Reinventing….refreshing…reaffirming: Steve Knightley has skilfully brought all those words into play on his new solo journey since folk roots legends Show of Hands announced their ‘indefinite break’ last year.
The band’s formidable frontman, applauded for the sheer diversity and impact of his award-winning songwriting, lost no time in stepping out last autumn with his first solo studio album in 17 years, The Winter Yards.
The widely acclaimed release (named one of the Daily Express/Daily Mirror’s Best Albums of 2024) and successful UK tour put him straight back into the spotlight and opened a new chapter of his musical career.
It’s a 30-year journey that perhaps would never have unfolded had it not been for his discovery of two of the most iconic figures in folk history – the ground-breaking, revolutionary Bob Dylan and the hugely influential Martin Carthy, one of the leading figures in the English traditional folk revival, universally seen as folk royalty.
As Steve sets off on a 23-date spring tour (March 4-April 1) he will unveil Positively Folk Street – a new 12-track album which is a personal tribute to those transatlantic troubadours – featuring six songs from Dylan and six traditional songs arranged by Carthy.
Their paths famously crossed when Carthy helped Dylan navigate the London folk scene in the 1960s – they influenced each other and became friends. Dylan learned traditional songs from Carthy, including Scarborough Fair, which inspired him to write Girl from the North Country, a track on 1963’s classic album The Freewheeling’ Bob Dylan.
Years on, Dylan’s light is in the ascendency once more with the hit film A Complete Unknown rich with plaudits, especially for Timothée Chalamet’s Oscar and BAFTA-nominated tour de force performance as the man himself.
After seeing the film, Steve says he couldn’t resist revisiting Girl from the North Country, which is the opening track on Positively Folk Street.
Says Steve:
“When I first picked up an acoustic guitar in my mid-teens, my repertoire was very limited—and then I discovered ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.’ That album was a revelation. At the time, I had no idea Dylan had drawn so deeply from our own folk traditions to shape many of his songs.
Later that same summer, I found myself at Sidmouth Folk Festival, where I saw Martin Carthy perform live for the first time. Another moment of discovery!
Carthy is name-checked on the back cover of ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ as a source of some of Dylan’s melodies, and suddenly his music which I had assumed was purely American revealed its deep British roots. These songs—woven from a tradition stretching across the Atlantic—felt both familiar and transformative. It was an inspiring time, a period when Dylan’s poetic sensibility collided with the narrative power of folk music.
This album is a tribute to those formative influences. Across these 12 songs, I revisit the worlds of Bob Dylan and Martin Carthy—two artists who shaped my musical journey and set me on a path I’m still walking.”
Positively Folk Street picks some of the richest songs from the Dylan canon and pairs them with some of the best-loved English folk songs.
Produced by Jolyon Holroyd it’s an understated, stripped-back album with Knightley’s crystal clear vocals backed variously by guitar, harmonica and cuatro.
He nails the Dylan songs effectively and captures the essence of the traditional English ballads which range from the murder ballad Bruton Town to the pacy tale of a girl outwitting her suitor by casting a spell on him – Broomfield Hill– and seafaring folk songs Just as The Tide was Flowing and the doleful Polly on the Shore, the latter described by Carthy as ‘a song about that most beautiful and precarious of emotions – resignation, with a tune to match’.
Broadside ballad Lord Franklin, otherwise known as Lady Franklin’s Lament, is delivered in arresting acapella, save for a reedy concertina and tells of Sir John Franklin’s epic search for the Northwest Passage while Seven Yellow Gypsies is the strident album closer, telling the tale of a wealthy woman who forsakes her privileged life and her goose-feather bed to run away and join the gypsies.
The lyrics are given space to shine and breathe throughout the English songs just as they are when they reveal the poetry in Dylan’s words.
Steve switches to cuatro for his treatment of Dylan’s powerful minor-key ballad Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) while his heartfelt, tender take on Forever Young is arresting – a poignant and sensitive, perfectly delivered blessing that Dylan is said to have written as a lullaby for his eldest son.
Don’t Think Twice it’s All Right was the B side of the classic Blowin’ in the Wind and recalls a broken love affair while Knightley’s approach to Positively 4th Street is a well-judged acerbic blast accentuating the harsh lyrics of Dylan’s riposte to someone who had crossed him.
The final Dylan song is Boots of Spanish Leather – told as a poignant dialogue between two lovers drifting apart – Knightley’s vocal giving it the perfect emotional charge.
Positively Folk Street is released today – a thoughtfully interwoven collection of timeless songs, married together as a tribute to two of the loftiest muses. It’s positively good.
The solo tour starts in Dorchester tonight, with many shows already sold out.
Tuesday, March 4 @ 7:30PM
Dorchester Corn Exchange, Dorchester
Wednesday, March 5 @ 7:30PM
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester
Thursday, March 6 @ 7:30PM
Rook Lane Chapel, Frome
Friday, March 7 @ 7:30PM
Under the Edge Arts, Wotton-under-edge
Saturday, March 8 @ 7:30PM
Elm Farm Music, Swannington
Sunday, March 9 @ 7:30PM
Hitchin Folk Club, Hitchin
Monday, March 10 @ 7:30PM
Nettlebed Village Club, Henley-on-Thames
Wednesday, March 12 @ 7:30PM
Ilminster Arts Centre, Ilminster
Thursday, March 13 @ 7:30PM
Katie Fitzgeralds, Stourbridge
Friday, March 14 @ 7:30PM
Lowdham Village Hall, Lowdham
Saturday, March 15 @ 7:30PM
Music at Mottram, Macclesfield
Sunday, March 16 @ 7:30PM
Temperance, Leamington Spa
Thursday, March 20 @ 7:30PM
Old Bakery Studios, Truro
Friday, March 21 @ 7:30PM
Calstock Village Hall, Calstock
Saturday, March 22 @ 7:30PM
The Barrel House, Totnes
Sunday, March 23 @ 7:30PM
Wellington Arts Centre, Wellington
Monday, March 24 @ 7:30PM
The Old Malthouse, Chidham
Wednesday, March 26 @ 7:30PM
Rooper Memorial Hall, Bournemouth
Thursday, March 27 @ 7:30PM
The Old Stables, Cricklade
Friday, March 28 @ 7:30PM
Bessels Green Baptist Church Sevenoaks
Saturday, March 29 @ 7:30PM
Grayshott Folk Club, Hindhead
Sunday, March 30 @ 7:30PM
St Peter’s Church, Coffee Shop and Restaurant, Marlborough
Monday, March 31 @ 7:30PM
Croydon Folk Club, London
Albums are available on the tour and from Elm Farm Music
