The folking.com music archive for album reviews and news

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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).


HARBOTTLE & JONAS with THE CLEAVES – Live @ The Great Hall (own label)

Well, here’s an unexpected early Christmas gift. Recorded in summer 2019 when they led the folk course at The International Summer School in Dartington, they ...

Martin Carthy – his debut album will be reissued next year

In the early 1960s, the approach Martin Carthy took to folk music was nothing short of revolutionary, albeit a relatively quiet revolution befitting his humble ...

YULATRAKTORS – Solstice Wyrd (own label)

I am developing a theory and it is this. The worse the world’s situation gets the more people look to celebrations as an anchorage, particularly ...

Martyn Joseph – new album and tour

What is it that the artist wants to say? Even the singer-songwriter who’s been trying to say the unsayable by singing it and hitching words ...

The Official Folk Album chart

On Tuesday 5 December the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...

KEEPING IT LIVE – Merry Hell in Melbourne December 2023

“I miss you like a world cup penalty” – what an image. Only one band could get away with that and make it melodic, vibrant ...

SLOW TOWN CLOCK – Crossing Tides (own label)

Slow Town Clock is the nom de plume of Jamie Leven (no relation), originally from Glasgow but now resident in northern England. Crossing Tides is ...

ALL THE BEES – All The Bees (own label ATB001CD)

For her first album since 2019’s The Deafening Sounds Of Stars with HoboPop Kirsty McGee has joined forces with Gitika Partington, a singer-songwriter, composer and ...

The Albion Christmas Band on tour again!

The Albion Christmas Band are widely regarded as the premier seasonal show, which has been touring for 23 years this year, and attracts sell-out audiences ...

ROBB JOHNSON & THE XMAS IRREGULARS – Murder At The Grange (Irregular Records IRR127)

Murder At The Grange is a show I haven’t seen, although it was premiered last Christmas and will be on the road again very soon ...

Johnny Campbell announces new album

True North is a labour of love from acclaimed singer-songwriter Johnny Campbell, who has spent his career so far exploring the songs and stories of ...

Cambridge Folk Festival tickets now on sale

One of the most celebrated events in the UK summer calendar, Cambridge Folk Festival is delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for ...

TIM READMAN & ANDY COOKE – The 12 Hits Of Christmas (Big City)

You have to laugh sometimes. Well, I did when I read the somewhat tongue in cheek notes that came with The 12 Hits Of Christmas, ...

KATE RUSBY – Light Years (Pure PRCD50)

As she turns 50, Light Years marks Rusby’s seventh Christmas album, her 22nd in total, and again features a mix of (mostly) originals and her ...

Robb Johnson – Murder At The Grange album release and live dates

The soundtrack from Robb Johnson’s festive entertainment MURDER AT THE GRANGE will be released December 1st, & available as an LP & digital download. Twelve ...

DAVID BENJAMIN BLOWER – Kindness Is Solid Stone Violence Is A Heavy Loan To Pay (own label download)

The Birmingham-based theological agitator and singer-songwriter, takes time off from his Messianic Folklore podcast to release a new album, Kindness Is Solid Stone Violence Is ...

McHALE’S PERMANENT BREW – Lessons From The Darkest Storms… (109 Records)

Where does classic blues-rock intersect with traditional folk music? That’s the question I asked myself when I first listened to Lessons From The Darkest Storms…, ...

Chris Ricketts releases new album

Internationally acclaimed 21st-century shanty singer, Chris Ricketts returns with an album of shanties and self-penned songs called Go To Sea No More. Widely loved this ...

LEWIS BARFOOT – Home (own label – LCB01CD)

Home is the second album from English-Irish singer, songwriter, and musician – as well as a former actor and NHS doctor – Lewis Barfoot. Born ...

SINGLES BAR 96 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

THE DEADLY WINTERS began work on Ever Onwards four years ago but all sorts of problems beset them. The title of the EP proved apposite ...

Nick Hart and Tom Moore release debut album

After many years of collaborating in various guises, this November will see the release of the highly anticipated first duo album from Nick Hart and ...

ELIZA CARTHY & JON BODEN – Glad Christmas Comes (Hudson HUD045)

Another seasonal collection on traditionals old and new, familiar and obscure, joined by Yorkshire’s Backstage Brass ensemble with Emily Portman and Tim van Eyken on ...

JOHN KIRKPATRICK – Joy & Jubilation (Fledg’ling FLED 3112)

This album has been available for a while but I have an aversion to reviewing Christmas records before the clocks go back. I’ve held out ...

Tim Edey announces Christmas album and tour

Released to coincide with his first Celtic Christmas UK tour, Tim Edey’s new album presents listeners with seasonal music from a range of traditions, performed ...

MARTYN JOSEPH – Live At St. David’s Hall (Pipe PRCD038)

Live At St. David’s Hall is a low key release prior to the new studio album next year, recorded in Cardiff on February 7 this ...

BILL JACKSON – 1965 (Wayside Records)

Banjo, slide guitar, songs that conjure up wide horizons or tough frontier towns: 1965 is pure Americana. Except that Bill Jackson is Australian and although ...

