Katie Doherty formed the Navigators to explore the depth and strength that three players could bring to her award winning songs. What was unexpected in this combination was the power and dynamic which is often described as much bigger than its component parts. Katie’s...
If you're anything like me, whenever there's news of another Sandy Denny release you'll raise a quizzical eyebrow and perhaps a sigh as the possibility of over use of her archive once more looms large. Maddy Prior told me a while back, about how early Steeleye/ Hart...
It's been noted before in these pages that Scottish acts appear far more proactive and successful than any other part of Britain at the moment in marrying traditional music to modern intentions creating a truly progressive fusion with folk hues and endemic character....
Willy Vlautin's creative spirit broadly captures everyday people in America today who are trying to make the best of the hardships in their lives. Having started Richmond Fontaine as an outlet for his songs, several novels have appeared that cover similar territory....
Anaïs Mitchell has been a busy bee over the last few years. When the ball got rolling with her Hadestown project, few could imagine its transformation into a theatrical juggernaut winning a fistful of awards with productions popping up around the world. She's been...
There was a time when you could have hung the prog banner over Rosalie Cunningham's repertoire and no one could accuse you of pigeon holing and whilst the influence is still obvious on this second solo effort begun pre pandemic and completed with partner Rosco Wilson,...
Taking their cues from contemporaries like the Kinks and The Pretty Things, the BT’s were a quintessential British psych outfit whose whimsy originally got lost in the shuffle somewhere between the Beatles ‘Sgt Pepper’ and The Who’s rock opera pretentions. The flower...
Changing your mind can bring problems. Look, Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage had plans as good as set in concrete for their third album, then what happens? Yes, that pesky pandemic put the brakes on everything. Rather than let matters get to them they turned them to...
This is the stuff we’ve been missing! It’s been too long since Oysterband gave us their last recorded offering, a slight excuse for the pandemic I suppose, but as soon as the first notes issue from the speakers you know that you’re on familiar ground and expectation...
Mandy Morton & Spriguns get their day in the sun thanks to a fascinating career overview from Cherry Red. Simon Jones smiles with satisfaction and digs deep. “After the storm, we’ll rise again, leaving it all behind. After the storm we’ll rise again, all we...
Drawing from past experience for songwriting has been a regular move for many musicians including Eliza Gilkyson. After all, she has a rich resource to draw upon, especially from her father, Terry, who was such a songwriter of note. So, it was always on the cards that...
That’s as in Peter and John, as in Steeleye Span and Bellowhead respectively. They’ve struck up quite a working relationship since 2016 when some enterprising cove at FolkEast decided they’d do a decent duo set as a one off. Some one off! Since then Spiers has gone on...
Around every corner there waits a girl with a guitar and a bunch of songs which talk about love and life in meaningful, melodic way. At least that’s how I’d like to think of it, in truth all too often many of those singers disappoint or turn out to be nothing more...
Maybe you’ve never heard of her, but that doesn’t matter because you have now and you and me both have been missing out. This one-woman blues explosion has gigged around most parts of Europe spreading the gospel through her acoustic delta punk for a decade or so....
The musicians credited on the back of ‘A Dark Carnival,’ alone should indicate that Kate Green is moving in the right circles to bring her more attention. You don’t mix with the likes of Jed Grimes and Michael Doonan ( both ex Hedgehog Pie,) without having merit and...
Andy Irvine always had the tendency to ramble yet he’s cemented a reputation and career almost without parallel, consider Sweeney’s Men, Planxty, a duo with Paul Brady, Patrick Street, Usher’s Island, Mozaik, if circumstances had turned out different in late 1969 he’d...
Those ‘significant’ birthdays that we reach get marked in different ways by different people whether in celebratory mood or as just another day. Reaching 60 years old, Martyn Joseph is found in a contemplative mood on his latest release, aptly named ‘1960’ after his...
Don’t you just love a band who’re pushing the barriers and striving to create something different, especially at a time when so much seems to be a rehash or just going over the same ground. Heisk began with the worthy intention of adding some spice to the Celtic folk...
Back in 2018, a review for Spiral Earth suggested we should pay attention to Nathan Bell. The release of 'Red, White And American Blues (It Couldn't Happen Here)' doesn't change that perspective at all. It's a collection of songs that holds a mirror up to life in...
It’s been a while since I saw the name of Murray McLauchlan on a new album, his recordings don’t turn up too often on this side of the Atlantic, but when they do the results are inevitably worth hearing. In a way McLauchlan is a contemporary of Bruce Cockburn in that...
