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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Physical link for the UK Store is: https://folking.com/folking-store/

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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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Johnny Campbell releases single to celebrate the Winter Hill Trespass

5th September 2021 will be the 125th anniversary of the Winter Hill Trespass, a little-known event in which 10,000 working folk descended (or ascended) onto ...
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Dan Walsh – banjo wizard back on the road

Dan Walsh returns to solo touring throughout the UK during late summer and autumn to promote the delayed release of a new live album, recorded ...
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THE AUGUST LIST – Wax Cat (All Will Be Well Records)

Wax Cat is the third album from Oxfordshire band The August List who are married couple Martin and Kerraleigh Child.  Having seen them live once ...
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ADELINE – Adeline (OWL 001)

It seems that the idea was to take five well-known old-timey musicians and stick them in a cabin in the Canadian wilderness in the middle ...
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Underneath The Stars – programme news

Organisers of Underneath The Stars Festival have opted for a spacious, socially distanced, outdoor environment and lots of family fun as part of its packed ...
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CHRIS NEWMAN – Breaking Bach (Old Bridge Music OBMCD23)

We’re accustomed these days to guitar settings of classical music being performed on fingerpicked nylon or gut-strung instruments, probably with some clever tunings. For his ...
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POSSIL MÓR – Tales From The Garscube Road (own label PM01)

Both Possil Mór and their album Tales From The Garscube Road take their names from the area of Glasgow from which they hail. The band ...
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Shrewsbury Folk Festival – all the news you need

Shrewsbury Folk Festival is one of the few major UK folk festivals that will be taking place this year following the cancellation of other leading ...
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KATHRYN LOCKE WITH CHODOMPA MUSIC – LA (own label CHODOMPA1)

If you need a cellist in Scotland to work on your album, you’ll ask Su-a Lee; in England you’ll go in search of Kathryn Locke ...
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Wickham Festival forges ahead

It's all systems go for the Wickham Festival which will go ahead as planned from August 5-8. Organisers have confirmed that Wickham Festival will go ...
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BRIAN PEARSON – Here’s To Song (own label)

Brian Pearson’s Here’s To Song is a potent (and quite magical) musical journey into the heart of British folk singing, circa every folk club of ...
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SINGLES BAR 68 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Based in Fordingbridge in the New Forest, BECOMING BRANCHES are a folk-country trio comprising lead vocalist Jaz, keyboardist Hannah and guitarist/drummer Rob, who also writes the songs, ...
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FLO PERLIN – Characters (own label)

Based in London with Iraqi and Belarusian heritage, ordained as a Buddhist nun and with a strong interest in (self-)psychoanalysis, Perlin learnt cello when she ...
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CARBONHOBO – Memoirs From the Crooked Road (Merry Hell Music MHMCD00221)

Memoirs From The Crooked Road is brought to you by Carbobhobo, aka Neil McCartney, who some will recognise as the fiddle player in Merry Hell ...
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WILD EARP AND THE FREE FOR ALLS – Dyin’ For Easy Livin’ (Western Myth Records)

If there is any way in which you’re feeling a bit down, just play this album. There is a joie de vivre? joie de humanity? ...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – I Am Of Ireland – Yeats In Song (Merrow – digital only release)

I Am Of Ireland is a collection of twenty-four poems by William Butler Yeats newly set to music by Raymond Driver and featuring more than ...
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TONY COX – The World Went Quiet (own label)

“What a strange, strange year we have all had.”  So begin the sleeve notes for Tony Cox’s new album The World Went Quiet. Cox was ...
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BmB – Ge Vindt Wel Een Taal (Own Label)

Ge Vindt Wel Een Taal (‘You Will Find A Language’) is the debut album from Netherlands balfolk trio, BmB. With its emphasis on danceable tunes ...
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Mark Harrison announces new album and live dates

We're back in action, and very glad to be (with fingers crossed of course). We've done a couple of great gigs and there are a ...
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Kathryn Locke announces new album with Chodompa Music