ABIGAIL LAPELL – Lullabies (Outside Music)

Well, here’s something a bit different. Based in Toronto, Lapell’s preceding three albums have all won her Canadian Folk Music Awards. Those were all original ...

Baskery release their fifth album

Baskery is three sisters from Stockholm, known for their energetic live shows and unique sound, created on a six-string banjo, upright bass, acoustic- and electric ...

PRIME MINISTER – 10 (digital release)

You’ll be relieved to know that Prime Minister is not Cruella Braverman’s latest project. It is, in fact, a collaboration between The Village (Phil Matthews) ...

KATIE WHITEHOUSE – Drawing Lines (Want To Know WTK007)

Based in Devon, running an award-winning music management, artist development, booking and promotion agency whose roster includes Reg Meuross, Charlie Dore and Harbottle & Jonas, ...

SMOKE FAIRIES – Carried In Sound (Year Seven Records)

Smoke Fairies’ new album, Carried In Sound, sings with a narcotic lure of velvet history and wine-sipped conversation. There’s a mythical Siren song, a psych ...

A WINTER UNION – Sooner After Solstice: A Transatlantic Folk Christmas (Sungrazing Records SGR201)

Their first album in seven years, Katriona Gilmore, Jamie Roberts, Hannah Sanders, Ben Savage and Jade Rhiannon from The Willows (of which Gilmore and Savage ...

GEORGIA SHACKLETON – Harry’s Seagull (own label)

Georgia has already made her mark with The Shackleton Trio and her debut solo album, Harry’s Seagull, continues her ongoing exploration of East Anglian songs ...

The Trials Of Cato tour UK airing new songs

Award winning band The Trials Of Cato tour UK airing new songs BBC radio 2 folk show album of the year winners The Trials Of ...

DANNY BRITT – All Over The Map (own label)

Based in Austin, Britt’s seventh album, All Over The Map, is succinctly summed up by its title, the genres contained within wandering between jazz, old ...

Jim Moray announces a unique retrospective album

Jim Moray is to release new album Beflean: An Alternative History 2002-2023 on November 24th, 2023, Recorded at iconic Abbey Road Studios, Jim is set ...

The Official Folk Album Chart – October 2023

On Tuesday 7 November the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...

SHOW OF HANDS – Roots 2 (Hands On Music HMCD52)

As the title says, Roots 2 is the sequel to their first best of collection, one that marks their final tour as a trio with ...

RÉALTA – Thing Of The Earth (own label)

Belfast band Réalta’s new album, Thing Of The Earth, touches a vinyl stylus into the aged, grooved rings of an old boldly hewn oaken stump ...

HONEY AND THE BEAR – Away Beyond The Fret (own label)

Away Beyond The Fret, the third album from Suffolk-based duo Lucy and Jon Hart, continuing the trend set on the previous releases (Aker, Roke), the ...

Moonrakers announce their final gigs of the year

Dear Friends, Exciting news!  Our music is to be used on the forthcoming second season of the BBC television series Beyond Paradise. We're dead chuffed ...

All The Bees announce their debut album

All The Bees are Kirsty McGee and Gitika Partington, two highly experienced writer-musicians who have who have created an exciting new album of gentle yet ...

THE ROSIE HOOD BAND – A Seed Of Gold (Little Red Recordings LRRCD01)

Following on from her well-received 2017 album debut, joined by Robyn Wallace on melodeon, and Nicola Beazley and Rosie Butler-Hall on fiddles, A Seed Of ...

HOLLY & THE REIVERS – Three Galleys (own label HATR2508)

Holly & The Reivers are a trio from the borderlands around Newcastle. Holly Clarke, Merle Harbron and Bertie Armstrong all enjoy solo careers but came ...

BRYONY GRIFFITH & ALICE JONES – Wesselbobs (Selwyn Music SYNMCD0010)

Getting into the seasonal mood early on, combining  fiddle, harmonium, tenor guitar and body percussion, produced by Joe Rusby the duo, generally on alternative lead ...

KATIE MACFARLANE – An Nighean Sheunta (Viewbank Records VBRCD001)

I’ve said it before but there is something mystical about Gaelic song. I don’t really care what the words mean but the sound is magical ...

TONY WINN – Blue Speck (Freefall FF016D)

Blue Speck, the eighth album by the Suffolk-based singer-songwriter takes a decided environmental course on the opening ‘All We Have’, a spoken track with Helen ...

GUDRUN WALTHER & ANDY CUTTING – Conversations (Artes Records – ARCD 6040)

Some things in life take a long time and Conversations, the debut album from Anglo-German duo Gudrun Walther and Andy Cutting, has taken 28 years ...

NINA ÅKERBLOM NIELSEN – Nobody Knows This Little Rose (Kakafon Records)

In recent years, there has been quite a swell of artists setting to music the work of celebrated poets. Among these, those of Emily Dickinson ...

Andy White – new album and tour dates

It’s great that Andy White has people to do this sort of thing for him these days. Hi everyone Ticket links for Andy's January tour ...

