This week’s Folk Show gets off to a flying start with one of Ireland’s most exciting Irish traditional music groups – Dublin-based band The Bonny Men, featuring a track from the self-titled 2011 album that’s sure to set the feet tapping. From their 2018 ‘Beyond’ album, Scottish folk band Talisk provide an anthemic chorus with Farewell, which features the voices of We Banjo 3, Elephant Sessions, The East Pointers, Mànran, Siobhan Miller, Skerryvore, Tide Lines, and many more. We also dip back in time with music from Strawbs and a lovely song from Irish traditional singer and flautist Nuala Kennedy, who released ‘Tune In’ back in 2010, which found her collaborating with the likes of Will Oldham and Norman Blake.
There’s also plenty of new music, including a track from Polly Paulusma‘s ‘The Pivot On Which The World Turns’ (out 30th September), a follow-up to her critically acclaimed album ‘Invisible Music’. Bristol-based folk music trio Tarren, featuring Sid Goldsmith, Alex Garden and Danny Pedler, have just released De Rien, an upbeat, infectious tune from their forthcoming celebratory debut album, Revel.
Ireland’s Tau & the Drones of Praise are back soon with their third full-length album, ‘Misneach’ – a next-stage realisation of the traveller-folk vision of principal songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Seán Mulrooney, whose travels invariably inform the songs being written. He recently revealed, “I’m learning to play the fiddle. Trad and our old customs are new to me – but I feel an ancient recognition of them. For me, the great thing about traditional music is that it has to evolve. It’s constantly evolving with respect to the authenticity of the origins, in a very natural way.” Two of the 16 guests that feature on the album include the heralded Irish folk troubadour Damien Dempsey and Pól Brennan from the legendary County Donegal band Clannad.
Australian folk trio Bush Gothic return on 29th July with Beyond the Pale; as they demonstrate here, they more than live up to their mission to revive, reinvent and revitalise iconic and traditional Australian folksong. They are touring the UK at the end of this month, including Sidmouth Folk Festival.
Polly Barrett, who began her music career as a busker on the streets of Cork City, is back with her new EP Dark Garden, from which we feature the stunning title track.
For all other artists, you will find links to reviews and features on Folk Radio UK in the playlist below. Still, a special mention goes out to Son of John, our current Artist of the Month and Josh Geffin, whose recent EP – Hold On To The Light, is a Featured Album of the Month we reviewed here. Next month you will also be hearing a lot more from Bristol-based folk and Americana duo Fritillaries, whose self-titled debut album is out tomorrow (available here).
Music Played
- The Bonny Men – The a Minor Set (from The Bonny Men)
- Talisk – Farewell (from Beyond)
- Polly Paulusma – Back Of Your Hand (from The Pivot on Which the World Turns)
- Tarren – De Rien (from Revel)
- Tau & the Drones of Praise – It Is Right to Give Drones and Praise (single edit)
- Strawbs – Witchwood (from From the Witchwood)
- Polly Barrett – Dark Garden (from Dark Garden)
- Fritillaries – Lost My Mind (from Fritillaries)
- Josh Geffin – Dead Stars (from Hold On To The Light)
- Son Of John – Feel That Moment (from Each Second Footstep)
- Andrew Tuttle – New Breakfast Habit (from Fleeting Adventure)
- Nora Brown – Little Satchel (from Long Time to be Gone)
- Bush Gothic – The Ballad of 1891 (from Beyond the Pale)
- Fern Maddie – Green Grass Growing (from Ghost Story)
- Nuala Kennedy (ft. Will Oldham) – The Waves of the Silvery Tide (from Tune In)
- George Sansome – The Bleaches So Green (from George Sansome)
- Kim Carnie – Caoidh Mhic Shiridh (Lamenting Mac Siridh) (from And So We Gather)
- Ruth Keggin & Rachel Hair – Arraneyn Cadlee (from Lossan)
Photo Credit: Games and Pastimes: dance – 1935 – Dancing on the pier, Clogherhead, Co Louth (photographer Maurice Curtin) Dúchas © National Folklore Collection, UCD is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.