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).

Emily Portman announces new album

Emily Portman returns with Dominion Of Spells, her fourth studio album of original songs and first solo release in a decade, reclaiming her voice after ...

Full details of Folk On The Pier 2026

Celebrating Twenty-Six Years of ‘The Best Gig on the North Sea’ In a folk festival world of churned up grass and mud beneath your feet, ...

ANDY SMYTHE – Quiet Revolution (Dreaming Element Records)

Quiet Revolution is London based singer/songwriter Andy Smythe’s eighth studio album. It is released on March 13th and as he says it “delves into complex ...

ALI LEVACK: Levack (own label LEVACK01CD)

Levack is a man to watch and to keep an ear on. The winner of 2020’s BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year, ...

WATKIN SHARKEY – Watkin Sharkey (Empress CD001)

Watkin Sharkey’s single, ‘Sails’, made something of an impression and here it is as the opening track of his eponymous debut album. Watkin is from ...

Wuthering Heights Artist Olivia Chaney To Headline Late Spring Folk Festival 2026

Other headliners include Jon Wilks, Natalie Wildgoose, Alan Power & The Take Twos, and Les Caravanes To feature a new tent, The Garden Stage, as well ...

SARA COLMAN AND REBECCA NASH – Ribbons Vol. 1 (Stoney Lane Records – SLR1885)

The search for something elusive is the thread that binds Ribbons Vol.1 together, so it seems appropriate that this album was a long time coming ...

SIMON O’GRADY AND TIM WHITE – Stop Frame Animation (own label)

An alt-folk duo with former Grand Union member O'Grady on guitar, vocals and flute and White on banjo, joined here by Ed Hopwood on harmonica ...

GEORGIA SHACKLETON – From The Floorboards (own label)

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Sir Edward Shackleton setting sale to Antarctica with Captain Scott aboard the Discovery. In commemoration, his violinist and ...

HOLLY CLARKE – Wild Feral Fierce (own label HC95WFF)

Hailing from the Lake District, Wild Feral Fierce is Clarke’s solo debut album following both her own EP and one with The Reivers. A traditional ...

Suzanne Vega announces additional tour dates

FLYING WITH ANGELS TOUR 2026 ADDITIONAL SUMMER HEADLINE SHOWS JUST ANNOUNCED! Iconic singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega continues her successful Flying With Angels Tour, bringing a career-spanning set to stops ...

Copperplate podcast 315 presented by Alan O’Leary

folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his regular instalment of Copperplate ...

KATHERINE PRIDDY – These Frightening Machines (Cooking Vinyl CDCOOK954)

In the space of just a few years, Priddy has gone from low key gigs around Birmingham, to having two charting albums, supporting Suzanne Vega ...

JESSIE REID – Little Sparks (own label)

Computer issues and the obliteration of emails meant Little Sparks somehow got buried, so it’s a rather belated review of the Shropshire singer’s second album, ...

ANDREW RUMSEY – Blank Arcades (Garde du Nord GDNCD140)

The Bishop of Ramsbury returns in his musical persona, as ever accompanied by David Perry on guitars and church organ, percussionist Louis Spanton and Cameron ...

LUCY KITCHEN – In The Low Light (own label)

Another album (her third) with songs written in the run up to and aftermath of the Southampton-based singer’s husband’s death, of grieving and coming to ...

FIRELIGHT TRIO – Midnight Followed (own label EDFLT02)

You can tell Firelight Trio mean business by the brisk and choppy way they scythe into Midnight Followed, staking their sturdy claim from the start ...

SINGLES BAR 122 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Guitarist MIGUEL GIRÃO follows The Northern Isles Suite with The Northern Isles Suite – Part II, releasing this digital EP to complete the eight-track work ...

VARIOUS – All In Due Course: The Songs of Roger Watson (WildGoose)

A major influence on English folk and dance for six decades, a stalwart of Muckram Wakes and The New Victory Band, All In Due Course ...

LINZI JANE MORGAN – Love & Other Stories (Stanley Records LMCD01)

Written in the aftermath of her husband’s death and inspired by the phrase “out of chaos stars are born”, as that suggests Love & Other Stories is ...

AMY HOPWOOD – Gone To Flowers (own label)

Quirky is an easy way to label Exeter-based Hopwood’s third album, Gone To Flowers, (the title a nod to Pete Seeger perhaps), indeed the press ...

BROOKS WILLIAMS & AARON CATLOW – Working In Wood (Red Guitar Blue Music RGBM 2601)

Working In Wood is the fourth duo recording by Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow and finds them deeply immersed in the modern sound of Americana ...

Claire Vine releases her debut solo album next month

Claire Vine will release her debut solo album We Carve Our Path on 13 March 2026 with Bristol-based DIY label Cuculi Records. A thread of ...

PETE COE celebrates his 80th birthday!

Pete has been singing & playing folk songs & dance tunes for 60 years, starting as a folk club organiser in ‘65 whilst at college ...

