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/

Physical link to the US Store: https://folking.com/folking-us-storefront/

O’HOOLEY & TIDOW – Live At St George’s (No Masters NMCD55)

With immaculate timing Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow recorded this live concert in front of an enthusiastic audience in the former church of St George’s ...
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The Teacups announce their final album

Celebrating their 10th anniversary as a band The Teacups, comprising the talented Alex Cumming, Kate Locksley, Rosie Calvert and Will Finn, release their third and ...
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Video Wall 16

"Are things getting any better?" we ask ourselves and there are signs. It seems that more albums are being released and some gigs are beginning ...
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LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III – I’d Rather Lead A Band (Thirty Tigers)

I admit that it's been quite a few years – decades, perhaps – since I listened to Loudon Wainwright III, but I suspect that even ...
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Ross Ainslie announces new solo album

Vana is the fourth solo album from multi-instrumentalist Ross Ainslie. Out on Friday 30th October 2020, Vana is named after a wellness retreat in India ...
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LUCIA COMNES – Uncaged (own label)

Recorded by Comnes in Liguria, Italy, and Gawain Matthews adding keyboards in San Pablo, California, Uncaged comes at the end of what has clearly been ...
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SAM BROOKES – Black Feathers (Go Slowly Records)

Now, it’s a given that Joseph had “The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”; but truly, Bristol-based Sam Brookes, with his album Black Feathers, has produced an “amazing ...
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GRANVILLE AUTOMATIC – Tiny Televisions (Star Swimming)

The seven songs on the follow-up to the typewriter-named Nashville duo’s Radio Hymns, continues its concept theme of of songs inspired by Nashville’s lost history, ...
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Kris Drever announces new solo album

Kris Drever has won multiple awards including an incredible 7 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, two shortlist nominations for Scottish Album of The Year (with ...
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SINGLES BAR 57 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Nashville’s JARROD DICKENSON pays tribute to five of his Texas heroes on Under A Texas Sky (Continental Records), kicking off with a slightly slower paced ...
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STEVE TYLER – The Enduring And The Ephemeral (own label Rufus 5)

The strap-line may be considered a touch pretentious but so may the music so that’s probably OK. Steve is a multi-instrumentalist and he throws everything ...
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Suzanne Vega to live stream two shows

In celebration of her just-released, career-spanning album, An Evening Of New York Songs And Stories (out now on Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl), Suzanne Vega will play two ...
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KAVEE – Metempsychosis (Rock CD Records)

Italian multi-instrumentalist Valerio Willy Goattin (he of Galaverna and Slap Guru fame!) adds to the shut-in musical cornucopia with his new alias Kavee and a ...
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BRÓNA McVITTIE – The Man In The Mountain (Company of Corkbots)

In following up her her 2018 solo debut (after trading as Forestbrook), the County Down singer-songwriter has put the focus more on original than traditional ...
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Frazey Ford to perform two virtual concerts

Vancouver-based Soul-Americana artist Frazey Ford released her critically acclaimed album U Kin B The Sun via Arts & Crafts on February 7, 2020. At turns ...
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Kenneth J Nash announces ninth solo album

For Sarah, the new album release from Kenneth J Nash, has been three years in the making. Kenneth initially started with a couple of songs ...
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Barbara Thompson: Live At The BBC

It is with great pleasure that Repertoire Records announce the release of Live At The BBC, a mammoth FOURTEEN CD  box set celebrating the music ...
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EMILY BARKER – A Dark Murmuration Of Words (Thirty Tigers)

“Where have the sparrows gone?” ponders the Australian ex-pat on her fourth full-length solo album, A Dark Murmuration Of Words, as the narrator looks out ...
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LOU KYME – What’s The Worst That Can Happen (Blue Smoke BSCD3503)

A while back, the Southampton-born, London-based former frontwoman (Louise if we’re being precise) with the family country and rockabilly band The Okeh Wranglers (no, me ...
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RURA – Live At The Old Fruitmarket (RURACD003)

Rura release Live At The Old Fruitmarket on September 11th. There are a limited number of ways of saying how good this is, so let’s ...
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BEN BEDFORD – Portraits (Cavalier CR255626)

I first encountered the Illinois-based singer-songwriter back in 2012 with his third album, What We Lost, and immediately set about acquiring its two predecessors, 2009’s ...
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Gigspanner Big Band stream their album launch gig

Gigspanner Big Band, the six-strong dream line-up spearheaded by the legendary Peter Knight, will finally be able to perform an official launch gig for their ...
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FAY HIELD – Wrackline (Topic TSC608)

With her new album, Wrackline, Fay Hield takes a giant step in her exploration of folk music. It’s a record about crossing lines – a ...
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JAMES LEE BAKER – 100 Summers (own label)

The great transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau proudly proclaimed, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” And James Lee Baker, with his 100 Summers album, follows the path to a ...
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Oh Susanna releases deluxe edition of Sleepy Little Sailor

Americana singer-songwriter Oh Susanna releases her critically acclaimed album Sleepy Little Sailor album in a new deluxe edition. The “magnificent country soul” (Nigel Williamson, Uncut) ...
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Reg Meuross releases Raw on vinyl

