It’s great to see so many of the folk bands we love finally getting the chance to get back on the road. BBC Folk Award-winning duo, Edgelarks, featuring Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry, managed to turn their time in lockdown into a period of great creativity and released Henry Martin, which Thomas Blake reviewed here. The album ends on quite a remarkable song:
“Closing track The Seeds Of Love was the first song collected by Cecil Sharp, and as such holds a place as a kind of ur-text for English traditional music. It stands to reason, given the admirably forward-thinking way in which Martin and Henry make music, that it provides one of the album’s most experimental moments, full of wordless backing vocals that mimic the sounds of birds and insects, the quiet hum of the outdoors, an English arcadia that is currently beyond the reach of many. It ends on the most positive of notes, with the words ‘give it time it will rise again,’ and that positivity sums up Edgelarks’ music as a whole and this superb album in particular: resolutely optimistic, brilliantly played and a joy from start to finish.”
Those that follow Edgelarks on socials will know that Hannah and Phillip had a new addition to their family. Despite the challenges of a newborn, they have thankfully managed to find some time to rehearse with Gigspanner featuring Peter Knight’s fiddle accompanied by percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack. Together, we know them as the incomparable Gigspanner Big Band, which now also includes melodeon player extraordinaire John Spiers. They are on tour now and will also be calling in at a number of festivals, including the Purbeck Valley Folk Festival and Gate To Southwell Festival.
Edgelarks are also touring from September to November, details of which can be found here: https://edgelarks.co.uk/shows
The core Gigspanner Trio are also on tour from October to November 2021 before reforging as the Gigspanner Big Band for some winter dates.
Dates and ticket links here: https://www.gigspanner.com/live
Finally…Miranda Sykes (Show of Hands) and Hannah Martin (Edgelarks) formed a duo and have been busy rehearsing for their debut tour. They recently performed at Sidmouth Folk Festival, and can’t wait to take their new music on the road this Autumn. As many of you who follow Miranda know, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, so it was great to see her and Hannah previewing new material live at Sidmouth. Also, be sure to check out Miranda’s beautiful sea glass jewellery here.
This is how it came about…
A sociable Devon winter evening led to an exchange of songs, which proved to be so much fun that they soon arranged another musical get together. Swiftly these became rehearsal sessions as a strong new sound emerged. Miranda and Hannah have spent many years playing on the British folk scene, and their project is centred around their deep knowledge of roots music and a love of harmony singing. They bring together old songs with new ideas; ancient tales with bass, fiddle, and banjo. Two mesmerising storytellers join voices to create a spine-tingling testimonial to our shared musical heritage.
Below are the dates they recently shared on their Facebook Page here.
Miranda Sykes & Hannah Martin Tour Dates
17 09: Swanton Novers, Norfolk
19 09: Ipplepen Village Hall, Devon
22 09: Calstock Arts, Cornwall
23 09: Square Tower, Portsmouth
24 09: Ace Space, Newbury
27 09: Nettlebed Folk Club, Oxfordshire
28 09: Dartford Folk Club, Kent
30 09: Chapel Arts, Bath
01 10: Edith Hall Kemsing, Kent
02 10: Nailsea Folk Club
03 10: Devoran Village Hall, Cornwall
07 10: Firbeck, Yorkshire
08 10: Wadsworth, Yorkshire
09 10: Watson Institute, Castle Carrock, Cumbria
10 10: West Kirby Arts, Wirral
More details:
https://www.gigspanner.com/live
https://edgelarks.co.uk/miranda-sykes-and-hannah-martin
Photo Credit: Redwood Photography