JEFFREY MARTIN – Thank God We Left The Garden (Fluff and Gravy Records via Loose)

Jeffrey Martin’s Thank God We Left The Garden is an acoustic guitar and voice bare bones recording (all the way from Portland, Oregon) that ventures, ...

SINGLES BAR 95 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Hypnagogia is an extraordinary new EP by HANNAH ROSE PLATT and one glance at the cover should tell you all you need to know. It’s ...

BILL BOOTH – River Town

Imagination is a glorious thing. Have you ever stopped the car or got off a train in a small town and wondered about the lives ...

Katherine Priddy announces new album and spring tour

British singer-songwriter Katherine Priddy is to release her much-anticipated second album The Pendulum Swing on February 16 2024 via Cooking Vinyl. This follows her highly ...

Marry Waterson & Adrian Crowley collaborate on Cuckoo Storm

Marry Waterson – an essential part of the fabric of folk history in England – and Adrian Crowley – one of Ireland’s most acclaimed talents ...

MICHAEL McMILLAN – Heaven Sent Ranch (own label)

Craftsmen. You know when you watch someone working – carpenter, digger driver, artist, musician et al – and you expect a certain level of skill ...

ELLIE WALKER & THE FOLLY – Sink Or Swim (own label)

Having spent several years out focusing on her career as a music therapist, the Cambridgeshire singer-songwriter finally returns, with her 3Ms band of Mike Chalmers, ...

Show Of Hands – Best of album and tour dates

Three decades on the road. 4500 gigs. 35 albums. 6 Royal Albert Hall sell-outs. 3 BBC Folk Awards. 2 Honorary Doctorates. Tours in 14 countries ...

THE FUGITIVES – No Help Coming (Fallen Tree Records FTRC1035)

Fronted by Brendan McLeod and Adrian Glynn, with Carly Frey on violin and banjo player Chris Suen, in many ways the folksy quartet are Vancouver’s ...

Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden – new single, album and tour dates

Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden join forces to release their first duo album and launch their first UK duo tour. Glad Christmas Comes is a ...

A Winter Union – new single, album and tour dates

Featuring members of Gilmore & Roberts, Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage and The Willows, it’s no surprise that A Winter Union’s Sooner After Solstice showcases ...

Tu-Kay & Ryan announce debut album

Ash Tu-kay & Rebecca Ryan (Tu-kay & Ryan) are a multi-award winning acoustic duo blurring the lines between folk, Americana and roots music. They have ...

SKINNY LISTER – Shanty Punk (Xtra Mile Recordings)

Rogue folk band Skinny Lister’s new album, Shanty Punk, could well be a “best of" compilation, as this album amps up the band’s usual joyous ...

FUNKE & THE TWO TONE BABY – Reacclimate (own label)

Guitar and harmonica melded with loops and samples, Reacclimate, the fourth studio album by Dan Turnbull, his first since before the pandemic struck, captures the ...

Honey & The Bear – new album and tour dates

Fast-rising East Anglian duo Honey & The Bear (aka Lucy and Jon Hart) are heading out on the road this November/December, showcasing their warm and ...

The Pleasures – debut album and UK tour

The Pleasures are an Americana band fronted by renowned Australian singer-songwriter Catherine Britt - mother, breast cancer survivor, multi-Golden Guitar winner, multi-ARIA nominee, fifteen-time Grand ...

Dan Brown announces his second album

Talented Glasgow-based multi-instrumentalist Dan Brown is set to release his adventurous second album Nomad on Friday 10th November, featuring a star-studded array of guest musicians ...

LEON ROSSELSON – Chronicling The Times (Fuse Records)

Leon Rosselson has been Chronicling The Times for more than sixty years now and I’d love to hear his thoughts on the current world situation ...

Max ZT and Dan Whitehouse

Max ZT and Dan Whitehouse bring a haunting blend of virtuosic hammered dulcimer and soulful spoken word to eight beautiful listening spaces on their UK ...

JACK RUTTER – This Is Something Constant (own label RUTTCD027)

Yorkshire’s Jack Rutter’s new album, This Is Something Constant (the first in four years!), is a brilliant collection of traditional songs graced with ancient grinned ...

The Mary Wallopers – new single, album and tour dates

The Mary Wallopers have released a new track from their forthcoming second album Irish Rock ’n’ Roll today. ‘The Idler’ is a timely folk song, ...

LOUIS DE BERNIÈRES – Delicate Lies (Khaki Angel Records – KARCD03)

Louis de Bernières is clearly a man of many talents. Although best known as a multi-award winning novelist, his musical reputation has also grown in ...

Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones announce Christmas album and tour dates

Following the success of their 2022 debut album A Year Too Late And A Month Too Soon which earned the pair five star reviews and ...

STEVE PLEDGER – Bob & Sue’s Carport, Ashburton, South Devon Friday (6th October 2023)

I arrived early at this very eagerly anticipated gig that Steve’s lovely friends – Bob and Sue had kindly put on at the side of ...

