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).
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Back in the late 60s and early 70s, Caravan, along with Soft Machine, were the leading lights of the so-called Canterbury Scene, in effect a ... Read More
Many eagerly-anticipated tours were wrecked by the onset of that wretched pandemic, including an aborted six-week tour by Sarah McQuaid. Sarah and her long-time sound ... Read More
Raised in North Carolina and now based in Nashville, originally trained as a hospital chaplain, Wasted Love marks Fox’s fourth album which, written as his ... Read More
Reclaim is the second album from the global folk collective Mishra, it is a lovely relaxing collection original and traditional Indian influenced folk music and ... Read More
Karine Polwart and pianist Dave Milligan’s Still As Your Sleeping, in a non-literal biblical sense, is metaphorically, as pure as the Euphrates River on the ... Read More
Stonehaven, as our Scottish readers all know, is a coastal town south of Aberdeen. The Stonehaven Folk Club is one of the founders of the ... Read More
For their fourth album together, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, George Sansome and Lewis Wood have returned to their origins in that The Brickfields is a purely instrumental ... Read More
Born from a remote collaboration for Harbottle & Jonas’ highly successful (400,000 views and counting) #savingthegoodstuff video series, Songs Of Love & Death has evolved into ... Read More
Recorded just before the first lockdown, Live At The Floodgate is the first live release by top banjo player, singer and guitarist Dan Walsh. Recorded ... Read More
Released on 1st December 2021 via his own BOT Music imprint, Survival Of The Happiest is a record all about hope, positivity and camaraderie that ... Read More
Rough Enough is Frank Richard’s first album. That’s a pretty unusual statement when you discover that Richard's learnt guitar in his teenage years - taught ... Read More
Rosenblume’s self-titled album is a well-produced (with full backing band) collection of songs that glance with melodic memories at the American folk-rock sound of the ... Read More
Unleashed and on the road again, two of the UK’s best known and loved singers - Billy Mitchell (Lindisfarne, Jack the Lad, Pitmen Poets) and ... Read More
Written and recorded in her hillside home office/hallway studio while living in isolation on the rural fringes of Birmingham, Alone On A Hill (the title ... Read More
Based outside L.A., AIR COOL JENNY are multi-instrumentalist Americana duo Helen Rose and Kramer Sanguinetti, the self-released First Flight being their debut EP, The Lost ... Read More
Things are moving very slowly out there in the real world as Boris Johnson rearranges the deckchairs on the Titanic but videos are still appearing ... Read More
Performing Western classical, North Indian classical and folk music, Asha McCarthy plays a cello specially adapted for Hindustani music, Epitaph being her debut album, a ... Read More
Taking its title (and several tracks) from an anthology of folk songs from the British Isles gifted to him by his wife, the nasally-voiced, clawhammer ... Read More
The Melbourne songwriter dives deep on writing, family, and influences for his new album Sleeping Like A Maniac and underlines the value in getting comfortable ... Read More
Back in the 70s, Nottingham teenage best friends Tony Regan and Kevin Brennan formed themselves a country band. Then in their 20s, after going to ... Read More
You may remember the name Yo Zushi, a British-Japanese singer-songwriter who was a leading light of the UK freak folk scene, releasing two albums between ... Read More
Scott Murray’s There Was A Love is a lovely record of folk melodies that slow dance amid a piano-graced exquisite band that’s coloured with harp, ... Read More
“The duo behind Rosie’s Ghost, Sally Peters and Jessica Kunze, sing a cowgirl’s story straight from the heart on their new album, Bandida. The self-penned ... Read More
Songwriting duo Jacob & Drinkwater have announced their new album More Notes From The Field will be released on the 29th October through Polyphonic Life ... Read More
Vibrant trad trio Granny’s Attic are releasing their fourth studio album, The Brickfields, in October 2021. While their previous two releases - 2019’s Wheels Of ... Read More
Born out of the pandemic and due for release on October 15, The St Buryan Sessions will be the sixth solo album by award-winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter ... Read More
With Here For It All, his first album in six years, the trebly-voiced Montana songsmith delivers a solid and instantly accessible set of country songs ... Read More
Based in Manchester, despite their name this is actually a duo, Frank and Kara Filbey, although Silvereye has them accompanied by double bassist James Geluk, ... Read More
Talk About The Weather is a fascinating album, written and recorded by two singer-songwriters separated by age and distance. Serious Child, (aka Alan Young) the ... Read More
Damian Clarke isn’t known for covering other people’s music (unless it’s someone like Turlough O’Carolan) but you know what lockdown did for musicians. I should ... Read More