FINN COLLINSON: Byway (Self-released OSMCD03)

Is the recorder the most cruelly maligned instrument of all? Despite a beautiful and clear tone, for too many it is too potent a memory ...

Sarah McQuaid announces major tour

“Settle down, and I’ll try to make a soothing sound”, Sarah McQuaid sings on the opening number of her current concert set. That she does ...

AMY LEACH AND ALASDAIR PAUL – They’ll Aye Remain (own label ALAPCD02)

Amy and Alasdair describe They’ll Aye Remain as a collection of songs they love to sing which is probably the best reason for singing. Like ...

Sara Colman and Rebecca Nash announce new album

Sara Colman and Rebecca Nash, the compelling vocalist-songwriter and pianist-composer duo, are to release their absorbing new collaboration Ribbons in February 2026 with Stoney Lane Records – ...

JOHN REED – Another Maniac Shouting Against The Relentless Hurricane (Exclusive Subscriber Album January 2026)

Berwick based singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist John Reed always has something profound to say and sing about. Another Maniac Shouting Against The Relentless Hurricane is exactly that. ...

PAUL COWLEY – Long Shadow (Lou B Music)

Paul Cowley has graced these pages several times usually at the pen of our late friend David Harley. His latest album, Long Shadow, continues his ...

WELCOME TO WANDSWORTH’S MONTH OF MUSIC

A celebration of local artists, music-making and heritage across the borough and online kicks off with the launch of podcast series, our music our freedom ...

HEDERA – Hedera (Cuculi Records – CU020)

It was during lockdown that the members of Bristol based chamber folk group Hedera started playing tunes together, around a bonfire. Having five members kept ...

ROBERTA SMITH – Textile Lemonade (Indigosongs)

I’m afraid that this is another album that slipped down the back of the metaphorical settee. Textile Lemonade was released at the end of last ...

HAMISH HEPBURN & JACK HOUSTON – Afore Ye Go (Gowan Street Records Reelsing01)

Celtic duos come in a multitude of forms. Hamish Hepburn (flute, whistles and pipes) hails from the Cairngorms and from Donegal comes Jack Houston (fiddle, ...

JOHN PAUL MASON – Overstory (own label JPMCD001)

From Edinburgh but now based in Comrie, Mason is a breathwork therapist and ‘outdoor nature sprite’ with a deep connection to the landscapes of Perthshire ...

Copperplate Podcast 314

folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his regular instalment of Copperplate ...

Official Folk Albums chart – January 2026

On Tuesday 3rd February the Official Charts Company revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the January reporting period in ...

Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow announce new album

For their 4th recording, Working In Wood, Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow return to Josh Clark’s Get Real Audio in Bath UK. Also part of ...

SINGLES BAR 121 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

The year has turned and it's wonderful to be able to begin this post with SAM CARTER, a singer of traditional songs and those written ...

SEAN TAYLOR – First Light (Sean Taylor Songs STCD120)

Climate change, political extremism and the dignity of working-class life are all themes that run through Taylor’s new album, First Light, one drenched in disillusionment ...

Cambridge Folk Festival – full line-up

Cherry Hinton Hall, Saturday 1 August & Sunday 2 August FULL LINE-UP ANNOUNCED This Is The Kit - Seth Lakeman - Skinny Lister - Brògeal ...

TESSA ROSE JACKSON – The Lighthouse (Tiny Tiger)

Anglo-Dutch singer/songwriter Tessa Rose Jackson’s new album The Lighthouse gained the accolade of folk album of the month in The Guardian. The opening title track ...

Second wave of artists for Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2026

A three-time Grammy Award winner and the UK premiere of an exclusive new Celtic music and dance show are among latest names released for this ...

The Willow Trio announce their new album: The Bestiary

The Willow Trio’s second album The Bestiary shakes things up after their classical-Gaelic debut The Swan of Salen. Filled front to back with new, original ...

AMY DUNCAN – Greetings From Gartnavel (Last Night From Glasgow)

Unless you live in Glasgow, it’s unlikely that you’d know that Gartnavel is a mental hospital in the city’s West End. Sparsely arranged a la ...

Kerrville Folk Festival back for 54th year

For over 50 years running the Kerrville Folk Festival has been presenting an amazing lineup over 19 days in the Texas Hill Country at the ...

HUMM – To Keep You Warm (own label)

A Bath-based duo comprising guitarist Arty Jackson and lead singer and harmonium player Carys Lewin, To Keep You Warm, joined by percussionist Josh Clarke, Rob ...

LUCY MELLENFIELD – Tell The Water, She Will Listen (Stoney Lane Records)

Hailing from the North East but now Birmingham-based after graduating from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in June 2022, while she released a mini-album, In My ...

ERIC BRACE & THOMM JUTZ – Circle And Square (Red Beet Records)

Circle And Square, their second collaboration, again featuring contributions from bassist Mark Fain and drummer Lynn Williams with occasional piano by Finn Goodwin-Bain, this is ...