Rosie Hood Band – new album and tour dates

Sheffield-based musician Rosie Hood presents The Rosie Hood Band and their new album A Seed Of Gold (released 3rd November 2023). For her first album ...

BLAZIN’ FIDDLES – XXV (Blazin’ Records BFCD2023)

Blazin’ Fiddles celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary. There are several ways to do this: put together a definitive retrospective, release a monster live album or just ...

Cara Dillon announces new single, album and tour dates

Few singers are as revered as Cara Dillon. Known for her captivating live performances she seldom fails to leave audiences spellbound and has earned her ...

DUNCAN REED – The Road Part II (digital download and CD)

Duncan Reed has only just come into my radar, and I am so pleased he has.  His latest album released on October 6th 2023 – ...

Kate Rusby announces her Christmas album

Light Years, Kate Rusby’s 7th Christmas album and her 22nd in total, is released on December 1st, three days before her fiftieth birthday. Pre-order: https://PureRecords.lnk.to/LightYears ...

LUDWIG WRIGHT – Turn Of Tides (Left Lane Records TOTO-2023)

Cheerfulness, Optimism, Joviality – take your pick. Ludwig Wright is a British-German singer-songwriter who has just released Turn Of Tides, to give the album its ...

CHRIS BRAIN – Steady Away (Big Sun BSR002)

With the Leeds troubadour’s smoky wisp vocal and watery acoustic guitar, it’s pretty inevitable that the Nick Drake pastoral folk comparisons will be rolled out ...

THE BREATH – Land Of My Other (Real World Records)

The Breath’s new album, Land Of My Other, is a gorgeous folk album which captures the runic texture of “whispering grass” sharing ancient secrets under ...

Official Folk Albums Chart – September 2023

On Tuesday 3 October the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...

Return To London Town Festival 2023

IMDL are incredibly pleased to announce London’s 25th annual festival of traditional Irish music, song and dance – Return to London Town 2023! From Friday ...

STEVE JINSKI – Muscle Memory (Lucky Smile Records LKSM2CS03)

From Liverpool of Polish extraction, originally one half of Jinski with Dave Kennedy, they made their debut with ‘Eventually’ in 1989, going on to release ...

RYAN YOUNG – Just A Second (own label RYM02CD)

Ryan Young’s Just A Second is his second album and much delayed (his debut came six years ago) because of a problem in his left ...

MISCELLANY OF FOLK – Atlantic Sounds (Doon Productions)

A Canadian-Irish trio comprising Benny McCarthy on button accordion, Billy Sutton variously on fiddle, mandolin, mandola, bodhran, bass and percussion and Eddie Costello on guitar ...

Louis de Bernières announces new album

Delicate Lies is the new album from Louis de Bernières. As with his previous release Despatches, this album was engineered by David Booth at Louis’ ...

Pierre Schryer & Seán Gray announce tour dates

Whenever Canadian top gun Pierre Schryer chooses a playing partner for a project, you can bet it will be a crème de la crème pairing ...

JERRY JOSEPH – Baby You’re The Man Who Would Be King (Cosmo Sex School CSS202301)

Written during 2020 lockdown and recorded back in 2021, Joseph’s follow up to the Patterson Hood-produced The Beautiful Madness finally sees light of day, this ...

SINGLES BAR 94 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

Following on from their debut EP, Animals which featured songs about Dian Fosse, a colony of bees painted gold by a tropical forest tribe as ...

BLUENOSE B – Hoping For Purgatory (own label SMCD001/23)

The musical alias of Liverpool’s Stephen Dawson, this teams him with longtime Merry Hell friends John and Virginia Kettle as well as the band’s former ...

The London Lasses – more live dates

The London Lasses continue their series of 25th Anniversary Concerts with three UK dates in October! LL25, the 25th anniversary album from The London Lasses, ...

Elizabeth Sharkey – Why Britain Rocked

Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll and Took Over the World travels deep into Britain’s history to trace the events that led to its ...

PISKEY LED – Piskey Led (own label)

To avoid any confusion, Piskey Led are a Welsh band playing Celtic music with a predilection for Cornwall. The quartet consists of guitarist James Bower ...

BEN STUBBS – Light Of My Life (own label)

Originally from the Isle Of Wight, while he released a download only acoustic project on Bandcamp in 2014, Light Of My Life is Ben’s debut ...

GREGG HILL – Bayou St. John (Skippy Records)

Gregg Hill’s Bayou St. John, recorded in New Orleans, is music that soundtracks a vision of (to quote the great John Fogerty!) “Barefoot girls dancin’ ...

GILMORE & ROBERTS – Documenting Snapshots (GR! Records GRR009)

Five years, a pandemic and two children on from A Problem Of Our Kind, the title of their sixth album succinctly captures its reflective tone ...

GAZ BROOKFIELD – Morning Walking Club (own label)

Gaz Brookfield’s new album, Morning Walking Club, entered the folk album chart at number 1 last month which is quite an achievement. This is his ...

