Live Review: Burd Ellen, Carusias Arise!, and Aeourth (5th October)

Bishops House Recently we got a chance to revisit Bishops House for a gig. Bishops House is a venue close to heart as this where I got married last year. This was not the Bishops House I remembered though. True the building is still intact, the old wood looking regal under the dark sky, but […]

Derby Folk Weekend – 1 October 2023

On the final day of the Derby Folk Weekend after being buoyed by the proceedings thus far, we come to the final run of acts. We have enjoyed the variety and the different flavours of the folk world, and the final day continued this trend. Old Spot (www.oldspotmusic.com) Having already skirted (or dipped in an […]

Miranda Sykes @ The Wesley Centre – 9th June 2023

We return to the Wesley Centre in Maltby after a hiatus to see what we have been missing out on. We haven’t been since Covid and are looking forward to a night of live music. The Wesley Centre is still a nice intimate venue with friendly serving staff and the all-important raffle to host the […]

5th March 2022- Phil Beer at Wesley Centre, Maltby

We have recently had the pleasure of visiting the opening night of “Wesley Centre Live”, a series of folk gigs that has started in Maltby. We wanted to share our experiences with you, for more information about upcoming gigs, go to https://www.facebook.com/wesleycentrelive/?ref=page_internal.  Heading out in your car a little East of Rotherham you come to […]

Rachael McShane – “When All is Still” Album Review

Released 10 Aug 2018 Rachael Mcshane has trekked through the valleys of folk music theatre with her star turn as Susannah, a new mother fighting through hardship on a boat to Australia in “The Transports”, dazzled under the lights of big band folk in “Bellowhead”, and made a flourish as a solo artist and teacher […]

Geoff Lakeman at Village Folk – 17th March 2018

There is procrastination and procrastination. I mean I have thought about painting the walls in my office a beautiful forest green for weeks (and haven’t managed yet) but sometimes people put off really big things, things that matter. In the world of music there are bands who take their sweet time between album releases. For example Daft […]

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman – Personae (2018) Album Review

“Sharp, witty and accomplished there is a class to Roberts & Lakeman’s new album that cannot be measured on any known scientific apparatus” Album: Personae Producer: Sean Lakeman Tracks: 10 Iscream Music Records (2018) Released 9th March 2018 Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman are indeed a famous duo. Maybe the best known in folk circles […]

Peter Knight’s Gigspanner “The Wife of Urban Law” Review

“An album that greets old friends with a warm handshake which has arrived with a zest for life and a sense of adventure”    Picking up Peter Knight’s Gigspanner’s “The Wife of Urban Law” you might think that the soul of this disc is wrapped up warm in a coat of high reputation. Like a […]

Derby Folk Festival – A Roundup – October 2017

Hi everyone. Quite a bit of time has passed since my last festival post and as the cold sets in to it’s fullest we have snow as far as the eye can see (well it is here). Before the hot rays return I wanted to bring you a roundup of some of the things that […]