DIANE COLL – Strangely In Tune (Happy Fish Records)

From Chicago and based in Atlanta, Strangely In Tune is Coll’s fifth album and one that speaks of resilience and healing, emerging from troubled times ...

Ma Polaine’s Great Decline announce new album

Somerset’s acclaimed duo Ma Polaine’s Great Decline return with their highly anticipated fifth studio album, Monster Swan, set for release on 20th February. Known for their distinctive fusion ...

TONY POOLE – Faith In Us (Aurora AUR07)

Although he’s been making music since 1974, primarily as part of Starry Eyed And Laughing, the UK’s answer to The Byrds, more recently his 12 ...

MICHELLE LAVERICK – Helm Winds (own label)

Originally from Teesside, but now living in Derbyshire’s Peak District, Laverick released her debut album in 2023, following up with the Selkie Child EP that ...

ANNE GAIR – Cigarettes And Smokescreens (own label AG001GD)

Anne Gair is a singer-songwriter from Scotland making her full-length recording debut with Cigarettes And Smokescreens after a series of singles. Her album, produced by ...

ANDY M STEWART – Songs Of Robert Burns (Birnam CD BCD625)

Songs Of Robert Burns was originally released in Germany and the USA between 1989 and 1991 but I believe that this is its first UK ...

ADAM WEIKERT – To Whom Ourselves We Owe (own label)

Adam Weikert (and I confess that I had to look him up) is a musician, composer, performer and producer from Leicester and, I have to ...

SINGLES BAR 120 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

The Ballad Of Harold Camping, their new EP, gives TANGLEJACK the opportunity to let their hair down with some rather more lighthearted songs. The opener, ...

The Saw Doctors return to Wickham Festival

The Saw Doctors are set to headline the Wickham Festival – by public demand. The ever-popular Irish band will top the bill on Saturday August ...

THE GHOST AND THE MACHINE – Sorrows (Fullmax Recordings)

The Ghost And The Machine was founded by Andreas Lechner in Austria in 2012 and the new album, Sorrows, was released in November. There are ...

Sarah McQuaid – tour dates and album news

Sarah McQuaid gears up for her warm-up UK tour starting in January – with a new album in the works! Having just returned from a ...

THE REVELLERS – Reactors (own label REVC003)

Listening to Reactors, the new album from Shetland Folk-Rockers The Revellers, reminded me of something that happened a few years ago. I was working at ...

PAUL JOHNSON’S NEW MINI PODCAST – Paul speaks to ANNE GAIR about her debut album – Cigarettes And Smokescreens

SO....OUR VERY OWN PAUL JOHNSON’S LATEST MINI PODCAST AUDIO ALBUM REVIEW FEATURES A VERY OPEN, INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE AND COMPELLING INTERVIEW WITH THE UP-AND-COMING HUGELY TALENTED, ...

Moseley Folk and Arts Festival unveils its first artists for 2026’s historic anniversary edition.

Running from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2026 in the tranquil surroundings of Moseley Park, Birmingham, the just-confirmed acts are The Dead South, Johnny ...

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2026: Full Line-Up Announced & Tickets on Sale

After a sold out edition in 2025, Fairport's Cropredy Convention returns for 2026 with a trademark line-up of folk and rock heavyweights, alongside some of ...

FILKIN’S DRIFT – Glan (own label FM03)

We're very late with this album for which I apologise to Seth Bye and Chris Roberts most sincerely. Seth and Chris are Filkin's Drift and ...

LEVELLERS – Zeitgeist (30th Anniversary Edition) (On The Fiddle)

I always feel my age when I see an anniversary edition of an album I bought first time around. Zeitgeist was released in 1995 and ...

Official Folk Albums Chart – November 2025

On Tuesday 2nd December the Official Charts Company revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the October reporting period in ...

Fairport Convention announce spring tour dates

In a change to their usual schedule, legendary Folk-Rockers Fairport Convention have announced dates for their all new Spring Tour, starting on 17th March 2026 ...

BRINSLEY SCHWARZ – Shouting At The Moon

Brinsley Schwarz – the band and the man – are one of the legendary names for my generation, opening for Wings, playing on the Old ...

SINGLES BAR 119 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Following on from the ‘Lord Of Chaos’ single featuring Kathy Pilkinton on vocals and Graham Coe on cello with its theme of shedding your burdens ...

First news from Cambridge Folk Festival

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 3rd December 2025 at 10am for the Cambridge Folk Festival weekend at Cherry Hinton Hall with a fabulous first ...

Maz O’Connor announces new album

Love It Is A Killing Thing is O’Connor’s first album in four years: she took time out from recording and performing to have her first ...

ST AGNES FOUNTAIN – Flakes & Flurries (Fat Cat CFATCD060)

Their name taken from a line in ‘Good King Wenceslas’, possibly referring to the Somerset village well established in 1820 by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, ...