Throughout her career as a composer and self-taught experimental cellist, Kathryn Locke has been asked what kind of music she plays. Finally, she has an ...
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Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys announce new album and tour dates

Ready to unveil their first album since 2017, “one of the best bands on the scene” (according to Seth Lakeman) have flexed their studio muscle ...
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Smoke Fairies – commemorative vinyl re-release and live-stream event

Smoke Fairies celebrate ten years since the worldwide release of their critically acclaimed debut album Through Low Light And Trees by announcing the release of a special pressing ...
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Serious Child and Andy Ruddy announce collaborative album

talk about the weather is the new collaborative album from two independent British singer songwriters who have come together across generations and musical backgrounds. Serious ...
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JEZ HELLARD & THE DJUKELLA ORCHESTRA – The Fruitful Fells (Djukella JDHCD004)

Some artists wrap hard-hitting words up in pretty tunes but Jez Hellard has gone one further and wrapped up a set of serious songs in ...
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GABRIELE MUSCOLINO – Gabriele Muscolino (Visage Music Sas)

Gabriele Muscolino’s self-titled album is a warm acoustic recording from Italian singer-songwriter, who while singing in his native language, which, given a belief in Jungian ...
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Reg Meuross awarded Halsway Manor bursary

Somerset-based singer/songwriter Reg Meuross has been awarded an Incubator Bursary from Halsway Manor to support the development of a new project telling the story of the South West’s shameful links to the slave ...
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Runrig documentary now available to pre-order

Runrig fans and music lovers can look forward to a unique insight into rock and folk history when the much-anticipated documentary There Must Be A ...
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Aidan O’Rourke announces soundtrack album

Acclaimed Scottish fiddler, composer and producer Aidan O’Rourke (Lau) releases his debut soundtrack album Iorram via Reveal Records on 6th August 2021. Iorram, meaning Boat ...
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HAV – Haar (own label digital release)

A trio comprising singer Alex Ross, fellow multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Bidgood and bass player Ian Paterson, their name is taken from the Danish word for sea ...
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Video Wall 19

With the future still clouded in uncertainty - despite optimism a few weeks ago - more and more artists are getting their music out there ...
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GERRY COLVIN – Fully Functioning Wind Up Mechanism (own label GC004)

As well as being the living definition of a consummate live performer (with sold out signs a regular occurrence), with songs that variously offer sharp ...
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Fairport’s Cropredy Convention postponed until 2022

Fairport Convention today announced that their annual music festival, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, has been postponed for the second time.The three-day event had been scheduled to ...
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MICHAEL McGOVERN – Highfield Suite (Cauldron Music CMCD004)

A high-voiced 25-year-old singer-songwriter from Glasgow, McGovern cites Springsteen, Dylan and Paul Simon among his influences, the latter clearly to be heard on the infectious ...
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MURRAY McLAUGHLAN – Hourglass (True North Records TND777)

Put simply: Hourglass is yet another brilliant and quietly assertive Murray McLauchlan album. That’s saying a lot, what with countless records, a track record that ...
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DUNCAN LYALL – Milestone (Red Deer Records RDRCD2101)

Duncan Lyall has been accustomed to making his living playing bass but his talents reach much further than that (no offence to bass players intended) ...
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Skye Live Festival goes online

Skye Live is taking things online this year with four exclusive performance pieces filmed at some of the island's most iconic locations. The annual festival, ...
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Jez Hellard announces new album

Summer 2021 will see the release of The Fruitful Fells, the eagerly awaited new studio album from Jez Hellard & The Djukella Orchestra. The process ...
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WOUTER EN DE DRAAK – Zonnewachter (Sena)

My fluency in Dutch is measured in negative numbers but I do know that draak means dragon. Wouter En De Draak are Wouter Kuyper who ...
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IMDL’s Grand Draw Online – a great selection of prizes for lovers of Irish culture!