MARTIN SIMPSON & THOMM JUTZ – Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry (Topic TSCD614)

In the summer of 1916, Cecil Sharp and his assistant Maud Karpeles visited Madison County in the North Carolina Appalachians where they lodged at the ...

JOHN REED – Elevation (digital download)

I have had the pleasure of a preview of Elevation before its launch on 23rd October and I have been absolutely bowled over! Three singles ...

AUKA – Wild Waters (own label)

Auka are a trio of talented instrumentalists with a passion for the natural, who draw inspiration from the beauty to be found in and around ...

Stevie Jones and the Wildfires announce their third studio album

Announcing the release of Clarity In Dusk - the third studio album by East Northants alternative rock band Stevie Jones and the Wildfires featuring front ...

ALEX SEEL – All Sails To the Sun (Ballymore Records)

Contemporary singer-songwriter Alex Seel is unleashing his latest album All Sails To The Sun on September 29th, 2023, which is self-produced allowing Alex to have ...

Michael Chapman tribute album on the way

Michael Chapman (1941-2021) released his debut album Rainmaker in 1969 on Harvest. He went on to release over fifty albums and influence many with his ...

TAMSIN ELLIOTT & TAREK ELAZHARY – So Far Have We Come (Penny Fiddle Records PFR2309CD)

I love going to festivals. I suspect we all love going to festivals but there’s something particular in my case, that I really enjoy, which ...

WARD KNÚTUR TOWNES – Unanswered (Betty Beetroot Records BETTY05)

Unanswered is a votive candle folk album that burns with melodic wisdom. While Sir Paul McCartney may have found “the meaning of life” in “seven ...

TOM PAXTON & JOHN MCCUTCHEON – Together (Appleseed Songs)

Longtime friends but coming together as songwriters for the first time during lockdown, this debut collaboration (the second this month from Paxton who’s also teamed ...

ADAMS & COSTELLO – One By One (own label) 

I must begin with a confession. It took ages to rid my mind of the “Who’s on first” routine – childish I know – but ...

LAU-LAND 2023 – Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 October

Lau bring their jubilant Lau-Land festival back to Edinburgh’s Summerhall and The Queen’s Hall on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October for another open-hearted celebration ...

Gaz Brookfield’s new album hits number 1

Morning Walking Club is west country based Gaz Brookfield's 9th studio album. Written, recorded, produced and mixed by Brookfield in his own studio, and mastered by ...

VAN PLATING – Orange Blossom Child (Singular Recordings)

Hailing from Florida, for her third album Orange Blossom Child, Van Plating announces a new country genre she terms Orange Blossom Country, a coming together ...

Copperplate podcast 285 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 ...

CARLA FUCHS – Songbird (Talking Elephant TECD487)

Back in 2010, while working on the complete Sandy Denny box set, Phil Lloyd Smee came across notebooks with lyrics for uncompleted songs. Several of ...

The Unthanks re-release three landmark albums

Did you know that 2008 Mercury Music Prize nominated The Bairns was the only British folk album to make The Guardian and Uncut’s Albums Of ...

LUCIA COMNES – Have We Met Before? (Delfina Records DR393-LC20)

Following on from her collaborative album with John Palmer as Open Road, Comnes reverts to solo mode for Have We Met Before?, a countrified collection ...

ANDY SMITH – An English Village (digital download)

Andy Smith is one third of that wonderful trio Harp And A Monkey whose metier is the songs of the Northern working classes and of ...

Official Folk Album Chart – August 2023

On Tuesday 5 September the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...

GABRIEL MORENO – Wound In The Night (Poetry Mondays 005)

A Gibraltarian ex-pat now based in London (in 2022 he was awarded the title Cultural Ambassador of Gibraltar), Moreno is a published poet, with 12 ...

LAURA MULCAHY – Sub Nubibus Margarita (own label)

Releasing her debut album back in 2017, and earning a Mercury Music Prize nomination, a multidisciplinary artist, musician and writer from County Clare, Mulcahy is ...

THE GENTLE GOOD – Galargan (Bubblewrap Collective BWR71CD)

Gareth Bonello, in his professional identity as The Gentle Good, has achieved something I’d thought impossible. He has garnered a 5* album review from The ...

SISKIN GREEN – Siskin Green (Limpet Records LIMPET003)

Taking their name from a pastel shade of colour (and not to be confused with the Dutch/Icelandic jazz-folk duo of the same name), Jane Bentley ...

MÁIRE NI CHATHASAIGH – The New Strung Harp (Old Bridge Music OBMCD25)

When this reissue first came to my attention I was convinced that I had a copy of the 1985 original. Alas, that was just wishful ...

Beans On Toast announces hard-hitting new album

The latest Beans On Toast album hits hard and hits home. The cult folk artist takes centre stage, delivering unfiltered takes on the environment's dire ...

THE LANDLUBBERS: Mytholmroyd Music Festival, West Yorkshire, 27th August 2023

Halifax in West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley may be around 70 miles inland from the sea, but it’s home to a solid shanty fanbase. Among several ...