SOFIA TALVIK – Wrapped In Paper (A Christmas Album) (Makaki Music)

Having just released an album by her side project Hansan, all sung Swedish, Talvik now offers Wrapped In Paper, a seasonal folk-Americana collection of songs, ...

DEBORAH ROSE – Atlas (Abracadeborah/Good Companion Records)

Variously written and recorded in Ludlow, London, Nashville and Morocco, part produced by Boo Hewerdine and Chris Pepper with other contributions from Jeremy Jameson and Ben ...

TORRIDON : Polaroid (own label DRCD005)

Torridon are a band from Ross-shire, in Scotland and, despite two decades of longevity under their belts, seem never to have quite made the crossover ...

GUS WHITE – For Now, Anyway (Man Made Tigers)

Time for some Britainicana. That’s not a word I’d come across, but it’s how Wiltshire singer-songwriter Gus White describes the music on his second album, ...

THE HAAR – The Lost Day (Under The Eaves UTE 012)

Sometimes, you know by the track listing that you'll enjoy an album. The Lost Day includes one of my all-time favourite songs in a list of generally ...

Sunjay Announces Winter 2025 Solo UK Tour

Multi-award-winning guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Sunjay is pleased to announce his twelve-date headline solo tour entitled I’m Just Like You which is in support of ...

THE HENRY GIRLS – Tracks In The Snow (own label)

Originally a children’s winter show commissioned in 2015 by The Ark Cultural Centre for Children in Dublin and funded by the Arts Council, Tracks In ...

WINTER WONDERBAND – Joy Illimited (own label WWB001)

If you put four talented and experienced musicians together they would probably form a band. Maclaine Colston, Jennifer Crook, Beth Porter and Saul Rose became ...

MARTHA TILSTON – live at The Barrel House, Totnes

The very bohemian Barrel House in the heart of Totnes couldn’t be a more suitable venue for Martha Tilston, permanent Christmas cluster lights sway overhead ...

Shrewsbury Folk Festival names first artists for 2026

Shrewsbury Folk Festival has released the first names on its 2026 bill following this year’s record-breaking event that saw a sell-out of weekend tickets weeks ...

LUCY KITT – Telling Me (Wineberry Records WBRCD 2)

An Essex native with a deep affection for 70s Laurel Canyon folk, indie rock and country, with songs that draw on the lives and struggles ...

DAVE BURN – Medium Dave + Friends (Street Mission Records)

Again featuring erstwhile Noah and the Whale guitarist Fred Abbott, eight years on from the first, featuring the five tracks 2022’s Medium Dave EP, from ...

ANDREW CADIE – Flooding The Ocean (Border Fray Records BFCD002)

You might think that you've heard the name of Andrew Cadie before and you'd be right. Andrew is half of German-based duo Broom Bezzums whose ...

MICHAEL McGOVERN – Thin White Road (Cauldron Music CMCD/LP006)

Thin White Road, the second album from the high-pitched Glaswegian folk singer-songwriter brings a more expansive sound to his fingerpicking with full band arrangements, including ...

Flook celebrate 30 years

After thirty years of writing, discovering, recording and performing tunes, we are proud to present the Flook Tunebook. From Flook! Live! recorded at Sidmouth in ...

GLEN PETERS – Where Do You Come From? (Haven HAVENCD32)

Where Do You Come From, to be released on November 11th, is Glen Peters second album. With the opening lyric to the opening track, ‘My ...

GECKO and LUCY GRUBB – Stage 2, Theatre Royal, Norwich

Powerful performers let down by soulless venue Norwich is full of great music venues doing their utmost to promote and support the impressive and diverse ...

HEATHER AUBREY LLOYD – Panic Room With A View (own label)

Born and based in Baltimore, where she was a reporter, Panic Room With A View featuring multi-instrumentalist Joel Ackerson, is Lloyd’s fourth album (though two ...

Official Folk Album chart – October 2025

On Tuesday 4th November the Official Charts Company, produced by English Folk Expo, revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in ...

NARAGONIA QUARTET : Nehalennia (Tradfolk Records TRADFO8CD)

There was but one word on the lips of the hardcore at Shrewsbury Folk Festival's Dance Tent, as it began this year, and that was ...

COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS and LUCY GRUBB – live at Norwich Arts Centre

Lucy is centred at home with Courtney Two female singer-songwriters from opposite sides of the Atlantic proved they had more than just music in common ...

The Barr Brothers announce spring UK tour

Let It Hiss isn’t just a collection of ten vital new songs; it’s a document of transformation. The result of a pivotal shift: a pause ...

KYSON POINT – Underwater Sky (The Recording Booth TRBKPCD2501)

The watercolour cover of the debut duo album, Underwater Sky, by David and Kelly Booth (both having contributed to each other’s solo releases when she ...

Copperplate Podcast 311 presented by Alan O’Leary

folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his regular instalment of Copperplate ...

