The Latest
Turns out that the Pacific Northwest is a bubbling cauldron of activity in the folk music world. Leading this vibrant community of square dancers and bluegrass fanatics, The Water Tower Bucket Boys have a unique vision of traditional music in a brand-new century. They know the roots of the music inside and out and have stayed up through many an all-night back-porch picking party playing tunes until dawn. This is …
Andy Cutting is much in demand and has been for some time, even more so since he won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year award in 2008. At last, though, he’s found time to put together a CD in his own name. This first release on Lane Records from Derby is available to order online and goes on general release in August. Melodeon player and self-confessed former …
Described by Gilles Peterson as “a great artist” Matt Sage started out in a band with musicians who moved on to find success working with Faithless and Dido, after which he turned his efforts to solo projects while holed up on a canal boat in Oxfordshire. Since then he has played at WOMAD, started up a hugely successful acoustic night in Oxford called Catweazle, and created a platform called Big …
This release by Mr McFall’s Chamber on the classical label, Delphian, is the result of a long planned collaboration between Martyn Bennett and Robert McFall that was never realised during tragically short life of one of Scotland’s most admired and accomplished musicians. What may be one of the most innovative albums of the year gets off to a surprising start with Martyn Bennett’s Cuillin, Part 2. It’s a challenging start …
Caitlin Rose releases her highly anticipated debut album Own Side Now in August 2010. The Nashville born singer appeared amidst a whirlwind of praise at the start of the year with her stunning first offering, the critically acclaimed ‘Dead Flowers’ EP. Hailed as a new artist to watch this year, Independent on Sunday judiciously deemed her “the most exciting act in Nashville right now”. Having recorded radio sessions for the …
Duotone’s debut Work Harder and One Day You’ll Find Her is the work of Barney Morse-Brown; best known for his work with The Imagined Village. The collection of eight tracks incorporate layered vocals and looped string arrangements over which it is ultimately the cello that conducts and controls the ebb and flow of these atmospheric pieces.
Touring in support of her fifth LP The Calcination of Scout Niblett, British born Emma Louise “Scout” Niblett plays a toned down grunge that has her frequently likened to PJ Harvey or a messy Chan Marshall. Reverting back to her traditional style characteristic of earlier albums such as I Am, she was a sparse clatter of emotion at The Borderline, London. Like an exuberant child she came on stage in …
It’s forty years since Carole King and James Taylor performed together for the first time. In 2007 they re-visited the Troubadour in Los Angeles to celebrate its 50th anniversary and re-live their youthful partnership, along with the same musicians that joined them in 1970. This joyful reunion is released as a CD/DVD combination on 31st May.
A Folk Song A Day is the new project from Jon Boden. From the 24th June 2010 (midsummers day), Jon will be releasing a new version of a traditional folk song each and every day for a year. On www.afolksongaday.com you will get the chance to hear each new track for short time after its release. So why is he doing this? In Jon’s own words:
Next week sees the start of a unique collaboration between two cities on either side of the Irish Sea. In the Stirling & Galway Sessions 2010 a group of 30 musicians, singers, dancers and exhibitors from Conamara, Galway, off-shore islands and the neighbouring counties of Mayo and Clare, will travel to Stirling for the first leg of the festival, opening on June 6th (the Stirling Sessions run from 6th to …
Born to folk-musician parents in Brattleboro, Vermont it’s hardly a surprise that Sam Amidon is continuing down the folk path trodden for him at the age of six when he was first taken on stage by his parents: both successful musicians of the Appalachian folk revival. Like a game of Chinese whispers, Sam takes those murder ballads and traditional folk songs his father would sing to him and passes them down …