Sarah McQuaid has clearly held true to her own musical vision and it’s to be hoped that Walking Into White is the album which will bring her the wider commercial success she so richly deserves. Don’t miss her UK & European tour which is currently underway.

Synthetic Hues is a melting pot of vigorously performed tales belying Vin Garbutt’s 67 years. It sounds fresh and wise at the same time, something only a man with years on the road can approach with any sincerity. You just hope the younger generations is listening in with an ear for the future.

Sufjan Stevens has revealed the new audio video for Should Have Known Better from his forthcoming new album ‘Carrie & Lowell’. The album is out on March 30th via Asthmatic Kitty Records and sees Steven’s returning to his contemporary folk roots.

Our Song of the Day is a video premiere of Lovely Molly. A beautiful live recording session on which Sam Lee is joined by the Roundhouse Choir who certainly live up to their reputation here as one of the most exciting and energetic young choirs in London. It features on his new album ‘Fade in Time’.

Kelly McRae teamed up with fellow musician Matt Castelein in 2011, their new EP Easy On My Mind is a simple, uncluttered backwoods folk affair, involving little more than acoustic guitar and her crystal vocals, beguiling from the off. Regularly compared to Welch and Rawlings, the latter should take that as a real compliment.

Paul heads to London’s ‘The Hospital Club’ for the album launch of Stornoway’s new album Bonxie. The songs show a marked progression from the first two albums; more inventive, more confident and rounded, as are the band onstage.

Memphis Dawls debut album Rooted In The Bone is one of the year’s most engaging and rewarding collections of folk-Americana, one that flows fluidly between styles and genres, all bound together by the immaculate harmonies and lead vocal spotlights.

Our Song of the Day is a premiere from Daphne Lee Martin. She performs a great cover ‘Reciprocity’, a much overlooked song by Loudon Wainwright III. Along with guest vocals from Eric Michael Lichter they certainly breathe new life into it. This is one of a series of stand alone covers, she is set to release this spring.

Allison Moorer’s ‘Down To Believing’ is a brave walk through a turbulent thunderstorm of emotions in search of the hope that flickers like a lightning rod ahead. Allison delivers a record that confirms her place amongst the very best of America’s singer songwriters.

Watch this 1977 documentary about Irish Traditional singer Sarah Makem of Keady, County Armagh. It’s a magical piece of film-making that has some wonderful moments. The conversation between Sarah and husband and fiddle player Peter Makem is a personal highlight, the two of them seemed to be playing with the film-maker.

Sleep On Sleeping On sees the welcome return of The Woodbine & Ivy Band. Whilst tempting to call this album one of the most exciting and inventive folk albums of recent times it should be celebrated for what it is: a brimming cauldron of musical ideas with a surprisingly coherent end product.

If I Was A River is the latest offering from Willie Nile, now 66. It features 10 sparsely arranged introspective acoustic numbers with Nile accompanying himself on piano. Not just any piano either, but the same Steinway Grand he was playing in the same studio as Lennon the night he was shot. Maybe the melancholia of that evening seeped into its keys.