Melbourne based songwriter and guitarist Justin Bernasconi's latest collection of tunes, Sleeping Like A Maniac, follows 2017's Barefoot Wonderland in the exploration of Americana influences ... Read More
The Meadows’ Dreamless Days is a rare bird of an album that flutters with butterfly beauty, grace, and deep melodic magic; and with their self-penned ... Read More
It's been a while! Andy's back in lockdown and has performed his second album Kiss The Big Stone live in the studio. The performance premieres ... Read More
RB Morris’s Going Back To The Sky is the music playing at a nameless Esso gas station/Chubby Chicken Restaurant smack dab in the middle of ... Read More
Making the most of lockdown, PAUL McCLURE recorded the self-released Ardvaark mini-album, playing all the instruments except for on one track. It opens with the ... Read More
Based out of Stirling, Pale White Branches, Andrew Howie’s first album since 2010 (adding to the lengthy tally of releases under both his own name ... Read More
Rónán O’ Snodaigh and Indistinct Chatter keyboard guy, Myles O’Reilly’s new album, Tá Go Maith, proves that mysticism can dance (with joy!) in the introspective ... Read More
Twenty-five years on from his debut album, Holcombe remains one of the most distinctive voices, both literally and figuratively, in what we now called Americana ... Read More
Following on from 2019’s acclaimed Where The White Roses Grow Serious Sam Barrett, one of Yorkshire’s finest rising folk artists is back with a new 10-track ... Read More
Them Coulee Boys’ Namesake is definitive proof that (the great) Porter Wagner was sincerely correct when he sang, “It’s good to touch the green green ... Read More
I first encountered North Carolina native Germino with the release of his impressive first two RCA albums, London Moon And Barnyard Remedies and Caught In ... Read More
In a spur of the moment decision informed by another valuable lesson learned in lockdown, that isolation and a generosity of time can do much ... Read More
The Landworkers' Alliance is a union of small-scale and ecological farms drawn from all corners of the British Isles, and, like many unions, traditional song ... Read More
Opportunity comes from unlikely places. This past year it came to guitarist-singer-songwriter Brooks Williams in the shape of a ghostly, stealth-winged flyer with a heart-shaped ... Read More
In a non-pandemic year and given a sunny August weekend, Wickham would be an idyllic festival. It boasts a natural amphitheatre that any festival would ... Read More
Marekvist’s self-titled first album of “Norwegian folk music, guitar driven hard rock and ambient experimentation” certainly lives the advertisement adage for Peter Gabriel’s first album ... Read More
Mark Harrison is bluesman but that says very little about him. He’s also a fine songwriter and a player with the lightest touch with songs ... Read More
Performances Thursday 5 – Sunday 29 August Edinburgh's favourite festival hub, Assembly George Square Gardens, launches its new Outdoor Stage with a fabulous line-up of local, Scottish and ... Read More
Heisk, the joyful self-titled album from the Scottish trad group, is set for release on Friday, 20 August. The debut record, which blends traditional influences ... Read More
Singer/songwriter David Crosby has always been a magnetic character within the scope of popular music. His very first solo album, 1971's If I Could Only ... Read More
Now, here’s an interesting one. Described as an illustrated album Pain & Power is released as both a full-length album and an accompanying physical book ... Read More
Steve Ashley had a long career before his time in the spotlight came with Stroll On and its follow-up Speedy Return. In the preceding decade ... Read More
Postcard Songs is the culmination of five years of creative work and collaboration, including a successful Crowdfunder campaign. The 10 songs all use postcards as ... Read More
A Philadelphian coming together of Brian Langan from the indie scene, doom rock guitarist RJ Gilligan (Frost) and acid folk musician Nam Wayne, their debut ... Read More
In response to an uncertain, overwhelming world shrunken by pandemic isolation, The Little Unsaid grasp firmly at the straws of positivity for this, their seventh ... Read More
The Last Inklings, Leonardo MacKenzie and David Hoyland, are former members of Kadia who performed a mix traditional and original folk inspired songs with their ... Read More
OX15 was the late Maartin Allcock’s second solo album, originally released in 1999 and now reissued with a sparkling new remix. OX15 is also an ... Read More
5th September 2021 will be the 125th anniversary of the Winter Hill Trespass, a little-known event in which 10,000 working folk descended (or ascended) onto ... Read More
Dan Walsh returns to solo touring throughout the UK during late summer and autumn to promote the delayed release of a new live album, recorded ... Read More
Wax Cat is the third album from Oxfordshire band The August List who are married couple Martin and Kerraleigh Child. Having seen them live once ... Read More
It seems that the idea was to take five well-known old-timey musicians and stick them in a cabin in the Canadian wilderness in the middle ... Read More
Organisers of Underneath The Stars Festival have opted for a spacious, socially distanced, outdoor environment and lots of family fun as part of its packed ... Read More
