan Young) the ...
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MEL BIGGS – From Darkness Comes Light (Talking Cat Records – TCCD2103)

I’m no expert in this genre, but Mel Bigg’s debut album From Darkness Comes Light is rather lovely - and I suspect, since Mel is ...
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DAMIAN CLARKE – Covered 4 Cancer (Vox Pop VOX031)

Damian Clarke isn’t known for covering other people’s music (unless it’s someone like Turlough O’Carolan) but you know what lockdown did for musicians. I should ...
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JUSTIN BERNASCONI – Sleeping Like A Maniac (Mountain King Music JAB3)

Melbourne based songwriter and guitarist Justin Bernasconi's latest collection of tunes, Sleeping Like A Maniac, follows 2017's Barefoot Wonderland in the exploration of Americana influences ...
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BARD EDRINGTON V – Two Days In Terlingua (own label)

It starts with a whisper, doesn’t it? - a whisper, a faint sound, before it becomes a scene, a movement, a Thing. Bard Edrington V’s ...
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Flook announce tour dates through 2022

Dear Friends - finally it seems that the stars have aligned favourably enough to allow us a way back to live work. It gladdens our ...
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THE MEADOWS – Dreamless Days (Pokey Cupboard Records POKEYCD3)

The Meadows’ Dreamless Days is a rare bird of an album that flutters with butterfly beauty, grace, and deep melodic magic; and with their self-penned ...
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Andy White streams Kiss The Big Stone live

It's been a while! Andy's back in lockdown and has performed his second album Kiss The Big Stone live in the studio. The performance premieres ...
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ROBIN LAING – Up In The Dram Room (Frisky Whisky FW003CD)

It’s not every CD that is accompanied by a special bottling of malt whisky so Up In The Dram Room is almost certainly unique. The ...
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RB MORRIS – Going Back To The Sky (Singular Recordings)

RB Morris’s Going Back To The Sky is the music playing at a nameless Esso gas station/Chubby Chicken Restaurant smack dab in the middle of ...
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SINGLES BAR 69 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Making the most of lockdown, PAUL McCLURE recorded the self-released Ardvaark mini-album, playing all the instruments except for on one track.  It opens with the ...
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ANDREW HOWIE – Pale White Branches (Autoclave CLAVE035)

Based out of Stirling, Pale White Branches, Andrew Howie’s first album since 2010 (adding to the lengthy tally of releases under both his own name ...
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RÓNÁN O’ SNODAIGH – Tá Go Maith (Arbutus Yarns Recording Company)

Rónán O’ Snodaigh and Indistinct Chatter keyboard guy, Myles O’Reilly’s new album, Tá Go Maith, proves that mysticism can dance (with joy!) in the introspective ...
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DAMIAN CLARKE – Busking Business (Kindle edition)

I first met Damian Clarke twenty-four years ago when his band, Pressgang, played a gig a couple of nights before they were off to play ...
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MALCOLM HOLCOMBE – Tricks Of The Trade (Need To Know Music)

Twenty-five years on from his debut album, Holcombe remains one of the most distinctive voices, both literally and figuratively, in what we now called Americana ...
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Ingrid Henderson announces new album

Message In A Bottle, the new album from Ingrid Henderson, is set to be released on Friday 17th September. The record is a celebration of ...
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Moonrakers – line-up change and live dates

Dear Friends, It was so good to be out playing again - thanks again to the 270 people who made our Waterperry concert a very ...
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Serious Sam Barrett announces new album and tour dates

Following on from 2019’s acclaimed Where The White Roses Grow Serious Sam Barrett, one of Yorkshire’s finest rising folk artists is back with a new 10-track ...
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THEM COULEE BOYS – Namesake (Some Fun Records)

Them Coulee Boys’ Namesake is definitive proof that (the great) Porter Wagner was sincerely correct when he sang, “It’s good to touch the green green ...
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HEISK – Heisk (own label HEISK01)

Bands spring up in Scotland like new barley in a freshly sown field but we’d best not carry the analogy too far because a good ...
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MARK GERMINO – Midnight Carnival (Red Parlor)

I first encountered North Carolina native Germino with the release of his impressive first two RCA albums, London Moon And Barnyard Remedies and Caught In ...
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Karine Polwart announces new duo album with Dave Milligan