IMDL’s annual raffle raises funds towards staging their Festival of traditional Irish music, song and dance, 'Return to London Town', the 23rd edition of which is to be held from ...
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KATHERINE PRIDDY – The Eternal Rocks Beneath (Navigator NAVIGATOR106)

Making her recording debut back in 2018 with her well-received Wolf EP, Birmingham-based Priddy has wisely taken her time in working up to a full ...
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The Breath – live dates go on

Despite the government’s announcement of continuing restrictions and social distancing measures until July 19th, The Breath are delighted to announce their July shows will go ...
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Beans On Toast announces his second book, Foolhardy Folk Tales

Foolhardy, fun-loving folk musician and longstanding festival fixture, Beans On Toast, is pleased to announce the arrival of his second book: Foolhardy Folk Tales. Released ...
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LILLEBJØRN NILSEN   ANDY IRVINE – Live In Telemark (Heilo HCD7366)

I don’t think that Andy Irvine needs any introduction - Lillebjørn Nilsen probably does. He’s a Norwegian singer, multi-instrumentalist and song-writer and the much travelled ...
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MATTHEW ROBB – War Without Witness (own label)

War Without Witness is Matthew Robb’s third album – and it’s as good as the first two. If Robb is a new discovery – and ...
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Alison Kinnaird video – Peter Nardini auction

In this video, glass artist and musician Alison Kinnaird explores the link between art & music which have intertwined throughout her life and introduces new ...
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JOE DANKS – Seaspeak (own label)

I once tried to explain to a red-haired lady in Dublin that I had no connection with the sea as I was brought up in ...
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Duncan Lyall announces new solo album

Milestone is the new album from composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Duncan Lyall. A busy performer on the folk scene as bassist with Kate Rusby and Treacherous Orchestra, Lyall’s ...
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DANI LARKIN – Notes For A Maiden Warrior (own label)

An emerging star on the folk scene from the Armagh-Monaghan border, Larkin delivers an assured and hugely impressive debut, Notes For A Maiden Warrior, handling ...
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Talisk announce festival and tour dates

You can’t keep a good band down – and Talisk are widely recognised as one hell of a band! Described by Glasgow Herald as ‘a ...
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SINGLES BAR 67 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

DYLAN LeBLANC was brought up, in part, in Muscle Shoals which is a hell of a place to start your musical education. He has released ...
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TOM WEST – I’m Livin’ (AntiFragile Music)

Australian singer-songwriter Tom West’s I’m Livin’ is an album of dark sonic colours that hover over very acoustic melodies. These tunes burn from a smokey ...
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Mark Harrison announces new album

Acclaimed UK roots artist and songwriter Mark Harrison and band release new album The Road To Liberty On the street of a thousand souls There ...
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Jinnwoo releases digital single and announces new album

Jinnwoo returns with new album dreamcreatures. released 3rd September. It has been described by Brit and Mercury winning producer Charlie Andrew, who signed him to ...
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The Little Unsaid announce new album

Acclaimed London / Aarhus alt-pop-folk band The Little Unsaid return with their new album for Reveal Records Lick The Future's Lips on July 9th. The ...
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JAMESTOWN REVIVAL – Fireside With Louis L’Amour (Thirty Tigers)

You might not be familiar with the work of Louis L’Amour, an American writer whose   work centred around Western novels or ‘frontier stories’, but Jonathan ...
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Karen Tweed premieres her new commission this month

Karen Tweed is set to premiere her new commissioned piece of music 'Visitors' about Orkney over two nights at a beauty spot on the island ...
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JOHN HINSHELWOOD – Called Back (Littleroots Records LRCD 1006)

I’ve never read the poetry of Emily Dickinson, although she is somewhat revered now. During her lifetime she was regarded as an eccentric – what ...
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GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT- A Sleeping Place (own label)

Taking their name from the mythology of King Arthur and the Round Table saga, the tale in question one of death and rebirth, this emerging ...
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Green Diesel announce their fourth album

Hailing from Faversham in Kent, Green Diesel first emerged back in 2009, taking their inspiration from the depths of English folk lore and legend, and ...
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ROD STRADLING -Treacle & Bread (Ghosts From The Basement GFTB 7059)