We’re accustomed these days to guitar settings of classical music being performed on fingerpicked nylon or gut-strung instruments, probably with some clever tunings. For his ... Read More
Shrewsbury Folk Festival is one of the few major UK folk festivals that will be taking place this year following the cancellation of other leading ... Read More
It's all systems go for the Wickham Festival which will go ahead as planned from August 5-8. Organisers have confirmed that Wickham Festival will go ... Read More
Brian Pearson’s Here’s To Song is a potent (and quite magical) musical journey into the heart of British folk singing, circa every folk club of ... Read More
Based in Fordingbridge in the New Forest, BECOMING BRANCHES are a folk-country trio comprising lead vocalist Jaz, keyboardist Hannah and guitarist/drummer Rob, who also writes the songs, ... Read More
Based in London with Iraqi and Belarusian heritage, ordained as a Buddhist nun and with a strong interest in (self-)psychoanalysis, Perlin learnt cello when she ... Read More
Memoirs From The Crooked Road is brought to you by Carbobhobo, aka Neil McCartney, who some will recognise as the fiddle player in Merry Hell ... Read More
I Am Of Ireland is a collection of twenty-four poems by William Butler Yeats newly set to music by Raymond Driver and featuring more than ... Read More
Ge Vindt Wel Een Taal (‘You Will Find A Language’) is the debut album from Netherlands balfolk trio, BmB. With its emphasis on danceable tunes ... Read More
Throughout her career as a composer and self-taught experimental cellist, Kathryn Locke has been asked what kind of music she plays. Finally, she has an ... Read More
Ready to unveil their first album since 2017, “one of the best bands on the scene” (according to Seth Lakeman) have flexed their studio muscle ... Read More
Smoke Fairies celebrate ten years since the worldwide release of their critically acclaimed debut album Through Low Light And Trees by announcing the release of a special pressing ... Read More
talk about the weather is the new collaborative album from two independent British singer songwriters who have come together across generations and musical backgrounds. Serious ... Read More
Gabriele Muscolino’s self-titled album is a warm acoustic recording from Italian singer-songwriter, who while singing in his native language, which, given a belief in Jungian ... Read More
Somerset-based singer/songwriter Reg Meuross has been awarded an Incubator Bursary from Halsway Manor to support the development of a new project telling the story of the South West’s shameful links to the slave ... Read More
Runrig fans and music lovers can look forward to a unique insight into rock and folk history when the much-anticipated documentary There Must Be A ... Read More
Acclaimed Scottish fiddler, composer and producer Aidan O’Rourke (Lau) releases his debut soundtrack album Iorram via Reveal Records on 6th August 2021. Iorram, meaning Boat ... Read More
A trio comprising singer Alex Ross, fellow multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Bidgood and bass player Ian Paterson, their name is taken from the Danish word for sea ... Read More
With the future still clouded in uncertainty - despite optimism a few weeks ago - more and more artists are getting their music out there ... Read More
As well as being the living definition of a consummate live performer (with sold out signs a regular occurrence), with songs that variously offer sharp ... Read More
Fairport Convention today announced that their annual music festival, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, has been postponed for the second time.The three-day event had been scheduled to ... Read More
A high-voiced 25-year-old singer-songwriter from Glasgow, McGovern cites Springsteen, Dylan and Paul Simon among his influences, the latter clearly to be heard on the infectious ... Read More
Put simply: Hourglass is yet another brilliant and quietly assertive Murray McLauchlan album. That’s saying a lot, what with countless records, a track record that ... Read More
Duncan Lyall has been accustomed to making his living playing bass but his talents reach much further than that (no offence to bass players intended) ... Read More
Skye Live is taking things online this year with four exclusive performance pieces filmed at some of the island's most iconic locations. The annual festival, ... Read More
Summer 2021 will see the release of The Fruitful Fells, the eagerly awaited new studio album from Jez Hellard & The Djukella Orchestra. The process ... Read More
IMDL’s annual raffle raises funds towards staging their Festival of traditional Irish music, song and dance, 'Return to London Town', the 23rd edition of which is to be held from ... Read More
Making her recording debut back in 2018 with her well-received Wolf EP, Birmingham-based Priddy has wisely taken her time in working up to a full ... Read More
Despite the government’s announcement of continuing restrictions and social distancing measures until July 19th, The Breath are delighted to announce their July shows will go ... Read More
Foolhardy, fun-loving folk musician and longstanding festival fixture, Beans On Toast, is pleased to announce the arrival of his second book: Foolhardy Folk Tales. Released ... Read More