Martyn Joseph launches his new album

By Joseph - folk legend explodes into town North Norfolk gig goers are in for a rare treat when legendary singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph rides into ...

SERIOUS CHILD – What Lies Beneath (Four Left Feet)

As per the title, the fourth album by Alan Young under his musical alias digs below the surface of the everyday to find those stories ...

MICHAEL BANAHAN – Broken Heart (TC1398)

Michael Banahan, from Roscommon, is well known in Ireland as a solo singer of traditional music and a member of Rig The Jig but mostly ...

THE DREAMING SPIRES – Normal Town (Clubhouse)

The Oxfordshire quintet’s first in a decade, with The Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society as a conceptual touchstone, Normal Town takes its title from a ...

SINGLES BAR 119 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Written but never recorded by Elvis Costello, CHARLIE DORE finally sees ‘Mercury Wings’ take flight on her Still Curious EP, an arrangement that, with her ...

Robin Adams announces new album

In 2018, Robin Adams put out a collection of demo recordings as a limited edition release on Bandcamp. This was to be the blueprint for ...

MARTYN JOSEPH – Troubled Horses (Pipe Records PRCD042)

There are, in my humble opinion, a handful of songwriters who stand head and shoulders above all others in this country. One of them is ...

EVE GOODMAN & SERA – Natur (own label)

Periodically, Welsh folk music stages an incursion across Offa's Dyke into England. It's always welcome here and this seems to have been a particularly fruitful ...

Serious Child announces new album and tour

What Lies Beneath is the fourth album from Serious Child aka Alan Young. Hailing from an old wood in West Sussex, Young draws from a ...

RINCÓN & CO – Flowing Waters – a podcast review by Paul Johnson

Here's an interesting mini pod cast audio album review by Paul Johnson. Here he takes you through Guido Rincón's (Ex Shave the monkey) new album ...

Kyson Point announce their debut album

Underwater Sky is the debut album release from Kyson Point (David and Kelly Booth). The beautiful watercolour by Claudia Myatt that graces this album depicts ...

IVAN CAMPO – Zwilight Tone (own label)

For copyright reasons Zwilight Tone isn't actually called The Twilight Zone although that is actually what it is – an album inspired by the band's ...

Two old mates on tour – THE OLD PALS ACT …an audio album review podcast by Paul Johnson

Here's a delightful way to spend a bit of early autumn time in the company of Ralph Mc Tell, Dave Pegg and our very own ...

FISHING 4 COMPLIMENTS – Lost In Good Intentions (own label)

Five years on, the Huddersfield quintet fronted by songwriter Eileen Wattam return with their second album, Lost In Good Intentions, one that sees them expanding ...

MEGSON – Live On Teesside (EDJ Records EDJ057)

To mark their 20th anniversary – where does the time go? - Stu and Debs Hanna return home to record a live album. The title, ...

Official Folk Albums Chart – September 2025

On Tuesday 7th October the Official Charts Company, produced by English Folk Expo, revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in ...

HOLLY CARTER – Leave Your Mark (own label)

Hailing from Bristol, an acclaimed fingerstyle guitarist (twice winner of AMAUK Instrumentalist of the Year) and one of the UK’s few professional female pedal steel ...

Flook introduce ULD on their winter tour

ULD is the Oslo-based trio fast establishing themselves as one of Norway’s most distinctive new voices. Une Lorentze Onarheim (vocals), Lucia Andreadatter Utnem (piano), and ...

BG McDAID – Folk’ n Trouble (own label – KIN004)

Glasgow singer and songwriter BG McDaid has recently returned to Clydeside, after a period of living in Southern England, and his music career has also ...

Chris Cleverley announces winter EP and tour dates

The Indie-Folk songwriting of Chris Cleverley has been likened to Lo-fi American greats Sufjan Stevens & Elliott Smith (Scottish National Express). This December sees the ...

NIALL McNAMEE – Glass And Mirrors (Wellboy)

An Irish actor of some note, recently having starred in romantic comedy One Night In Bath, homelessness drama Love Without Walls (for which he wrote ...

Stolen From God – new tour

Renowned troubadour Reg Meuross brings his critically acclaimed project Stolen From God back to UK stages this October. Exploring England’s role in the transatlantic trade ...

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Stafell Sbâr Sain: Tŷ Gwerin (Sain Records SCD2867)

Sain is Wales' oldest record label. Founded in 1969, it specialises in Welsh language and music with a roster of artists including, at various times, ...

CULVERAKE – Unto The Sky (Hebe Music)

A new a capella traditional folk trio comprising Seb Stone, Matt Quinn and Lizzy Hardingham, taking their name from the Sussex dialect for a pigeon ...

MIKEY KENNEY – Tiny Little Light (Penny Fiddle Records PFR2502CD)

Tiny Little Light is Mikey Kenney's fourth studio album and if you've not heard him before you may be in for a big surprise. Mikey ...