Treacle & Bread is a blessed glance at the magic of Rod Stradling’s musical transfusion into the very blood pulse of British folk music. This ...
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AVA – Wildflower (AVVCD001)

Wildflower by AVA was released in early April. I missed it until recently, which is a shame because the album is sheer delight. AVA is ...
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Copperplate podcast 260 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 Ciderhouse Rebellion launch video series

There was an idea, long ago, in classical Roman religion, that every part of the world had its own little god, its own spirit. It was the ‘spirit of place’ ...
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CHLOE FOY – Where Shall We Begin (Chloe Foy Music)

Where Shall We Begin is an intense and lovely (almost Baroque ornamented) very modern folk album. Quite frankly, it could well be the soundtrack to ...
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Fatoumata Diawara announces online video

Celebrated Malian singer/guitarist/songwriter/actress Fatoumata Diawara has announced details of her new video ‘Ambè’. Composed during the first lockdown, Fatoumata enlisted revered female musicians Angelique Kidjo, ...
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Matthews Southern Comfort announce live UK dates

These days, most band ‘reunions’ take place because of the huge financial rewards available and occasionally, record company pressure. In the case of Matthews Southern Comfort, neither ...
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MIKE TURNBULL – Two Kingdoms (own label MTM05)

Lakeland singer-songwriter Mike Turnbull is no stranger to these pages. Tracing his ancestry back to the reivers – or perhaps their victims – Mike has ...
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TRÚ – No Fixed Abode (own label)

A trio from Ulster comprising multi-instrumentalist Michael Mormecha, guitarist and singer Zach Trouton and Dónal Kearney, a folk singer brought up in the Irish language ...
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SINGLES BAR 66 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Norfolk singer-songwriter LUCY GRUBB self-releases her third EP, Waste My Time, a four track set of folksy Americana circling around themes of relationships and getting ...
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Video Wall 18

With so many artists taking to live streaming - and very successfully, too - there have been relatively few one-off videos coming our way. With ...
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Chris Cleverley announces new album and live dates

Altfolk songwriter and guitarist Chris Cleverley announces new release for Summer 2021. Chris will be releasing a series of stripped back recordings entitled Live From ...
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Chloe Foy announces debut album and UK tour

Chloe Foy first started to attract attention as far back as 2013 when her debut single ‘In The Middle Of The Night’ was picked up ...
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PAUL HANDYSIDE – Loveless Town (Malady Music)

If there is such a genre as dark country then Paul Handyside must be its master. His fourth solo album, Loveless Town, is deeply embedded ...
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MARIA MULDAUR with TUBA SKINNY – Let’s Get Happy Together (Stony Plain SPCD 1429)

On a first casual listening I thought this was a clever pastiche of the music of the 1920s and 30s. When Maria Muldaur first heard ...
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Oysterband – back on the road in 2021

Oysterband are delighted to be able once more to take to the road for a series of previously postponed dates that are now set for Autumn ...
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Bluegrass Pride announces month-long virtual festival

Bluegrass Pride, a California-based non-profit with a mission to uplift LGBTQ+ folks in roots music, is proud to announce the first weekend of their month-long ...
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THE VILLAGE – Ghosts In The Static (own label)

The Village – or Phil Matthews as they probably call him down the pub – made quite an impression with his previous album, Escape From ...
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Norfolk World Music Festival returns this year

Norfolk World Music Festival returns in 2021 aiming to create “Umoja” the Swahili and Zulu word for togetherness and unity but of course in these ...
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FolkEast announces curtain raiser shows

With England’s most easterly folk festival, FolkEast, on course to return this August, organisers are celebrating by staging a curtain-raiser weekend of shows in June ...
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Ambient-folk trio HAV announce release of their upcoming second album

HAV is singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Alex Ross, multi-instrumentalist /producer/ambient sound guru Jonathan Bidgood, and bass player Ian ‘Dodge’ Paterson. The trio met more than 20 years ago ...
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Shrewsbury Folk Festival reveals its plans for 2021

Shrewsbury Folk Festival has revealed its plans for a covid-safe festival including a refreshed line up to celebrate the best of British based folk artists ...
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LUNATRAKTORS -The Missing Star (own label)