Drop the needle on a collection of songs described as “intelligent songwriting of the highest calibre” (Folk Radio UK, David Pratt), when Reg Meuross releases Raw on ...
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WILLIE CAMPBELL – Nothing’s Going To Bring Me Down (Invisible King IK0020)

Willie Campbell is a singer and songwriter from the Isle of Lewis and, as well as being a soloist, he fronts The Open Day Rotation, ...
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Ruby Mack: feminist folk quartet announce new album

Imagine a world in which Eve unashamedly consumed the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, biting into knowledge and sharing it with all the ...
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ANNIE DRESSNER – Coffee At The Corner Bar (Proper)

A native New Yorker but, for the past nine years, based in Cambridge, Dressner released her debut album back in 2011, immediately indicating that here ...
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NATIVE HARROW – Closeness (Loose Music)

Pennsylvania duo Native Harrow’s Closeness is a wondrous folk marriage of lonely lyricism with the hand hold of beautifully warm and melodically earnest (and even ...
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Tanya Brittain announces her debut solo album

You’ll probably recognise Tanya Brittain’s face and voice as one half of Cornwall-based folk duo The Changing Room, which she created with vocalist Sam Kelly ...
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DANIEL NESTLERODE – Windrush (Clunk & Rattle Records CRLP021)

Born in Pennsylvania, raised in California and currently based in France after seven years living in Cambridgeshire, Nestlerode was inspired to make the album following ...
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THE STRUNTS – Too Much Of Everything (own label STRUNT01)

The Dictionary Of The Scots Language tells us that “strunt” is a fit of pique or pettishness, or as we might say in the Home ...
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David Larkin sings Percy French to celebrate centenary

David Larkin’s debut album of hand-picked Percy French compositions accompanied by superb traditional musicians, brings Percy’s songs of rural life in Ireland a century ago ...
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Fairport Convention star on charity single – ‘Meet On The Ledge’

Folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention feature on a new ensemble recording of their classic song ‘Meet On The Ledge’. The song is released today (26 August ...
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ROBB JOHNSON & THE IRREGULARS – Pandemic Songs (Irregular Records IRR114)

I once made the mistake of asking Robb Johnson how many songs he’d written. To protect yourselves from a similar embarrassment I’ll tell you now ...
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RAKOCZY – Frontrunner (Talking Cat Recordings TCCD2002)

Well, this is a bit different. Fruzsina Zsofia Rakoczy is an Anglo-Hungarian singer, concertina, recorder and bagpipe player, born in Budapest and based in Manchester ...
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SINGLES BAR 56 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

The first of LAU’s Live Series EPs opens with the sound of crashing waves and the cries of seabirds before Aidan O’Rourke’s melancholy fiddle leads ...
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Jenny Sturgeon announces new album – touring next year

For rising Scottish singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon, nature and song are intrinsically linked. Environment, ecology and the elements are a touchstone for the Shetland-based musician and ...
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H.C. McENTIRE – Eno Axis (Merge MRG772)

Eno Axis, the second solo album by the former Mount Moriah singer opens with country gospel keyboard backing and the lines “early rise, start the ...
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Darlingside announce their new album

Acclaimed indie-folk quartet Darlingside announce the October 9th release of their anticipated new album Fish Pond Fish (Thirty Tigers).  Fish Pond Fish is the follow ...
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Skerryvore to stream live from Clydeside distillery

Hot off the release of their latest album Live Across Scotland, multi-award-winning Scottish band Skerryvore will perform their first live performance in over 6 months ...
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The Waterboys new album is released today

The Waterboys release their 14th studio album Good Luck, Seeker today to widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike. The Daily Telegraph have hailed it ...
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JAMES EDWYN & THE BORROWED BAND – Before We Go (Dead Records Collective)

Lockdown and the on-going impact of Covid-19 continue to reshape the music industry. In this case, I don’t mind too much. James Edwyn & The ...
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JERRY JOSEPH – The Beautiful Madness (Décor DECOR55CD)

The name might not mean much to you, but it does to Patterson Hood and Jason Isbell, the latter recording with his former Drive By ...
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JOSHUA BURNELL – Flowers Where The Horses Sleep (Misted Valley Records)

Joshua Burnell’s Flowers Where The Horses Sleep is a wondrous album of original songs with vivid and very modern folk roots. The first song, ‘Labels’, ...
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SOLAS – Shamrock City (THL001)

Solas’ Shamrock City, originally out in 2013 has just been re-released. Solas are currently paused indefinitely while founder Seamus Egan develops The Seamus Egan Project, ...
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Folk On Foot Festival 3 – what a line up!

