Broadside Hacks continue to explore our traditional, radical folk heritage and return with a new single and accompanying video for the traditional folk ballad Barbry Allen.
Recorded at Hackney Studios with Naima Bock (formerly Goat Girl), Campbell Baum (Sorry), Aga Ujma and others, the reimagined folklore comes ahead of Broadside Hacks’ live performance and world premiere for their documentary ‘The Broadside Hack’ with British Underground at SXSW Festival on March 18th (more on below). It’s also our Song of the Day.
Instead of the more commonly used melody, they chose to put newly composed music to the cappella vocal melody of Appalachian singer Jean Ritchie. “Inevitably with a song that old, the tune gets altered over the years,” says founder Campbell Baum, who started Broadside Hacks as a lockdown project in Spring 2020. “We’ve taken an American variant of a Scottish song and essentially brought it back across the pond”.
The effect is transcendent; while Broadside Hacks are genuinely gifted in presenting traditional folk song through arrangements with a contemporary edge, they also lift that veil of familiarity and bring us closer to the song.
To coincide with Broadside Hacks’ new single, on March 18, 2022, British Underground will host a special live event inviting fans into the unique world of the next UK folk revival at SXSW, featuring the world premiere screening of the collective’s folk documentary ‘The Broadside Hack’ and a live music showcase. The event will celebrate a new wave of exploratory artists reinterpreting the sounds of traditional British folk music. Reborn during the pandemic and drawing on the folk traditions of England, Scotland, Ireland and beyond, the live event will feature performances from Broadside Hacks and critically acclaimed nine-piece folk ensemble Shovel Dance Collective, who recently received the endorsement of Rough Trade Records’ Geoff Travis. The new folk scene found its mojo at the influential south London independent venue, the Brixton Windmill. The rest of the line-up reflects this connection, including showcase performances from Naima Bock, Katy J Pearson and Sinead O’Brien.
Broadside Hacks’ SXSW performance will feature Sophie Harris (Modern Woman), Katy J Pearson, Naima Bock (formerly Goat Girl), Aga Ujma, Campbell Baum (Sorry,) Oliver Hamilton (caroline/Shovel Dance Collective) and Frank Wright (formerly Bleanaven). Following their debut US performance at SXSW, Broadside Hacks will perform at shows across the UK and Europe as listed below, with more dates soon to be announced.
2022 live dates:
April 22 – Motel Mozaïque, Rotterdam
May 22 – Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Norwich
June 12 – Kite Festival, Oxfordshire (performing ‘America Over The Water’ with Shirley Collins & Matthew Shaw)
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