Lunatraktors burst onto the national scene with their debut album followed by a fine EP. This coincided with the start of the current crisis and ...
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TOM CLELLAND – Handpicked & Collected (Modestine Modestine002)

While I was not well-acquainted with the work of Tom Clelland, I've always liked songs that tell a story, so I was immediately drawn to ...
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SARAH-JANE SUMMERS & JUHANI SILVOLA – The Smoky Smirr O’ Rain (Eighth Nerve 8nerve008)

The Scottish/Scandinavian fusion movement continues apace with Scottish fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers and Finnish guitarist and composer Juhani Silvola, now based in Norway, releasing their third ...
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GRAHAM RORIE – The Orcadians Of Hudson Bay (own label RUMS02CD)

It strikes me that quite a few composers working in the broader field of folk music are now writing what might best be described as ...
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Gate To Southwell Festival – tickets selling fast

The organisers of the Gate To Southwell Festival are reporting record sales so far for this year’s event in September (2nd-5th).  Following the cancellation of ...
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OLD SEA BRIGADE – Motivational Speaking (Network Records)

Old Sea Brigade’s Motivational Speaking is definitive proof of Robert Frost’s ‘Road Not Taken’. Sure, Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) retreated to my own native ...
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FolkEast returns in 2021

With the biggest easing of Covid restrictions about to go ahead, and the roadmap out of lockdown on target, England’s most easterly folk festival, FolkEast, ...
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SINGLES BAR 65 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

STUART SMITH recorded The Sun EP Vol.2 in the world-famous Memphis studios using the time-honoured technique of one voice, one acoustic guitar, one harmonica and ...
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CRAIG CARDIFF – All This Time Running (True North TND764)

Hailing from Ontario, Cardiff has notched up sixteen solo album, live and studio recordings, but All This Time Running is his first full-length collection of ...
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JIMMY LEE – Broken (own label)

Born in Bristol, played all over the world for the last fifteen years, Jimmy Lee has just released his debut album, Broken, and it’s good ...
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Sarah-Jane Summers and Juhani Silvola announce their third album

Traditional and contemporary sounds rub shoulders on The Smoky Smirr O Rain, the third album from renowned Norway-based Scottish/Finnish duo Sarah-Jane Summers and Juhani Silvola ...
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STARAN – Staran (own label)

Odd: Sometimes age sings with the most youthful voice: Such is the case with Staran’s self-titled album of Scottish folk music that touches the fresh ...
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Beautiful Days – just a few tickets left

Devon’s Beautiful Days, which is scheduled to take place from the 20th – 22nd August 2021 in the grounds of Escot Park, has announced over ...
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GNOSS – The Light Of The Moon (Blackfly Records BFLY04CD)

The Light Of The Moon is the second album by Gnoss, a quartet founded by two Orcadians, Aidan Moodie and Graham Rorie and expanded by ...
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Copperplate podcast 259 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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CHRISTINA ALDEN & ALEX PATTERSON – Hunter (own label)

Christina Alden and Alex Patterson are two-thirds of…well you can work that out. Recently, they have been making a name for themselves as a duo ...
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ALEX ROBERTS – Live At The Vic Inn (own label)

Alex Roberts’ Live At The Vic Inn spins gossamer folk webs that are saturated with his whiskey-stained voice. Not only that, but this live album ...
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Towersey introduces “pint-sized” festival

Back in March 2020 when the world got flipped on its axis, Towersey Festival was one of the very first events to cancel their live ...
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Sarah McQuaid Honours Two Legendary Producers With New St Buryan Sessions Singles and Videos

For the fifth and sixth singles of her new album and video series The St Buryan Sessions, Cornwall-based singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid honours two musical giants, ...
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NANCY KERR – Tunnellers (Little Dish Records LIDIEP6)

Commissioned by the British Tunnelling Society for their 50th anniversary year Tunnellers comprises four self-penned songs and one instrumental. Nancy Kerr is joined by James ...
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The Magpies – new single, festival and tour

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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