The award-winning Folk On Foot podcast is re-uniting some of the top names in UK folk for a third online festival on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August. The ...
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Brophy’s Law announce new single

Brophy’s Law release their Record Shop banger – ‘The Record Collector’ on the 11th September to promote the release of their vinyl True Stories They ...
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John Tams forced to withdraw from Derby Folk Festival At Home

An impending operation has forced celebrated performer and festival patron John Tams to bow out of this year’s Derby Folk Festival At Home, meaning a ...
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Cordovas announce their new album

Cordovas’ new album Destiny Hotel, out 30th October on ATO Records, is a work of wild poetry and wide-eyed abandon, set to a glorious collision of ...
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DARREN BLACK – Playing With The Truth (own label DBCD006)

If one good thing comes out of this crisis it may be that musicians have come up with new ways to pursue their art. This ...
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HE MISTOOK HER FOR A SWAN – He Mistook Her For A Swan (own label, digital only)

He Mistook Her For A Swan is a Canadian acoustic guitars/vocal duo comprising Colleen Hodgson and Steve Koch, seasoned musicians both. The duo’s wordy, murder-ballad ...
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Beans On Toast announces final lockdown single and live events

As the country takes its first steps on the long road back to normality, Beans On Toast returns with what will be the last in ...
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Johnny Campbell announces new song project

Since the release of his most recent album in January 2020, From Hull And Halifax And Hell..., a live album of original and traditional Northern ...
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The Folk Process and the Strange Saga of Lord Franklin by John Kruth

Does folk music imitate life or does life imitate folk music? Rod Serling once delved into this dilemma years ago in Season 5/ Episode #34 ...
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ARLO McKINLEY – Die Midwestern (Oh Boy Records)

Arlo McKinley’s Die Midwestern is a folk-rock-country album whose songs carve a lifetime of tough conversations into granite tombstones found in any cemetery optimistically named ...
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Pressgang Mutiny announce their second album

2020 will see Canadian sea shanty band Pressgang Mutiny release their second album entitled Across The Western Ocean. The album balances the tight harmonies and ...
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Fèis Rois celebrates Cèilidh Trail’s 21st anniversary with bumper collection of Scotland’s best young musicians 

Arts organisation to release double CD compilation album and host online concert to mark milestone of pioneering traditional music programme. This year marks the 21st ...
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Richard and Linda Thompson’s first three albums get vinyl re-release

Richard and Linda Thompson’s early recordings together have attained an almost mythical status and their first three acclaimed Island Records classics will now be available ...
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Joshua Burnell announces his new album

Joshua Burnell’s music takes you to places others simply don’t reach. Recent winner of the Rising Star accolade in the 2020 Folking Awards, Burnell is ...
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KATE RUSBY – Hand Me Down (Pure PRCD64)

Already planned but given new homemade intimacy through its lockdown recording (aside from some occasional remote contributions, as intended, it’s just her and Damien O’Kane), ...
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The Rheingans Sisters announce their new album

Receiver is the new album by The Rheingans Sisters, their first since 2018’s Bright Field  - a record that dazzled audiences and critics with  its ...
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Darren Black announces new album

Playing With The Truth from Darren Black is released on his own label on 4 September 2020.  Darren Black is a Welsh singer/songwriter who sprung ...
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SUNJAY – More Than A One Night Stand (digital release)

It wasn’t until I saw him live on stage that I really got Sunjay. I’d enjoyed his records, admired his excellent guitar playing and songwriting ...
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Fay Hield announces her new album

Wrackline is the upcoming album from folk royal & scholar Fay Hield - out 11 September. Looking at traditional stories involving the ‘otherworld’ of fairies, ...
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Joan Baez biography will mark her 80th birthday

JOAN BAEZ: THE LAST LEAF By Elizabeth Thomson Published by Palazzo on 15th October 2020 Since she appeared unannounced at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival, ...
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Copperplate Podcast 250 – 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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Ben Bedford releases a retrospective of his first three albums

Ben Bedford’s latest release Portraits features the best songs from his critically acclaimed first three albums; Lincoln’s Man (2007), Land of the Shadows (2009) and ...
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CHRIS LESLIE – Fiddle Back (Paws Records PAWS003)

Chris Leslie really doesn’t need any introduction from me so let’s get straight down to business. Fiddle Back is his contribution to lockdown; thirteen tracks ...
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Sunjay announces digital live album

Having gigged prolifically for the last decade, opening stages for esteemed artists such as Steeleye Span, Martin Simpson and Show of Hands, as well as ...
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JACK BESSANT – Lucky Mountain (CHEDX Records)

On the one hand Jack Bessant plays bass with the band Reef who aren’t exactly heavy metal but certainly don’t hold back. On the other ...
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Keeping It Live – In Lockdown

We’ve had four months or so of lockdown, the build up to it and the slow move out. I’ve just checked my diary; the last ...
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Campfire Club – August dates

The Nest Collective and Friends of The Earth invite you to enjoy a series of beautiful outdoor concerts with Sam Amidon, Millicent Chapanda, Kadialy Kouyate ...
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Shrewsbury Folk Festival announces virtual weekend

Shrewsbury Folk Festival has announced the line-up for its free virtual festival that is taking place next month after the event was postponed due to ...
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Colin Reid – Tilt