I don’t think that Andy Irvine needs any introduction - Lillebjørn Nilsen probably does. He’s a Norwegian singer, multi-instrumentalist and song-writer and the much travelled ... Read More
In this video, glass artist and musician Alison Kinnaird explores the link between art & music which have intertwined throughout her life and introduces new ... Read More
Milestone is the new album from composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Duncan Lyall. A busy performer on the folk scene as bassist with Kate Rusby and Treacherous Orchestra, Lyall’s ... Read More
An emerging star on the folk scene from the Armagh-Monaghan border, Larkin delivers an assured and hugely impressive debut, Notes For A Maiden Warrior, handling ... Read More
Australian singer-songwriter Tom West’s I’m Livin’ is an album of dark sonic colours that hover over very acoustic melodies. These tunes burn from a smokey ... Read More
Acclaimed UK roots artist and songwriter Mark Harrison and band release new album The Road To Liberty On the street of a thousand souls There ... Read More
Jinnwoo returns with new album dreamcreatures. released 3rd September. It has been described by Brit and Mercury winning producer Charlie Andrew, who signed him to ... Read More
Acclaimed London / Aarhus alt-pop-folk band The Little Unsaid return with their new album for Reveal Records Lick The Future's Lips on July 9th. The ... Read More
You might not be familiar with the work of Louis L’Amour, an American writer whose work centred around Western novels or ‘frontier stories’, but Jonathan ... Read More
Karen Tweed is set to premiere her new commissioned piece of music 'Visitors' about Orkney over two nights at a beauty spot on the island ... Read More
I’ve never read the poetry of Emily Dickinson, although she is somewhat revered now. During her lifetime she was regarded as an eccentric – what ... Read More
Taking their name from the mythology of King Arthur and the Round Table saga, the tale in question one of death and rebirth, this emerging ... Read More
Hailing from Faversham in Kent, Green Diesel first emerged back in 2009, taking their inspiration from the depths of English folk lore and legend, and ... Read More
Treacle & Bread is a blessed glance at the magic of Rod Stradling’s musical transfusion into the very blood pulse of British folk music. This ... Read More
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 ... Read More
There was an idea, long ago, in classical Roman religion, that every part of the world had its own little god, its own spirit. It was the ‘spirit of place’ ... Read More
Where Shall We Begin is an intense and lovely (almost Baroque ornamented) very modern folk album. Quite frankly, it could well be the soundtrack to ... Read More
Celebrated Malian singer/guitarist/songwriter/actress Fatoumata Diawara has announced details of her new video ‘Ambè’. Composed during the first lockdown, Fatoumata enlisted revered female musicians Angelique Kidjo, ... Read More
These days, most band ‘reunions’ take place because of the huge financial rewards available and occasionally, record company pressure. In the case of Matthews Southern Comfort, neither ... Read More
Lakeland singer-songwriter Mike Turnbull is no stranger to these pages. Tracing his ancestry back to the reivers – or perhaps their victims – Mike has ... Read More
A trio from Ulster comprising multi-instrumentalist Michael Mormecha, guitarist and singer Zach Trouton and Dónal Kearney, a folk singer brought up in the Irish language ... Read More
Norfolk singer-songwriter LUCY GRUBB self-releases her third EP, Waste My Time, a four track set of folksy Americana circling around themes of relationships and getting ... Read More
With so many artists taking to live streaming - and very successfully, too - there have been relatively few one-off videos coming our way. With ... Read More
Altfolk songwriter and guitarist Chris Cleverley announces new release for Summer 2021. Chris will be releasing a series of stripped back recordings entitled Live From ... Read More
If there is such a genre as dark country then Paul Handyside must be its master. His fourth solo album, Loveless Town, is deeply embedded ... Read More
Bluegrass Pride, a California-based non-profit with a mission to uplift LGBTQ+ folks in roots music, is proud to announce the first weekend of their month-long ... Read More
Norfolk World Music Festival returns in 2021 aiming to create “Umoja” the Swahili and Zulu word for togetherness and unity but of course in these ... Read More
With England’s most easterly folk festival, FolkEast, on course to return this August, organisers are celebrating by staging a curtain-raiser weekend of shows in June ... Read More
HAV is singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Alex Ross, multi-instrumentalist /producer/ambient sound guru Jonathan Bidgood, and bass player Ian ‘Dodge’ Paterson. The trio met more than 20 years ago ... Read More
Shrewsbury Folk Festival has revealed its plans for a covid-safe festival including a refreshed line up to celebrate the best of British based folk artists ... Read More
Lunatraktors burst onto the national scene with their debut album followed by a fine EP. This coincided with the start of the current crisis and ... Read More