KATIE SPENCER – What Love Is (Lightning Records LR-002)

Katie Spencer is a prodigious talent, a gifted singer and songwriter with a much more than capable hand on her instrument of choice, the guitar ...

SINGLES BAR 118 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Playing guitar and digeridoo, THE PELICAN BABIES are Standish-based acoustic folk-blues duo Lea Nixon and Mark Connelly, their new self-released three-track EP being Judas Goats ...

NINEBARROW – The Hour Of The Blackbird (Winding Track 9BTHOTB)

Bringing a spin to the familiar best of album, Dorset close harmony duo Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere, British folk’s answer to Simon & Garfunkel, ...

BROWN BOOTS BOOGIE BAND – Dancing Boots (own label)

I know I am not alone in loving the music for dancing, despite not having a dancing bone in my body, the sedentary shake a ...

KYLE CAREY – The Last Bough (Americelta Records ACR106)

Her music pretty much defined by the name of her record label (to which she returns after a brief sojourn on Riverboat), Vermont-based Carey calls ...

JANA VARGA – Chicory (own label)

Slovak-born and London-based, Varga’s debut full length album, Foreigner Face, was, as the title suggests, rooted in the emigrant experience. The follow-up, Chicory, while still ...

Cousins & Willoughby: The Bridge to be reissued

The Bridge from Cousins & Willoughby will be released on Friday 28th November on digipak CD and digital via Witchwood Records, distributed by RSK Entertainment. A ...

The Paper Kites announce new album

Beloved alternative folk band The Paper Kites have announced their seventh studio album, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, arriving on January 23rd via Nettwerk ...

METAGAMA ENSEMBLE – Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey (Wee Studio Records WSMETA001)

Perhaps a little history first. SS Metagama was launched in 1914 and, like many other vessels, did duty as a troop ship. In 1923 she ...

Chopper to tour in November

Former Oysterband man Ray Cooper is set to tour the UK in November. Ray won awards with the band and was nominated by Fatea in ...

HANNAH BRINE – Blue Sky Now

Hannah Brine released Blue Sky Now, her debut album, in late June. Brine moved up from London to Derbyshire a couple of years ago and, ...

DUG – Have At It! (Claddagh Records 7849344 )

The album named from a family text message involving a photo of a will during Covid, DUG comprise New York based Scottish ex-pat Lorkin O’Reilly ...

ROBB JOHNSON – The Optimist Hotel (Irregular Records IRR132)

Some years ago I made the mistake of asking Robb Johnson how many songs he'd written. There is no doubt that Robb is a prolific ...

ANNA LING – Light (own label)

Mythopoetic neo-choral alt-folk is how Devon based singer and songwriter Anna Ling describes her music. An intriguing description, and if you want to find out ...

RAGS ROSENBERG – Song Of The Bricoleur (Coyote Gulch Records)

Based in California, the weathered, husky-voiced 78-year-old Rosenberg (named Phillip, his musical soubriquet comes from WB Yeats’ “foul rag and bone shop of the heart”) ...

Megson announce live album and tour

Over their twenty year career Megson, aka Debbie & Stu Hanna, have established themselves as one of the most engaging acts on the British Folk ...

JOHN McCUTCHEON – Long Journey Home (Appalsongs AS2025)

It’s a century since an iconic fiddle contest was held in Mountain City, a small Appalachian town in Tennessee, bringing together some of the era’s ...

Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage announce new album and tour dates

Critically acclaimed UK folk duo Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage return with their 5th full length album, The Strangers’ Share, a record centred on dreams ...

FAERIE FOLK – Faerie Folk (Tree Temple Music)

Faerie Folk are a band from Portland, Oregon who play Irish and Scandinavian music. They were formed by pianist and composer Troll Hart and are ...

JOHNSON AND FINNEMORE- Find A Love That Brings You Home (Gulf Coast Records!)

Dan Finnemore is the longtime frontman with Birmingham outfit Swampmeat Family Band while Stewart Johnson is the lap steel legend who first came to notice ...

We made it – the Cropredy magic continues – our very own Paul Johnson reviews Cropredy Festival 2025

Hi all - so following my Cropredy 2025 preview that we posted here earlier this year... in which we spoke to Dave Pegg and Simon ...

SINGLES BAR 117 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Is it an EP? Is it a mini-album? Does it actually matter? We'll go with the former. So Oddy Locks is a six track EP ...

JOHN REED – A Proliferation Of Pointlessness (own label)

Originally conceived as an album bemoaning the difficulties of trying to get his music noticed, Reed expanded the scope of A Proliferation Of Pointlessness for ...

FOLKEAST, Sotterley Estate, Suffolk

Happy in its new home on the Sotterley Estate near Beccles, FolkEast 2025 proved as all-singing, all-dancing and all-everything as it has always been, just ...

WICKHAM FESTIVAL WEEKEND Thursday 31st July – 3rd August 2025 inc

After a steady drive from the Devon/Cornwall border in the Folkmobile, I arrived in Hampshire on the 28th July, A great line up over the ...