Topic took an interest in Reid’s formidable skill as a guitarist over a year ago and Tilt is the first of what I hope will ...
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IAN A ANDERSON – Onwards! Vol.2 (Ghosts From The Basement GFTB 7054)

Subtitled A Crown Of Crows, Onwards! Vol. 2 packs another twenty-one tracks from Ian A’s fifty year career onto a single shiny disc. Many tracks ...
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SINGLES BAR 55 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Evocative opening title track from MARC BLOCK's Faerie Fire EP, using the traditional tune of an Appalachian hymn, is a song to order from the ...
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The Pentangle & PENTANGLE – Sweet Child

A joint outing for two CD re-issues by Pentangle. For some reason, I never fully understood the adulation lorded on the group, as I was ...
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Loudon Wainwright III announces new album

Loudon Wainwright III has unveiled his new album, I’d Rather Lead A Band (released on October 9 via Thirty Tigers).  A collaboration with Vince Giordano ...
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LAYLA KAYLIF – Lovers Don’t Meet (Canopus)

Born in Dubai, based in London, the British Emirati singer-songwriter nudged the bottom end of the UK top 100 back in 1999 with the single ...
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CONCHIE – Northumbria (Drawuptapdown Ltd)

Northumbria is only 23 minutes long but I could write pages about this album. Big impact on me then – and I need to pull ...
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DAVID IAN ROBERTS – From The Harbour (Cambrian Records)

Welsh singer-songwriter David Ian Roberts’ From The Harbour is a colourful labyrinth of introspective folk music with an eternal depth. It’s a Persian carpeted melodic ...
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Joan Osborne announces her new album

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Joan Osborne is today announcing Trouble And Strife, her first album of original material in six years, and sharing the new single ‘Take ...
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NINA RICCI – Fare Thee Well – A Joan Baez Tribute (own label)

Last year Saska Griffiths-Moore released Baez, Dylan and Me, a collection of Baez songs, either self-penned or written by Dylan, and now, having discovered her ...
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MARTIN STEPHENSON & THE DAINTEES – Salutation Road 30 (Barbaraville Records)

Following the pattern of recent years Martin Stephenson has re-recorded his third album with The Daintees to celebrate its anniversary. Actually, Salutation Road 30 is ...
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MIKE ZITO – Quarantine Blues (Gulf Coast Records)

Quarantine Blues is good. To be more precise, this is hit-you-over-the-head good. Generally, when an album comes in for review, I play it two or ...
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ÉILÍS KENNEDY– So Ends This Day (Copperplate Consultants COPP034)

I'm afraid Éilís Kennedy is a new name to me, but on the strength of her new CD So Ends This Day I will certainly ...
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Scottish folk trio Lau return with a new direct to fan release on July 31st 2020 Live Series 1.0

The new E.P was recorded in January 2020 at London’s Kings Place concert hall by Lau’s sound engineer Tim Matthew. Available on CD or digital ...
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TMSA Young Trad Tour album released

Some of Scotland’s finest young folk musicians have come together to release a one-off studio album in 2020. After a sell-out performance at Celtic Connections ...
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Gillian Welch announces new archive release

Gillian Welch confirms the digital release of Boots No.2: The Lost Songs, Vol.1 via Acony Records, the independent record label she and partner David Rawlings ...
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English Folk Expo presents FOLK TALK LIVE

12.30-5.00PM THURSDAY 23RD JULY A free online conference for the folk, roots and acoustic music sector Now and post-pandemic: exploring innovation in the folk music ...
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RORY BUTLER – Window Shopping (Vertical Records)

Rory Butler’s Window Shopping is a splendid acoustic folk album that’s infused with a lot of “sweet little mystery”. Just so you know: Sir Edmund ...
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SASKIA – Are You Listening? (own label)

Not one to idle the days away, having released two separate albums last year, the former Harley Street specialist (she’s dropped the Griffiths-Moore) returns with ...
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The complete Richard & Linda Thompson will be here in September

On September 11, UMC / Universal will release Richard & Linda Thompson Hard Luck Stories (1972 To 1982), an expansive 8 CD set featuring all ...
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David Ian Roberts announces his lockdown album

I recorded the album at home in Cardiff, between March and May 2020, during lockdown. It was born of a necessity to have a creative ...
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PAUL JOHNSON TALKS TO VIRGINIA KETTLE

Our very own singer songwriter Paul Johnson talks in depth to Virginia Kettle from Merry Hell in his usual jovial way, about the release of ...
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THE WILDERNESS YET – The Wilderness Yet (own label)

It has been frequently remarked that the future of folk music is safe in the hands of the younger generation, I’ve said so myself. But ...
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THE JAYHAWKS – XOXO (Sham)

The Jayhawks' XOXO is a genuine leather-clad nonsectarian American folk-rock hymnal. The songs stitch together a sampler that harmonises with all the greats: The Byrds, ...
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MICHAEL CHAPMAN – Plaindealer / The Twisted Road (Mooncrest CRESTCD104)

