Dodgy Bastards, the latest offering from Steeleye Span, places an audible degree of emphasis on a heavier-duty rock sound. There is a wealth of classic nimble prog-rock-styled guitar manœuvres and an outstanding strength and flexibility in the coordinated harmony work. The newer band members are also given the chance to shine.

Our Song of the Day is Katie Cruel, performed by Irish folk trio Rue in Dublin’s Fumbally Stables. The trio features Brian Flanagan alongside Cormac Mac Diarmada and Radie Peat of Dublin folk miscreants Lynched.

Birds is a five track EP from the driving force behind Cambrian Records, guitarist/composer Toby Hay. The music forms part of a larger artistic enterprise, a collaborative exhibition, shared between Hay, artist Keith How, and blacksmiths Nick Buchan and Tom Robinson of Gofannon Forge. The twelve string technique is flawless; the music delightful.

Seamless, powerful, thought-provoking…As promised in the publicity surrounding the series, this was indeed a truly unique event: not just a concert, not just a book reading, but a journey of discovery, and one which lingers in the mind long after the tube ride home.

This week’s mix features all new music, some of which is yet to be released. The one thing they all share is that they push the boundaries in terms of creating original music, and it is this which sets this particular playlist apart.

The Unthanks announce new book: The Memory Book, a warm and personal history compiled by The Unthanks themselves; their final and most candid tenth anniversary release.

In the two years since we first featured Austin Basham, an independent folk singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas, he has gone from strength to strength. Listen to his new single ‘Sounds Like Help’ as he continues on that ascending road.

Don’t miss Normafest – a wonderful weekend in celebration of all things to do with folk music legend Norma Waterson in early January. Featuring: Stick in the Wheel, Lynched, The Furrow Collective, The Gift Big Band which will include Norma, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, Neill MacColl & special guest Richard Hawley.

David Simard’s second full-length collection, The Heavy Wait, has arrived after being pieced together over eight years, and it’s a real spine-tingler. An atmospheric, brooding, and compelling collection of dark-yet-pretty folk songs that artfully wend their way into one’s brain, and lodge there.

Louise’s magnificently accomplished show is not only a polished and professional presentation but also a superb evening’s entertainment – an assessment enthusiastically endorsed by the organisers and their capacity audience.

There’s many an artist out there mining America’s rich musical history and shaping it into their own experiences and observations; Jeff Crosby may well be one of the best.

If this is your first dip into the music of The Baird Sisters, then let it not be your last. Until You Find Your Green is one of the most beautiful albums of 2016, one I know I’ll constantly be revisiting.