SUSY WALL – Black Lights (own label)

Funded by Arts Council England and produced by Chris Pepper, Wall’s second album is a homage to her adopted Black Country home and a celebration ...

VARIOUS – When Will They Ever Learn: A Story Of U.S. Folk Music- 1963-1969 (Cherry Red/Strawberry CR4JAMBX47)

Following on from Jingle Jangle Morning: The 1960s US Folk Rock Explosion, When Will They Ever Learn is an even more extensive 4-CD collection of ...

Amit Dattani announces second album and tour dates

Described as a ‘master musician’ (Blues Matters), Amit Dattani, a distinctive voice in the folk scene releases his much anticipated second album,Wrong Kind Of One ...

The Destroyers announce new album

To celebrate 20 years of continuous voyage through clubs and festivals in the UK and beyond, The Destroyers have captured a snapshot of their latest ...

Woody Guthrie’s final recordings released this week

Home recordings by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Songwriters Hall of Famer, International Folk Music Award Lifetime Achievement honoree, and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement ...

Mike Reid & Joe Henry announce new album

Beloved GRAMMY award-winning singer songwriters Mike Reid and Joe Henry today confirm a new collaborative album, Life & Time, set for release September 5 on ...

LIZ WALL – The Knight (own label)

Accompanied by co-producer Adam Ellis on bass, electric guitar, percussion and ukulele bass, the Ashby De La Zouch-based singer-songwriter makes her debut with The Knight, ...

SONS OF SEVILLA – Street Light Moon (Ubiquity)

I have a thing about bands I've never heard of and know little, if anything, about. It's one of the joys of reviewing and I've ...

Annie Keating – UK tour and live album

Annie Keating is playing a UK tour from late September to mid October in support of a new live album that will be available on ...

JOHN DEW – Na Caismeachdan (own label)

Sometimes music can become too specialised for its own good and that could be said of composer/piper/whistle player John Dew. His third studio album, Na ...

FAIRPORT CONVENTION: Gladys’ Leap (40th Anniversary reissue)

Talking Elephant Records / Proper Music Distribution *** Remastered + extensive booklet *** August 4th1985 saw the release of the first Fairport Convention studio album ...

The official folk album chart for July 2025

On Tuesday 5th August the Official Charts Company, produced by English Folk Expo, revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in ...

MINOR GOLD – Way To The Sun (MGM)

Music for lazing in the sun, appropriately recorded in California, joined by drummer Austin Beede with producer Dan Horne on bass and pedal steel Canadian/Australian ...

THE SWAPS – Fast Train (Stingo Records)

Based in Leamington Spa where The Swaps host a monthly blues club at Temperance, Fast Train is the trio’s debut studio album following the release ...

SARAH-JANE SUMMERS & JUHANI SILVOLA – How To Raise The Wind (Eighth Nerve 8nerve015)

More Hibernian/Scandinavian fusion from two of the finest exponents of the genre. How To Raise The Wind contains seven original compositions, atmospheric pieces, all. The ...

KINGS HEATHENS – Of Wind And Tide (own label)

Following on from last year’s debut album, Old Tall Stories, Birmingham (Kings Heath actually) duo Evan C Ritchie and David Fisher, return with Of Wind ...

SINGLES BAR 116 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Produced by and featuring Dan Whitehouse and Peter Millson with Harriet Harkum on backing vocals, Wolverhampton’s ANGELLA CORINNA releases her second EP, Nature’s End (Messenger ...

KEEPING IT LIVE: Ely Folk Festival 2025

Ely Folk Festival is, above all, great fun. I went for the second year running. For the second year running I chose it in preference ...

THE PLEASURES – Enemy Of My Enemy (Über Savvy Music/MGM)

The Pleasures are “Aussie musical playmates” Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan, supported by Brad Bergen and Damian Cafarella on drums and bass respectively. Enemy Of ...

THE KAHUNAS – Go! (own label)

In the way a fiddle tends to flag folk music to the casual observer, Exmoor based the Kahunas are a folk band in much the ...

JIM BORROWS – Carry Me Back To My Old Front Door (own label JB202401)

Jim Borrows has played piano for his own entertainment for many years but only now has he released his debut album. Having friends like James ...

Hannah Brine announces debut album and tour dates

Singer-songwriter Hannah Brine is proud to present her new album Blue Sky Now, independently released in June 2025. While rooted in modern jazz sensibilities, Blue ...

Steeleye Span celebrate anniversary with new album and tour

Together for fifty-six years now, Steeleye Span changed the face of folk music forever by taking it into the world of gold discs and international ...

WHYTE NOISE – What We Love To Do (own label)

Whyte Noise are a father and son duo, Gordon and Ciaran Whyte from Paisley and their debut album, What We Love To Do, is sort ...

IAN F. BALL – Better Late Than Never (own label)

Based in Oldham, the dusty-voiced Ball has been knocking around the folk circuit for some 50 years, not to mention taking to the main stage ...