This double CD set brings together two of Michael Chapman’s later albums: The Twisted Road from 1999 and 2005’s Plaindealer. Oddly, Mooncrest choose to present ...
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SINGLES BAR 54 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Fronted by singer Deidre Murphy and acoustic guitarist Les Ray, Cambridge folk-rock quintet RED VELVET return with the If Hawks Were Doves EP, a self-released ...
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VIRGINIA KETTLE – No Place Like Tomorrow (Merry Hell MHMCD00220)

Two years on from her eponymous EP, No Place Like Tomorrow is finally with us and it is well worth the wait. Virginia is supported ...
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DAN PENN – Living On Mercy (The Last Music Company LMCD219PUK)

If you're unfamiliar with the name Dan Penn – as I was – it's probable that you are familiar with some of the hits he's ...
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Emily Barker announces her new album

Following the release of the blissful and poignant single ‘Return Me’, acclaimed UK based singer-songwriter Emily Barker has announced that her forthcoming album, A Dark ...
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DAVE COUSINS – The Boy In The Sailor Suit   (Esoteric ECLEC2723)

Originally released in 2007 The Boy In The Sailor Suit has now been reissued with three bonus live tracks featuring the core of the backing ...
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Derby Folk Festival will be at home

Just before lockdown began, Derby LIVE announced that the Derby Folk Festival would be back for October 2020 with many artists playing in multiple venues ...
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Green Note goes on-line

On the small stage of this unassuming Camden venue, artists such as Amy Winehouse, Michael Kiwanuka, Anais Mitchell, Ed Sheeran and Jacob Collier began their ...
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Fèisean nan Gàidheal champions new online resource

To celebrate the Year of Coasts & Waters, Gaelic arts organisation, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, is championing the rich collection of Gaelic songs connected to coasts ...
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Kate Rusby announces new covers album

Kate Rusby’s forthcoming new album, Hand Me Down, started life a few years ago whilst she was rehearsing for the Jo Whiley Show on BBC ...
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Virginia Kettle’s new album will be with us soon

Virginia Kettle is at the heart of the creative force within Merry Hell and the energies that have driven the band ever upwards, whether this be ...
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Veteran songwriter Dan Penn announces new album

He has a fantastic story - if James Brown is Soul Brother number one, you can make a very credible case for Dan Penn being ...
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MICHAEL CHAPMAN – Growing Pains Volume 1 & 2 (Mooncrest CRESTCD105)

It would appear that this set was released as two separate albums some twenty years ago. I missed them then so they come as a ...
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SKERRYVORE – Live Across Scotland (Tyree Records TYREE10CD)

Skerryvore’s Live Across Scotland exemplifies the Ian Hunter album title, You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic. This record captures the Skerryvore ethos: sizzling big group ...
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MATT HILL – Savage Pilgrims (Quiet Loner QLRCD001)

Originally trading as Quiet Loner, now the name of his label, the politically-driven Nottingham-born singer-songwriter made his album debut in 2004 with Secret Rulers of ...
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ANDY & JUDY – This Road (own label)

Andy and Judy Daigle are from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. I actually missed the MA in their letterhead at first and I was expecting a duo from ...
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Cambridge Folk Festival announces At Home

The Cambridge Folk Festival is excited to announce Cambridge Folk Festival At Home 2020, a unique event to mark the Festival weekend by inviting the ...
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Highlands Youth Arts Hub launches new fund

The current Covid19 situation has put a huge strain on the arts world across the globe and fearing that there would be a talent drain ...
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OLD-TIME PHARMACEUTICALS – Roots & Honey (own label)

Old-Time Pharmaceuticals’ Roots & Honey is a really hip audio textbook of folk songwriting. The band cite Pete Seeger, Carter Family, The Clancy Brothers (more ...
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Marc Block announces new EP

Faerie Fire is the new EP by Marc Block ahead of the release of his next album, Faerie Fire Dances, with five stunning songs, including ...
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JOHNNY STEINBERG – Shadowland (own label JS032020)

It may stem from the Highland Clearances but there is an affinity, an empathy between Scotland and the USA. They don’t make a huge fuss ...
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Skerryvore announce live album

Multi-award-winning Scottish band Skerryvore will release their blistering new album, Live Across Scotland on Friday, 10 July 2020 to celebrate their 15th anniversary. Capturing the ...
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Video Wall 15

As lockdown drags on and the summer heat is debilitating it's good to know that musicians are still doing interesting things to keep us entertained ...
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WILL HOGE – Tiny Little Movies (Edlo/Thirty Tigers)

Will Hoge’s Tiny Little Movies spins on an asphalt bumped Americana road that still hopes for brand new concrete. That’s the gist of America: We ...
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Fraser Fifield announces new digital album

Fraser Fifield ~ In Mumbai  Scottish multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield travelled to the Bollywood district of Mumbai to record his new album, on general release from ...
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Ray Cooper unleashes The Beast

  The Beast is a new 3 track EP download release from Ray Cooper. The title song ‘The Beast’ takes Ray Cooper into new territory, ...
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KEVIN HENDERSON & NEIL PEARLMAN – Burden Lake (own label KEVHENCD02)