The Scottish/Scandinavian fusion movement continues apace with Scottish fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers and Finnish guitarist and composer Juhani Silvola, now based in Norway, releasing their third ... Read More
The organisers of the Gate To Southwell Festival are reporting record sales so far for this year’s event in September (2nd-5th). Following the cancellation of ... Read More
Old Sea Brigade’s Motivational Speaking is definitive proof of Robert Frost’s ‘Road Not Taken’. Sure, Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) retreated to my own native ... Read More
With the biggest easing of Covid restrictions about to go ahead, and the roadmap out of lockdown on target, England’s most easterly folk festival, FolkEast, ... Read More
STUART SMITH recorded The Sun EP Vol.2 in the world-famous Memphis studios using the time-honoured technique of one voice, one acoustic guitar, one harmonica and ... Read More
Hailing from Ontario, Cardiff has notched up sixteen solo album, live and studio recordings, but All This Time Running is his first full-length collection of ... Read More
Born in Bristol, played all over the world for the last fifteen years, Jimmy Lee has just released his debut album, Broken, and it’s good ... Read More
Traditional and contemporary sounds rub shoulders on The Smoky Smirr O Rain, the third album from renowned Norway-based Scottish/Finnish duo Sarah-Jane Summers and Juhani Silvola ... Read More
Odd: Sometimes age sings with the most youthful voice: Such is the case with Staran’s self-titled album of Scottish folk music that touches the fresh ... Read More
Devon’s Beautiful Days, which is scheduled to take place from the 20th – 22nd August 2021 in the grounds of Escot Park, has announced over ... Read More
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 ... Read More
Christina Alden and Alex Patterson are two-thirds of…well you can work that out. Recently, they have been making a name for themselves as a duo ... Read More
Alex Roberts’ Live At The Vic Inn spins gossamer folk webs that are saturated with his whiskey-stained voice. Not only that, but this live album ... Read More
For the fifth and sixth singles of her new album and video series The St Buryan Sessions, Cornwall-based singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid honours two musical giants, ... Read More
Commissioned by the British Tunnelling Society for their 50th anniversary year Tunnellers comprises four self-penned songs and one instrumental. Nancy Kerr is joined by James ... Read More
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Den Miller is pleased to announce that, after a long delay due to Covid-19, he will be releasing his new album Join ... Read More
A distinctive guitarist and songwriter of wistful depth and sophisticated melancholic design who draws on the experience of the past to build strong foundations for ... Read More
Edinburgh Tradfest opens this week with an online concert from Shetland Springs: a celebration of the Shetland fiddle tradition. Recorded at Traverse 3 and presented ... Read More
Following the release of his brand new, Paul Weller-produced album Arrivals to widespread acclaim, award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke has announced a UK tour for November 2021 ... Read More
Based in the delightfully named Poetry, Texas, after 30 years making music, Call It Even is White’s first full-length release and speaks to his ability ... Read More
Hi all.. For those of you who would wish to participate in the web-streaming of our beloved Darren's funeral on Wednesday 21st at midday - ... Read More
Unlike her 2018 debut, the London-based Dutch singer-songwriter’s second album, Cleaned The Windows, is all original material, and also two tracks longer, van Essen accompanying ... Read More
Andy's second collection of hard-to-find and unreleased songs, Rarer, will be available exclusively from our website <http://www.andywhite.com/shop/5-albums> and Andy's Bandcamp <https://andywhiteireland.bandcamp.com/>. Pre-order is open now ... Read More
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 ... Read More
Some of the most sought-after artists on the Scottish folk scene have come together to create a formidable collective. Named Staran, the group will release ... Read More
Award-winning Orcadian fiddle and mandolin player Graham Rorie has announced his debut solo album The Orcadians of Hudson Bay, which is set for release on ... Read More
Brendan Adams’ Buttons confronts the age-old “I pulled into Nazareth” (sort of) sacred confession of The Band’s ‘The Weight’, which Robbie Robertson once said, “Is ... Read More
Written entirely during the first lockdown, and naturally informed by everything connected with that as well as other notable incidents from the personal and political ... Read More
Folk-Punk Singer/Songwriter Sam Draisey is back with a new album. With eighteen new songs across two disks (one red, one blue), Sam combines previously unheard ... Read More
Recorded in Sweden in summer 2020, ‘Land Of Heroes’ is the fourth solo album from impossibly talented multi-instrumentalist Ray Cooper. Aside from supporting vocals supplied ... Read More
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