Joshua Burnell is no stranger to these pages having first caught our attention with his 2018 album Songs from the Seasons which featured fourteen favourites from his ambitious Seasons Project which saw him release one of his arrangements of a traditional song or tune every week for a year. The fourteen favourites he selected for the album demonstrated an incredible breadth ranging from the enigmatic to the breathtaking. In his review, Thomas Blake described it as an “album of genuine ambition, scope and variety” (full review here).
On 15th February 2019, Joshua followed up Songs From The Seasons with another folk-rock offering – The Road To Horn Fair which we reviewed here. The album has been played numerous times on both The Folk Show on BBC Radio 2 and on the Tom Robinson Show on BBC Radio 6, in addition to widespread regional radio play.
Skylark & The Oak, also our Song of the Day, sees a return to Joshua’s original songwriting, influenced by storytelling and folklore. Joshua is joined on vocals by singer Frances Sladen, who also appears in the line-up for the live act. The duo have been singing the song since they first sang together and it is a favourite amongst fans. The song is accompanied by a music video shot by Pinecone Productions which you can watch below.
Joshua is mid-way through his first UK headline tour, which includes dates in Cardiff, Cheltenham, Hull, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Bath, Beverley (sold out), and London. The York show on 22nd May sold out two months in advance. Additional 2019 dates include Ely Folk Festival, Stainsby Folk Festival, Exile Music Festival, Forgotten Lands Festival, Musicport Festival, The Acoustic Festival of Great Britain and a follow-up tour in the Autumn.
Find out more here: https://www.joshuaburnell.co.uk/