Kevin Henderson is a Shetland fiddler player. At age fourteen he was a founder member of Fiddlers’ Bid and he released an impressive solo album ...
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Charley Crockett announces new album

Charley Crockett's aptly-named Welcome To Hard Times, produced by Mark Neil, features songwriting collaborations with Pat McLaughlin and Dan Auerbach and is set to establish ...
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Music Venue Trust calls for £50m cash injection

Music Venue Trust (MVT), which represents hundreds of grassroots music venues, has issued an urgent warning to the UK government that an immediate cash injection ...
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MARIE FIELDING – The Spectrum Project (Rumford Records RUMCD04)

I’m sure it wasn’t Marie Fielding’s intention to give us an album to cheer us up in these dark times but reading her notes it ...
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SINGLES BAR 53 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

CORRIE SHELLEY has released a digital only EP, Ghost Light.  It begins with the unaccompanied ‘Mother Earth’ sung live in an otherwise empty church to ...
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Finnian announces his debut album

After three extremely successful single launches, Finnian is now announcing his debut album Under The Influence will be released everywhere July 24th. In a musical ...
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BLUEBYRD – Find Your Way (own label)

An unsigned indie folk duo based in Stoke/Wolverhampton, Chris Rowley provides vocals and guitar while Gareth Pask handles keyboards. Find Your Way, their second album, ...
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SWAMPMEAT FAMILY BAND – Muck (PNKSLM Recordings)

There seems to be a swell of Americana coming out of Birmingham (UK, not Alabama) at present, what with My Darling Clementine (though, admittedly they’ve ...
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Mark Harrison’s online concerts

In his own words: I hope that everyone is OK as we stumble on through this still rather weird period. As things stand, nobody knows ...
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MHAIRI HALL – Airs (Strath Records, STRATH003CD)

2020 Hands Up For Trad Ignition Award for Innovation In Music winner, Scottish pianist Mhairi Hall has released her third album, Airs. Interweaving contemporary classical, ...
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MOLLY MAHER – Follow (Real Phonic Records)

Molly Maher’s Follow is a folk album that, to quote the great Vin Garbutt, is “Tossin’ a Wobbler”. Now, Louie Perez of Los Lobos said ...
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INDIGO GIRLS – Look Long (Rounder)

Indigo Girls are Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. I was surprised to find that the new album, Look Long, is their sixteenth studio album and ...
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THE LONGEST JOHNS – Cures What Ails Ya (own label)

Aware that shanties and other maritime songs can often be earnest fare, the Bristol-based four piece have opted to take an often irreverent and playful ...
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Mary Chapin Carpenter announces her new album

Mary Chapin Carpenter’s anticipated new album, The Dirt And The Stars, will be released on August 7 and is now available for pre-order (Lambent Light ...
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THE HUERS – Welcome On Board (own label)

Now, here’s a bit of fun. A duo from the North West comprising Ian Cleverdon and Phil Caffrey whose instrumentation includes cello-mandolin and cuatro, for ...
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Oxfolk Ceilidhs go on-line

At a time when lockdown and isolation has been getting us all down, Oxfolk Ceilidhs decided to move its events online.  It's been a much ...
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MINNIE BIRCH – You’re Not Singing Anymore Volume 1 (own label)

Sometime member of Said The Maiden and The Company Of Players as well an an established solo artist, the Herefordshire- based folk singer-songwriter also happens ...
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Ms AMY BIRKS – All That I Am And & All That I Was (own label)

I first encountered Stoke-On-Trent born and currently Staffordshire-based Amy in 2016 as part of prog-folk ensemble The Beatrix Players, since which time they’ve gone their ...
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Will Hoge announces new album

For two decades, Will Hoge has carried the torch for American rock & roll, carving out his own blue-collar sound rooted in amplified guitars, melodic ...
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GEORGE SANSOME  – George Sansome (Grimdon Records GRICD002)

Every so often someone decides to go back to basics and it’s so good to hear. So it is with George Sansome, no novice after ...
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THE VILLAGE – Escape From The Witchwood (own label)

The Village is the pseudonym of Phil Matthews; singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Derbyshire native. Actually he doesn’t hide his real identity that well; surely he ...
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Dàimh get creative for lockdown

Gaelic supergroup Dàimh have been turning heads on social media with the launch of a fun, quarantine-inspired campaign. The tongue in cheek campaign titled the ...
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KEVIN HUNT – Devil’s Daughter (own label KHCD101)

Despite writing songs for over twenty years and a lengthy career on the folk circuit, it’s only now that the Irish-born singer-songwriter is releasing his ...
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The Folking Awards 2020 – The Results

The polls have closed, the votes have been scrutinised and the numbers crunched so herewith:  the results of the 'Public Vote' for the 2020 Folking ...
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ELIZA CARTHY

If there is one musician who embodies the dynamism and vitality of the current English folk revival, it’s Eliza Carthy. Beloved of staunch traditionalists and ...
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KATHRYN ROBERTS & SEAN LAKEMAN