BETH WIMMER – Nature (own label)

Based in Switzerland but raised in Boston, Nature, the mini-album follow-up to last year’s Chemical Reaction, is the first to feature her partner, go-to sideman ...

The Gentle Good talks about his forthcoming album

Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good) talks about his upcoming album in which he reworks some old Welsh ballads. The record begins at the beginning, with ...

JOHN NAPIER – More White Elephants (own label)

Though embracing an array of different musical genres, the Birmingham singer-songwriter is generally associated with folksy acoustic. However, while that may be the bedrock here, ...

MAX ZT & DAN WHITEHOUSE – Ten Steps (Want To Know WTK006)

Ten Steps is a seven track album playing at 45 rpm. That is enough of numbers but, although it will be available in digital format, ...

NINEBARROW – The Colour Of Night (Winding Track 9BTCON)

Again featuring Lee MacKenzie on cello, double bassist John Parker and both producer Mark Tucker and Evan Carson on percussion, close harmony duo Jon Whitley ...

JOHN ALEXANDER – Face The Wind (own label)

John Alexander is a Scottish songwriter and guitarist. He releases his new album, Face The Wind, on September 15th. At the Edinburgh Festival, he has ...

BEAU – Deep In The Dark: Unreleased Rarities 1971-1991 (Cherry Red BEAUDITTD1)

Released in 2009, Edge Of The Dark was a collection of recordings made between 1972 and 1995 when he’d essentially publically retired from the music ...

CALUM STEWART – True North (own label EMCD03)

Calum Stewart has come to our attention once or twice before but this is the first time one of his solo albums has landed on ...

Skinny Lister – new album, single and tour dates

Skinny Lister are excited to confirm details of their sixth studio LP titled Shanty Punk, for release on 20 October via Xtra Mile Recordings. The album ...

PETE ATKIN – The Luck Of the Draw (HILL01)

As those of a certain age and a certain musical temperament will know, back in the 70s Atkin released six albums featuring his collaboration with ...

DAPHNE’S FLIGHT – Love Is The Weapon Of Choice (Fat Cat Records FATCD048)

So familiar individually are the names of Chris While, Julie Matthews, Helen Watson, and Melanie Harrold that it comes as something of a surprise to ...

Georgia Shackleton announces her debut solo album

Georgia Shackleton’s debut solo album is a celebration of East Anglian traditional singers, and the music and musicians that inspire her own work. ’Harry’s Seagull’ ...

SINGLES BAR 93 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

GAVIN MARWICK releases the third of his Quarterdays series, Lammas, this time in the company of his partner, nyckelharpa player RUTH MORRIS. The nyckelharpa, for ...

The Routes Quartet release their second album

The Routes Quartet have announced their new album Arche is out now, featuring their signature edge and unique mix of classical and folk music. The ...

Sarah McQuaid announces three-month international tour

Singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid will be kicking off a 3-month, 59-show autumn USA and UK tour with high-profile hometown shows in both West Cornwall, England, where ...

Van Plating announces her third album

Van Plating, the captivating and genre-defying artist, unveils her third album, Orange Blossom Child, on September 15th, 2023. With an unwavering determination to capture the essence ...

BERNADETTE MORRIS – To The Well For Water (own label – EAN 5056628082442)

To The Well For Water is the second album from Irish singer-songwriter Bernadette Morris and comes some ten years after her debut All The Ways ...

The Magical Cropredy Festival 2023

It All Comes Round Again....... Well another year passes as our biggest coverage of Fairport’s Cropredy Convention this year continues. Our new Pre Cropredy audio ...

EDD DONOVAN – Anchovy (own label EDD004)

Anchovy is the fourth album from Edd Donovan, a singer-songwriter labelled ‘the singing social worker’ by The Guardian because of his day job. Edd has ...

THE PAPER KITES – At The Roundhouse (Nettwerk Records)

The Paper Kites’ At The Roundhouse is country folk-rock album that burns a sad neon light into any damp and foggy late Sunday night reverie ...

John Alexander’s new album is on the way

Scottish songwriter and guitarist John Alexander brings together the latest instalment of dustbowl blues with the release of his new album Face The Wind. This ...

RAB NOAKES & BROOKS WILLIAMS – Should We Tell Him (Red Guitar Blue Music RGBM-2301)

Brooks Williams seems to have the happy knack of meeting people and, being a nice bloke, befriending them and then convincing them to record with ...

Billy Bragg steps into the breach

With just over two weeks to go, Birmingham's Moseley Folk and Arts Festival (Friday 1 to Sunday 3 September 2023) have announced the addition of Billy ...

Gilmore & Roberts – new album and tour dates

Documenting Snapshots is the sixth album from acoustic roots duo Gilmore & Roberts, and their first since 2018’s A Problem Of Our Kind. “So much ...

MORNING TOURIST – The Endless Eve (Blaggers Records)

Morning Tourist’s The Endless Eve is an ever-churning alt-folk album (with incredibly persistent percussion!) that zigs and zags in oddly melodic curves, nice acoustic guitar ...