Piano and voice isn’t a combination that you hear much in the folk idiom and yet it can be just as potent – if not ...
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Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Myles O’Reilly announce new album

In a spur of the moment decision informed by another valuable lesson learned in lockdown, that isolation and a generosity of time can do much ...
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THE LANDWORKERS’ ALLIANCE – Stand Up Now (Many A Thousand Records MATR21001)

The Landworkers' Alliance is a union of small-scale and ecological farms drawn from all corners of the British Isles, and, like many unions, traditional song ...
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PHIL ODGERS – Ghosts Of Rock N Roll (Vinyl Star Records VSRCD012)

Last year – although it seems much longer - Phil Odgers released Uke Town, a double CD of demos in preparation for a “proper” album ...
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Brooks Williams & Aaron Catlow announce new album

Opportunity comes from unlikely places. This past year it came to guitarist-singer-songwriter Brooks Williams in the shape of a ghostly, stealth-winged flyer with a heart-shaped ...
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WICKHAM FESTIVAL – Thursday 5th August

In a non-pandemic year and given a sunny August weekend, Wickham would be an idyllic festival. It boasts a natural amphitheatre that any festival would ...
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The Magpies – festival and tour dates

It has only been a short space of time since The Magpies burst onto the UK folk scene, but they have already made a huge ...
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MAREKVIST – Marekvist (Come Alive Records)

Marekvist’s self-titled first album of “Norwegian folk music, guitar driven hard rock and ambient experimentation” certainly lives the advertisement adage for Peter Gabriel’s first album ...
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MARK HARRISON – The Road To Liberty (own label)

Mark Harrison is bluesman but that says very little about him. He’s also a fine songwriter and a player with the lightest touch with songs ...
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Music in Assembly George Square Gardens 

 Performances Thursday 5 – Sunday 29 August Edinburgh's favourite festival hub, Assembly George Square Gardens, launches its new Outdoor Stage with a fabulous line-up of local, Scottish and ...
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Heisk announce their eponymous debut album

Heisk, the joyful self-titled album from the Scottish trad group, is set for release on Friday, 20 August. The debut record, which blends traditional influences ...
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CHRIS CLEVERLEY – Live From The Glass Isle (own label)

Chris Cleverley’s 2019 album We Sat Back And Watched It Unfold was, in my view, nothing short of a masterpiece. I challenge you name a ...
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DAVID CROSBY – For Free (BMG)

Singer/songwriter David Crosby has always been a magnetic character within the scope of popular music. His very first solo album, 1971's If I Could Only ...
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Otley Folk Festival – line-up news

HWell here we are, after the terrible year that we have endured, we have at last been able to put together a programme of events ...
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New Forest Folk Festival – 2021 Review by Paul Johnson

To be honest, those of you who know me will know...I’m an audio man, a radio man, a broadcaster. My job for the last 30 ...
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GEORGIA ENGLISH – Pain & Power (own label)   

Now, here’s an interesting one. Described as an illustrated album Pain & Power is released as both a full-length album and an accompanying physical book ...
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STEVE ASHLEY – Steve Ashley’s Family Album Revisited (Talking Elephant TECD465)

Steve Ashley had a long career before his time in the spotlight came with Stroll On and its follow-up Speedy Return. In the preceding decade ...
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Anna Hester announces her debut album

Postcard Songs is the culmination of five years of creative work and collaboration, including a successful Crowdfunder campaign. The 10 songs all use postcards as ...
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LANGAN, FROST & WANE – Langan, Frost & Wane  (Goldstar)

A Philadelphian coming together of  Brian Langan from the indie scene, doom rock guitarist RJ Gilligan (Frost)  and acid folk musician Nam Wayne, their debut ...
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THE LITTLE UNSAID – Lick The Future’s Lips (Reveal Records, Reveal162DDX/CDX)

In response to an uncertain, overwhelming world shrunken by pandemic isolation, The Little Unsaid grasp firmly at the straws of positivity for this, their seventh ...
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The Last Inklings announce their debut album

The Last Inklings, Leonardo MacKenzie and David Hoyland, are former members of Kadia who performed a mix traditional and original folk inspired songs with their ...
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MAARTIN ALLCOCK – OX15 (Talking Elephant TECD460)

OX15 was the late Maartin Allcock’s second solo album, originally released in 1999 and now reissued with a sparkling new remix. OX15 is also an ...
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