Duos come and duos go... And some nurture and fine tune their art and watch it grow into something totally original, captivating and award-winning. Bonded ...
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MERRY HELL

“Tansads really was a crusade. We were trying to be all things to all men in many respects: musically we were trying to be a ...
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MARTIN SIMPSON

With thanks to Alan Bearman Music The remarkable intimate solo performances Martin gives go from strength to strength – every gig is a masterclass. He ...
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JOSHUA BURNELL

In one phrase? Folk-fused baroque ‘n’ roll for the modern world. ​Born and bred in (well, he’s not sure where) Joshua learned at an early ...
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THE SLAMBOVIAN CIRCUS OF DREAMS

The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams, (The Grand Slambovians, or Gandalf Murphy And The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams) is a Hudson Valley, New York based band, ...
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PADDY DENNEHY – Little Light (Paddy Dennehy)

Bless me father: Paddy Dennehy’s Little Light is a melodic cold shave of a folk record that is riddled with religion and nervy doubt. He’s ...
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English Folk Expo (EFEx) opens applications for its third mentoring programme

Applications are now open for the third edition of the English Folk Expo (EFEx) Artist Mentoring Programme, aimed at equipping emerging artists with the skills, ...
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THE MAGPIES – Tidings (own label)

A female folk supergroup of musicians, originating as a duo in 2017 with singer-songwriter Bella Gaffney and mandolin wizard Polly Bolton, they expanded to include ...
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LUNATRAKTORS – This Is Broken Folk (own label BKNFLK 1 CD)

They call it post-apocalyptic folk. Imagine that all technology is gone and all that is left is the human voice and the ability to bang ...
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TEDDY THOMPSON – Heartbreaker Please (Chalky Sounds)

Heartbreaker Please, released on May 29th, is Teddy Thompson’s sixth album. As you might expect from the title, it’s an album about relationship break up ...
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Marie Fielding announces new album

The Spectrum Project is the impassioned fourth album by award-winning fiddler, tutor and composer Marie Fielding. The Spectrum Project celebrates being ‘in the moment’, with ...
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David Berkeley Releases New Album: Oh Quiet World,  Songs From The Quarantine

Santa Fe-based songwriter and author David Berkeley was living in Madrid for the year with his wife and two boys when Corona swept through Spain ...
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Manchester Folk Festival and English Folk Expo postponed

Due to be held between 15th and 18th October 2020, the public festival Manchester Folk Festival and its associated industry showcase event English Folk Expo ...
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THE HAAR – The Haar (Nimbus Alliance NI6404)

Very rarely does an album appear unheralded and threaten to make a major impact. The Haar is one of those rarities. It appears that Cormac ...
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ELLE OSBORNE – If You See A Rook On Its Own, It’s A Crow (9th House)

Since I first heard Elle Osborne she’s fallen in with a good crowd – friends like Alasdair Roberts and Trembling Bells – moved from interpreting ...
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ROLY WITHEROW – Ballads And Yarns (own label)

Roly Witherow is a well known and successful composer for film and television but he is now making his mark with the critics in quite ...
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MARTIN HARLEY – Roll With The Punches (Del Mundo DM007)

Martin Harley’s Roll With The Punches  plays a good game of Chess, the Chicago blues record label that is, not the game with pawns, kings, ...
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AVOCET – Lend Your Garden (Mink Records)

The Scottish trio’s name taken from Bert Jansch’s 1979 album, the music crafted by Iona Zajac on Celtic harp (clarsach), guitarist Sam Grassie and double ...
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Minnie Birch releases new album

Minnie Birch … Huw Stephen’s Introducing Artist of the week and Buzzfeed’s “one to watch” is back with a new record – but it’s perhaps ...
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Caroline Keane announces debut solo album

Caroline Keane was exposed to a wealth of traditional music from a very young age. Growing up in Limerick, she was surrounded by the musical ...
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Indigo Girls announce new album

“We’re still a bar band at heart,” says Emily Saliers, ahead of Indigo Girls’ 16th album, Look Long. “Today, we joke about being old, but ...
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Mhairi Hall announces her first solo album

Scottish musician Mhairi Hall releases her first solo album, Airs, a contemporary piano album of timeless melodies: slow airs that gently wrap the Steinway piano ...
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HANNAH WHITE AND THE NORDIC CONNECTIONS – Hannah White & The Nordic Connections (Paper Blue Records)

Hannah White And The Nordic Connections self-titled album follows up her excellent 2018 album Elephant Eye. If you’re wondering about the name, this is an ...
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LIZZY HARDINGHAM – Seven (own label)

A Merseyside background and her family’s strong support of the RNLI, both served to afford shanties and sea songs extra resonance to Hardingham in her ...
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Video Wall 14

With lockdown in full force there is so much digital music out there so we thought it about time to collect some more of it ...
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DUIR – The Stout Guardian Of The Door 2020 Remaster (DUIR-OAK-CD-004)

Duir are unique. I’m torn between Ralph Waldo Emerson unique, “Insist on yourself; never imitate.” and Henry David Thoreau unique, “I was not born to ...
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Teddy Thompson announces new album – released this month

