Watch Scottish musician Alasdair Roberts and Irish musician Brigid Mae Power performing ‘The Blacksmith’ for the Museum of Literature Ireland as part of their Myth, Story, Song series that features performances by Irish and Scottish writers and musicians.
The song is a traditional English song, which was collected by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams from singer Ellen Powell in 1909.
Brigid performed The Blacksmith on her Head Above The Water album with Brian Mac Gloinn (Ye Vagabonds) on backing vocals. Alasdair also performed on the album which he co-produced alongside Brigid and Peter Broderick.
Alasdair also performed the song with David McGuiness for the Shirley Collins tribute album ‘Shirley Inspired‘ (Earth Records, 2015). For that recording, McGuiness accompanied Roberts on the piano. This version, while brighter, thanks to twin acoustic guitars, and slightly faster paced (similar to Brigid’s album version), still allows Powers the space to introduce some beautiful vocal ornamentation with Roberts also throwing in some welcome fingerstyle guitar for good measure. They are both unique vocalists in the folk world with a very individual style that’s instantly recognizable. Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of both of them, so it’s a real treat to hear them performing this classic folk ballad together.
Alasdair Roberts is touring as part of The Furrow Collective next month, with solo dates to follow in March 2023 (see below). Brigid Mae Power performs in Spain this month on November 13th at L’Escorxador CCC.
Learn more about the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) – a museum of literature for the world’s greatest storytellers. Discover Ireland’s rich literary heritage from past to present and more here – https://moli.ie/
Brigid Mae Power Live Dates
November 13th at L’Escorxador CCC.
More here: https://brigidmaepower.com/
Alasdair Roberts Live Dates
Tour: We Know by the Moon – Winter 2022 (The Furrow Collective)
December 2nd, York, UK
December 8th, London, UK
December 9th, Oxford, UK
December 10th, Sheffield, UK
December 11th, New Galloway, UK
December 12th, Edinburgh, UK
Tour: Grief in the Kitchen and Mirth in the Hall
March 23rd, Edinburgh, UK
March 24th, Swansea, UK
March 25th, Newport, UK
Full details, including venues and ticket links here: http://www.alasdairroberts.com/live/