KEEPING IT LIVE – A Day of Lincolnshire Folk

In December 2016, I wrote my first review for folking.com, the Doghouse Roses album Lost Is Not Losing, an album I still play (thanks Editor) ...

Gibraltarian singer-songwriter-poet Gabriel Moreno announces his fifth album

Wound In The Night is the fifth studio album from Gabriel Moreno. It is the work of a troubadour who favours protest songs and acute ...

THE 19TH STREET BAND – Near Perfect (own label)

Named for the street in Arlington where Caolaidhe and Meghan Davis lived, The 19th Street Band play an amalgam of Irish and American folk-rock. Near ...

DANIEL RODRIGUEZ – Vast Nothing (CD Baby)

Daniel Rodriguez is a Colorado singer-songwriter, who released Vast Nothing, his second solo full-length album, on July 1st in the UK. It’s a thing of ...

GARETH WILLIAMS – Songs From The Last Page (own label GWC01CD)

Gareth Williams could have called this album Music From Big Pink but it’s been done before although the pink house on the cover gets a ...

Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening – new album and tour dates

Award-winning Northumbrian roots musician Kathryn Tickell is to release her second album with The Darkening, cloud horizons on September 1 via Resilient Records. The new ...

THE JOHN RICHARDS BAND – Hard Times And Heroes (JRB JRB0723)

When John Richards released his most recent solo CD, he expected it to be his last album. When I reviewed that album for this site, ...

PEATBOG FAERIES – I See A World (Peatbog Records CDBOG009)

We know the Peatbog Faeries. From Skye with a sound as big as the Cuillin itself and the ability to generate great excitement on stage ...

JOSHUA BURNELL – Glass Knight (own label MNR23A)

Born in France and raised in Scotland, Burnell is an unpredictable quantity when it comes to his idiosyncratic approach to folk. So it’s hard to ...

Moseley Folk and Arts Festival announce line-up details

With Birmingham’s Moseley Folk and Arts Festival 2023 just a few weeks away, the line-up for the woods area of the festival has now been ...

The Official Charts Company announce the Folk Albums chart for July 2023

On Tuesday 1 August the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...

DOT ALLISON – Consciousology (Secret Cathedral)

Dot Allison’s Consciousology is a wispy voiced Scottish singer-songwriter album filled with obtuse and quite beautiful melodies and music that’s doused in madcap electronics and ...

BETH BOMBARA – It All Goes Up (Black Mesa BMR 74)

“There’s a lot of it about.” This was the reply I got some years ago when I asked a friend their views on Americana.  The ...

Andy Smith announces debut solo album

Multi-instrumentalist Andy Smith, best known for his work with award winning modern folk trio Harp & A Monkey, is releasing a debut solo album An ...

SINGLES BAR 92 – A round-up of recent EPs and singles

From Northern Ireland but based in Oxford, Iranian-Irish DANIEL MA'ANI has an Immigrant Mentality, or at least that’s the title track of his new ‘sense ...

Annie Keating – new album and tour dates

Annie Keating- released her new album Hard Frost in early June ahead of her UK tour in the Autumn. The album has already been described ...

ELIZA CARTHY TRIO – Conversations We’ve Had Before (Hem Hem)

Available only as a Bandcamp download, dedicated to Paul Sartin and featuring long-time collaborator Saul Rose on accordion and reuniting with David Delarre on acoustic ...

Rab Noakes and Brooks Williams sing Don Everly

The plan to record Should We Tell Him was hatched long before Rab Noakes and Brooks Williams actually got into the studio. Five years, to ...

JONO WRIGHT – Special Measures (own label digital release)

Jono Wright has another life which I don’t propose to talk about although the title of his debut album may give you a clue. Special ...

Alex Seel announces new solo album

Alex Seel is excited to announce of his forthcoming album All Sails To The Sun (Release 29th September). The album is a dynamic mix ranging ...

BELLA GAFFNEY – Reflections (own label BGCD01)

Bella Gaffney has risen almost imperceptibly but purposefully through the ranks of British folk music. Playing guitar, banjo and double bass she appears solo, as ...

NORMAN PATERSON – Torn (own label NP2023CD)

Making his recording debut at 65, Stornoway-born Paterson reflects on life well-lived and characters met along the way with the traditional folk-informed collection of self-penned ...

Tamsin Elliott and Tarek Elazhar announce debut album

So Far We Have Come is the debut duo album from Tamsin Elliott (UK) and Tarek Elazhary (Egypt), two artists who have recognised in each ...

SEAN TAYLOR – Short Stories (STCD118)

Sean Taylor has been making music for 20 years now, and with his latest release, Short Stories, shows that he's at the top of his ...

ANNIE BARTHOLOMEW – Sisters Of White Chapel (Klondike Gold Rush Songs)

The concept was intriguing enough but then I heard the single, ‘White Chapel Woman’, and I was hooked. Annie Bartholomew is from Juneau, Alaska, plays ...

Bruce Cockburn announces UK dates

Revered Canadian singer-songwriter and activist Bruce Cockburn has announced UK live shows for 2023, with dates in Oxford and London. Heading to Oxford’s O2 Academy on 24 August and London’s O2 Shepherd’s ...

