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Estren – Teyr.
What do you do when you find yourself in a rural Finnish cabin surrounded by lakes, trees, bags of fresh air and not a lot else? You could always have a sauna followed by a bracing dip in the lake. No doubt Teyr did, for that was the situation back in 2018 which led to initial attempts at recording tracks for this album. Previously the trio had...
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Outstanding – Timba MM.
Why just the other day I was having a chat with a fellow writer who asked what had been happening in Cuban roots music lately. The Buena Vista Social Club was after all a long time ago. Then what drops through the letterbox but this offering from Canada. Yes, from...
Watchhouse – Watchhouse
Watchhouse is the new name adopted by the act formerly known as Mandolin Orange. There's been something of a spate of acts changing their name because of a concern for unintended political messages in their original name. The Dixie Chicks becoming The Chicks, for...
LA – Katheryn Locke with Chodompa Music
Kathryn Locke describes herself as a “composer and wayward cellist.” How she evolved to fit this description is a story in itself. She is a self-taught musician who allows her style and techniques to be informed by what she observes of the way other musicians move...
NEWS
Paddy Maloney/Robin Morton
The death of two giants of traditional music means that the folk world loses a pair of tireless individuals who gave their time to restore and take the music they loved out from the clubs to a wider audience. Spiral Earth notes their passing. Paddy Maloney was the Irish piper and whistle player who fronted the Chieftans through their decades...
Seth Lakeman Announces New Studio Album ‘Make Your Mark’
Emerging from lockdown, Seth Lakeman explodes back on the music scene with stunning new studio album ‘Make Your Mark’ set for CD and digital release on November 19th, followed by a double vinyl format on December 17th. Written during his enforced 18 months off the...
Jacob & Drinkwater join with Emily Barker for new Single
Songwriting duo Jacob & Drinkwater have shared ‘To Call You Friend’ the second single from their new album ‘More Notes From The Field’, released on the 29th October through Polyphonic Life Records.Made up of singer- songwriter Tobias ben Jacob, known for his work...
Usher’s Island Announce UK Dates
Usher’s Island brings together two generations of the finest and most influential Irish traditional musicians, stretching back to the acclaimed 1970’s era of Planxty, through Andy Irvine and Dónal Lunny, and the Bothy Band, through fiddler Paddy Glackin. They follow...
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Steeleye Span’s Rescheduled 2020 Tour
1970 would prove to be a vintage year for music and the start of an era that would change the world. For Steeleye Span – formed the year before - it would mark a major milestone. The band released their debut album Hark The Village Wait, a record that would not only...
Celtic Connections Returns For 2022
Celtic Connections, the UK’s premiere celebration of roots music, will return in full force for 2022 with an exciting and eclectic programme of events taking place in Glasgow from Thursday 20 January to Sunday 6 February 2022. Breathing life and soul into much-loved...
Official Folk Albums Chart SEPTEMBER 2021
Today, the Official Charts Company in partnership with English Folk Expo reveal the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the September reporting period. The chart is first announced to the public at 7pm BST on Tuesday 5 October as part of...
FEATURES
Family Credit.
Occasionally an album comes along which makes more of an impact than was realised at the time of release, somehow it’s more than the sum of its parts. Simply re-releasing it is not enough and it has to be reassessed because with hindsight its true importance is realised. Such a record is ‘The Family Album,’ it was atypical of its composer and it...
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The Show Will Go On.
As the folk world slowly opens to a musical landscape constantly shifting and coming to terms with the limitations of a continuing pandemic, amidst festival cancellations galore, Simon Jones ventures to one of the few, brave survivors, Shrewsbury. “The weather’s been...
Greg Hancock – His Sure Fingers
Comparisons with Al Stewart, John Martyn and a whole host of other acoustic troubadours along with a rave review for his latest recording, something's brewing in the far corners of Devon. Phil Thomas was dispatched to locate and question Greg Hancock. I recently had...
Earworms For The Thinking Generation
With current circumstances you’d think that we’d be awash with decent social commentary and bands who’d want us all to think before we act. Merry Hell do great work but they could do with a hand. Enter Headsticks with C.O.W. the first album of 2021 to delve deeper in...
From Wandering Troubador to Scottish Laird
Born in Massechusetts in 1945, Marc Ellington lived an unusual life; to say he was a colourful character would not be an exaggeration. The early 1960s saw him as a fully paid up member of the American folk boom, singing with The Highwaymen in Oregon. By the middle of...
FESTIVALS
Celtic Connections Returns For 2022
Celtic Connections, the UK’s premiere celebration of roots music, will return in full force for 2022 with an exciting and eclectic programme of events taking place in Glasgow from Thursday 20 January to Sunday 6 February 2022. Breathing life and soul into much-loved venues across the city, the 18-day programme of events spanning traditional folk,...
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Summer of Glamping Festivals Comes to a Spectacular Close in Cannich
A fun-filled summer of glamping festivals in Cannich came to a close in spectacular style this weekend as headliners Mànran and Scooty and the Skyhooks brought the curtain down on the series of ground-breaking events. Capers in Cannich made history earlier this year...
Triumphant Return for Reimagined FolkEast 2021
Back on track after a two-year wait, England’s most easterly folk festival, FOLKEAST, pulled off a spectacular and emotional reunion last weekend (August 20-22). The delayed ninth FolkEast returned to Suffolk’s glorious Constable-esque grounds of Elizabethan Glemham...
Merry Hell and Lady Nade to join the FolkEast Party!
LAST CHANCE FOR WEEKEND & DAY TICKETS -Free admission for children aged 11 and under- Hugely popular North-West folk rockers Merry Hell have been announced as Sunday headliners at England’s most easterly folk festival, FOLKEAST (August 20-22). The 8-piece...
Full Programme for Piping Live! Unveiled
The full suite of programmed activity for Glasgow’s Piping Live! festival has been unveiled, with a number of exciting in-person shows confirmed to go ahead as part of the nine-day event. The world’s biggest piping festival will take a hybrid approach for 2021,...
An Audience with Dawn French at Underneath the Stars
Underneath the Stars festival is delighted to reveal actor, author and comedian, Dawn French, will be taking part in the family-friendly music and arts festival at Cinderhill Farm, Barnsley (30 July – 1st August). Filling the popular afternoon slot previously held by...
Chris Wood Headlines the first Brighton and Hove Folk Festival
Six time BBC Folk Award winner Chris Wood has been announced as the headliner for Brighton and Hove’s first folk festival. Established local promoters Folkroom have announced their full line-up for the festival, which takes place at The Brunswick in Hove on September...
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