Summer comes rolling around for Wynford Jones & Geoff Cripps

Following the successful reissue of their former band’s 1987 album, Cause For Complaint Remastered & Expanded ,Wynford Jones & Geoff Cripps are pleased to announce ...

Cecil sharp House announces its autumn program

This autumn, London’s home of folk music welcomes an eclectic programme of traditional and contemporary acts spanning the breadth of folk traditions – from English ...

THE NEW FOREST FOLK FESTIVAL – What a delightful weekend! Paul Johnson reviews the festival and interviews the stars.

Our very own master of all things audio...Paul Johnson talks to....Phil Beer - Honey and the bear - Guido Rincon - The Young'uns.....and the legend ...

DARKNESS TO LIGHT – THE RECORDINGS 2004 TO 2006 – Judy Dyble (Cherry Red Records)

Judy Dyble is something of a folk legend because of her early time in Fairport Convention. She was born in 1949 and by 1969 she ...

Grace Will Lead Me Home on tour

A collaboration between Angeline Morrison, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and Jon Bickley, released in 2024 following the 250th anniversary of ‘Amazing Grace’ and charting these of enslavement ...

GRACE STEWART-SKINNER – Auchies Spikkin’ Auchie (own label GSS001)

Speaking of trends, which I was, here is further evidence of another, most prevalent in Scotland but also by other artists living on the margins ...

JOHN WARD – Songs Like An Old Friend (own label IONCD13)

Based in East Anglia, both singer-songwriter and author, Songs Like An Old Friend is Ward’s 10th album, one which is predominantly acoustic and embraces such ...

ÀIRDAN – Cosmic (own label)

I think I’m detecting a trend here. A few years ago Scottish instrumental music was all massed pipes and thundering drums, or so it seemed ...

Sheelanagig mark 20th anniversary – new album and tour

Sheelanagig Celebrate 20 Years of Folk Sorcery with New Album - St Congar’s Walking Stick - and UK Dates (listed below) 2025 marks twenty years of ...

DROPKICK MURPHYS – For The People (Dummy Luck Records DLM005CD)

Sporting a black rose on the cover, symbolising change, renewal, rebirth, courage, confidence and power, For The People, their thirteenth studio album finds the Massachusetts ...

Copperplate podcast 307 presented by Alan O’Leary

folking.com brings you the latest podcast from that aficionado of Irish music, the one and only Mr. Alan O’Leary with his regular monthly instalment of ...

FATE THE JUGGLER – Godless Blues (own label)

Fate The Juggler first came to our attention back in 2016 and have been popping around ever since. It started for us with their EP, ...

GEORGE BOOMSMA – The Promise Of Spring ‘Live’ (Faber Alt)

The Promise Of Spring Live is a first anniversary version of George Boomsma’s critically acclaimed The Promise Of Spring acoustic album, although this latest edition ...

KEMP HARRIS – The America Chronicles (Kemp Harris Music)

Black and gay, life in America for Harris was never going to be easy. Under the current administration, it’s even more difficult. Which is pretty ...

SINGLES BAR 115 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Having self-released Part A of their two EPS, COULDN’T BE HAPPIERS - Jodi Hildebran and Jordan Crosby Lee - now combine that with Part B ...

KAI CROWE-GETTY – The Wreckage (own label)

The Wreckage, the debut solo album by the frontman of Virginia rock outfit Lord Nelson (no, me neither) is custom built for those who can’t ...

JIM CAUSLEY – The Georgic (Hrõc Music HROC10)

If you have a theme or a project to develop and if it involves the west country then Jim Causley is your man. Jim has ...

Home Service to tour in July

Long-standing folk-rock band Home Service are playing a 'Live Transmission' tour across the UK in July. Four decades after taking the English folk scene by ...

Sarah McQuaid announces summer tour

Sarah McQuaid has a busy summer planned ahead of her August-September UK tour – and new music to share As she prepares for her August-September ...

KEEPING IT LIVE: Retford Book Festival – Tom Kitching and Marit Fäit

Keeping It Live is the title of a set of occasional reviews based on, err… , live music. So why Retford Book Festival on the ...

CLEMENTINE LOVELL – Westbound (own label CLWESTBOUND2025)

Promotional material, by its nature, shouldn’t always be taken too literally. So, when I read promotional material for Clementine Lovell’s debut album, Westbound, comparing her ...

PETER & JANE – The Traveller’s Cloak (own label)

Peter & Jane are a duo from East Anglia and The Traveller’s Cloak would appear to be their third album. Using their given names gives ...

Manchester Folk Festival announces first 2026 lineup reveal featuring Seth Lakeman, Fairport Convention, The Young’uns, Angeline Morrison, Shovel Dance Collective and more

Following its biggest spring event to date, Manchester Folk Festival is thrilled to announce its highly anticipated return from Thursday 19th - Saturday 21st March ...