Steamchicken @ The Bury Met – 11 Mar – Album Launch
Steamchicken is a universally fun and energetic band boasting shamelessly soulful vocals and a catchy, booming brass-line. Chocks away! Somewhere between a smoky jazz outfit and a blues brass extravaganza, “Steamchicken” are a group who set out to entertain, and do so in spades. Much like the wise, old traveller from a Western or the […]
Harp and a Monkey @ Village Folk – 25th February
Once again I was released from the steel gates of Sheffield and able to descend the long-winding roads to Derbyshire. There I went to see the latest artist “Harp and a Monkey” to perform for a throng of rapt Derbyshire people at the “Village Folk” session in the The Lawns Hotel, Chellaston. Continuing to draw crowds […]
EP Megapost #1- Nottingham, Signals, Velvet&Stone, Lazibyrd, Thompson, Honey&TheBear 2017
Hi all, I have had a large number of EPs sent in my direction and have not yet had the pleasure to talk about what I have really enjoyed this fine year, so here we are. As usual with my EP reviews, time and space takes a backseat to my appreciation of what comes through; so […]
Kate Dimbleby- Songbirds
Dimbleby successfully reflects a range of feelings and emotions in a decent and also unconventional album that has captured her mind’s eye. Introduction Armed without folk instruments as such but with the creative sense of the oldest instrument there is, the voice, Kate Dimbleby explores a musical sound that is more akin to a hawk flying through […]
Daria Kulesh “Long Lost Home” – An Album Review
An album of resistance to oppression in armed and peaceful forms. Articulate and personal, it is peppered with tragedy but is in essence celebratory of family and the personalities whose stories are within. Sound Recording: Jason Emberton, Jonny Dyer Additional Recording: Timur Dzeytov Produced: Jason Emberton, Jonny Dyer, Daria Kulesh Introduction Daria Kulesh […]
Merrymaker at Village Folk, Chellaston 28th January 2017
During a brief hiatus to the excessively cold weather last month, I had the pleasure of heading down to Chellaston in Derbyshire for a gig at the Lawns Hotel to see Merrymaker. High over the street like a small fortress on top of a rocky outcrop; the Lawns Hotel is indeed a hotel (and pub) […]
Almond&Olive – Standing at the Precipice (Album Review)
Almond&Olive deliver an earnest and lyrically intriguing debut with a strong character and rapport in voice Having released this debut last Friday (27th January 2017), artists Almond&Olive that consists of Natalie Alms (Almond) and Ollie Davidson (Olive) are no longer standing at the precipice but have taken a good look and lept over […]
The Transports – 2017 – 27th Jan – Buxton Opera House
A hallmark example of a revival done well, “The Transports” brings stalwarts of the folk world to tell affecting stories through song and history. Introduction Peter Bellamy’s folk ballad opera about migration, “The Transports” is back. Having it’s 40th Anniversary it does not so much ask the crowd to continue dancing, but rather teaches a […]
Folk Phenomena’s – The Folk of 2016 – Award Post
Hi all, I have been threatening for a couple of months now to do an award post to celebrate (in my opinion) the best Folk of 2016. It is a cliche to say it was a fantastic year for folk music, so I won’t say that more than that once. But what I can honestly […]
Lorcán Mac Mathúna – Visionaries 1916 (album review)
Folk music that tackles some stirring source material that should not be forgotten. There is a roving central passion that brings both a delightful sense of joy and personal isolation to the works within. The album dwells very much in the topic it is exploring. The year 2016 will be seen as a year of upheaval […]