Teddy Thompson and Thirty Tigers announce the release of new album Heartbreaker Please. Reckoning with the breakdown of love with a wistful levity, Heartbreaker Please ...
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FIONA ROSS & SHANE O’MARA – Sunwise Turn (own label FRSOM164)

In these strange times it took this album six weeks to arrive from Australia. I’d almost forgotten about it and I’m sure that Fiona Ross ...
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CHARLIE DORE – Like Animals (Black Ink Records Catalogue BICD10)

Like Animals is Charlie Dore’s tenth album and I was chuffed to bits when it dropped through the letterbox this morning, though somewhat daunted by ...
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TERES AOUTES STRING BAND – Courenta & Cadillac (WMMusic Italia)

The Italian band Teres Aoutes String Band released Lo Rock’n Roll De La Mountagna in 2018, essentially stringed instruments reinterpreting the music of the Italian ...
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BETH WIMMER – Chemical Reaction (Bookmark Music)

C8H11NO2 + C10H12N2O + C43H66N12O12S2; it may not sound romantic, but that, according to scientists, is the chemical formula for love, a combination of dopamine, ...
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ROOTDOGS – Live (Circle Of Sound)

Rootdogs got together in 1997 under the auspices of Roger Watson’s TAPS project. The original line-up was Mark T. on guitars and vocals; vocalist Fran ...
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LUCINDA WILLIAMS – Good Souls Better Angels (Thirsty Tigers Records)

Lucinda Williams’ Good Souls Better Angels rocks all the really decent souls out of their Sleepy Hollow graves and lets them all dance one more ...
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STEVE CRAWFORD & SPIDER MACKENZIE – Celticana (own label)

Imagine a sound entirely its own (there’s a brilliant track about a ceilidh) but reminding you of early 70’s Laurel Canyon but additionally with some ...
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Fèisean nan Gàidheal offers Gaelic music tuition free during lockdown

In a bid to support people, of all ages, with their learning and practicing of traditional music and Gaelic skills at home during lockdown, leading ...
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SINGLES BAR 52 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Fiddle player RACHEL BAIMAN returns in company with Vermont singer-songwriter MIKE WHEELER, put together while he was renting a room from them near their Nashville ...
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DAVID GRUBB – Nano (Shake’Um’Dud)

David Grubb is a musician who doesn’t play by anybody else’s rules; a fiddle player with roots in traditional music and a composer with a ...
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Repertoire Records release new compilation of rare Keith Relf recordings

KEITH RELF: All The Falling Angels   SOLO RECORDINGS & COLLABORATIONS 1965-1976 REPERTOIRE RECORDS: REPUK 1385 – CD and DELUXE DOUBLE VINYL SET RELEASED FRIDAY, ...
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World Shanty Project – A Folking Great Shanty Community

John Tams endorses the start of the charitable ‘World Shanty Project’. A collection of singers and musicians from around the world get together to celebrate ...
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THE MAMMALS – Nonet (Humble Abode Music HAM 018)

The Mammals’ Nonet is a warm (with a big organic vibe and nine-piece ensemble) folk album that touches a bit of rock and gospel and ...
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REELY JIGGERED – Tricky Terrain (own label RJ32020)

Although Tricky Terrain is their third album, this is the first time that Reely Jiggered have come to my attention. The Clydeside trio are sisters ...
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Cecil Sharp House marks 90 years in June 2020

For ninety years, English folk music and dance have had an official home in a quiet corner of central London. Located behind a (usually) very ...
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Bob Fox & Billy Mitchell – Folking Live Video Archive 2006

Welcome to the second in the series of our 'Folking Video Archive' events. This section features hand-picked mini concerts from the folking video archive and ...
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ELIZABETH & JAMESON – Northern Shores & Stories (own label 0793618108441)

Most of our readership will recognise the view that illustrates Northern Shores & Stories; indeed many will have climbed those steps. The first sound we ...
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Swarbs Lazarus Folking Video Archive – Folking Live 2006

Welcome to the first in the series of our 'Folking Video Archive' events. This section features hand picked mini concerts from the folking video archive ...
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The Lockdown Stream 6 – Our Pick for This Week

Welcome to The Lockdown Stream 6. We have picked some more of our favourites 'watch again' gigs from the last week which we have been ...
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SINGLES BAR 51 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Making waves on the Suffolk acoustic scene, HOLLY D JOHNSTON bids for a wider audience with her self-released new EP, Illusive Harmony. Hattie Bennett on ...
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LISA MARINI – Born In Tribes (own label)

Lisa Marini’s Born In Tribes is filled with music that has been “summoned by a foolish magpie”. And what a wonderful sound that is to ...
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LOUISE JORDAN – Florence (Azania AZA06CD)

May 12 marks the bicentennial anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, the legendary Lady of the Lamp renowned for her service among the troops during the ...
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PAUL J BOLGER – Paul J Bolger (WIR 018-2)

Paul J Bolger last released an album twenty-five years ago. In the interim he has been working in visual arts and film rather than music ...
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