Day-splits confirmed as Cambridge looks forward to a sizzling folk festival weekend

Tickets selling fast. Book now at: https://www.cambridgelive.org.uk/folk-festival/tickets THURSDAY 27 JULY  STAGE 2 Ibibio Sound Machine - Symbio – Flyte – Gnoss  STAGE 3 Jesca Hoop ...

JIM CAUSLEY – Songs Of Dartmoor (Hrōc Music HROC08)

Songs Of Dartmoor is Jim Causley’s fourth album of Devon songs, all packaged in matching sleeves designed by Karen Cater. Having previously ranged across Devon, ...

Blas Festival returns in September

Gaelic culture and music to be celebrated in September across the Highlands & Islands at Blas Festival The Highland 9-day festival returns in September Some ...

SARAH DEERE-JONES – A Little Piece Of Eden (own label FPCD016)

Born in Dorset and now based in Cornwall, Deere-Jones is a pure-voiced, classically trained harpist, a lecturer on the medieval harp in England, Royal Academy ...

JON PALMER ACOUSTIC BAND – Vacca Wall (Splid Records SPLID CD31)

Jon Palmer must lead the most electrifying acoustic band in the country – we must stage a battle of the bands between them and M***y ...

Jacob Furr – Fort Worth songwriter announces new album

Jacob Furr is a folk songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas, and is an intersection of Wilco-esque folk-rock and a seeker’s honest heart. He is one ...

Paul Johnson talks to Joshua Burnell for our pre-Cropredy interviews

Paul Johnson talks to Joshua Burnell for our pre Cropredy interviews. Here our very own Paul Johnson chats to Joshua Burnell about how pleased and ...

Old Crow Medicine Show announce new album and UK dates

Old Crow Medicine Show will release their new album Jubilee on 25th August via ATO Records. Arriving as the two-time GRAMMY award-winning band gears up ...

LUCIO BARBARINO –The Blue Evenings (own label)

Singer-songwriter Lucio Barbarino’s album, The Blue Evenings, touches every conceivable folk music port of call (from his native Cape Cod, Massachusetts) yet manages to avoid ...

MELTWATER GHOSTS – Stargazing (digital stream)

Stargazing is the debut release from cosmic folk, americana and country group Meltwater Ghosts.  With songs written in shepherds’ huts and on black mountain sides, ...

Sean Taylor announces new album

Over the past two decades, London troubadour Sean Taylor has established himself as a world class songwriter and performer. He was nominated for the 2023 ...

ERIN K – Sink To Swim (own label UPIGO01 CD)

I didn’t know anything about Erin K but a description of her third album, Sink To Swim, intrigued me. And I was right to be ...

Andy White to play one-off London gig

After a successful January UK and Irish tour to launch his latest album This Garden Is Only Temporary, itinerant Belfast songwriter Andy White plays a one-off ...

Max ZT & Dan Whitehouse announce debut duo album

New York's celebrated Max ZT (House of Waters), and Tokyo/Black Country’s lauded Dan Whitehouse combine their inventive energy to present their debut album Ten Steps. ZT, the hammered dulcimer player (compared to Hendrix) and ...

IAN BRUCE – Together Forever (Ruglen Record Company LUMSCD0117)

Anyone with even a passing interest in the Scottish folk scene will be aware of Bruce who, since he first dedicated his life to making ...

ÁED – Leaf (own label)

The route to an album review often begins with an email, usually extolling the virtues of a record that’s the greatest thing since sourdough. The ...

Pre-Cropredy Interviews

Listen to the great interview by our very own Paul Johnson with Wilson & Wakeman. We can't wait to see them this year with their ...

GWENAN GIBBARD – Hen Ganeuon Newydd (Sain SCD2850)

Hen Ganeuon Newydd, subtitled The Folk-Songs Of Llŷn And Eifionydd for the non-Welsh speakers, is a collection of songs from the late 19th and early ...

SETH LAKEMAN – The Somerset Sessions (Honour Oak Records HNR10)

Originally released as a limited edition for Record Store day and now given a wider distribution on CD and vinyl, The Somerset Sessions was recorded ...

The Official Folk Album Chart

On Tuesday 4 July the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released ...

Charlie Dore announces new tour dates

Venerated singer-songwriter Charlie Dore has announced her biggest UK tour for over four years, with a storm of dates to wrap up her three Short ...

Rachel Sermanni announces her new album

Hailing from the Scottish highlands, Rachel Sermanni is an enchanting singer-songwriter, whose performance and lyrics draw from a deep well of mysticism, dreams, nature and ...

Mavis Staples plays two nights at the Union Chapel

Mavis Staples returns to the UK next week for two shows at London's Union Chapel on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th July. Mavis, who released Carry Me Home ...

CARRIE MARTIN – Evergreen (Psychotron Records)

Hull singer-songwriter Carrie Martin’s Evergreen rekindles the folk-rock-progressive vibe of the late 70’s, just before punk rock with its spit, safety pins, pogo dancing, and ...