With Everything Sacred Yorkston, Thorne and Khan have created an album that bristles with inventiveness and skill, one that is more than the sum of its already impressive parts.

Unfussy, simple and heartfelt, it’s one of those albums that curls up in your lap when you need a little comfort and leaves you ready to face the day anew.

Watch Emma Ballantine’s stunning new video for ‘Perfect Crime’. She will be celebrating the new single release with a special headline show in her hometown of Salisbury on January 8th.

Yet We Sing is the delightful result of a detailed and organic process of writing, planning, arranging and recording that spanned 3/4 of the last year with Cara finding a new level maturity as a creative unit. They deserve to hold their heads high among the extensive family of tradition-based writers and performers.

Jess Morgan has unveiled her new video for Simple Mantra which featured on The Bournemouth EP released back in June last year. Watch it here.

Jess’s music can be deceptive in that it definitely also has hidden depths, accentuated here by the thoughtful and carefully configured instrumental backings. Like its predecessors Shine is a really delicious record, which cannot fail to please.

Peterborough, Ontario artist Jos. (Joseph) Fortin’s sumptuous second album of ‘Cinematic Folk Music,’ Fairweather Walker provides the listener with a luxuriant, calming aural experience.

Songs of Separation is a superlative and essential record, from its initial concept through to the final result; it’s a huge accomplishment by anybody’s standards and all involved have every right to feel justifiably proud of their achievement.

On ‘The Space Between’ Jamie Smith’s Mabon, our Artist of the Month, create and play music that, rather than attempt to faithfully reflect the closely related cultures around the Celtic Fringe, breaks free of the perceived boundaries and re-unites the ancient Western European musical forms.

Read part 3 of the Echo Bloom Tour Blog from Kyle Evans – Jason arrives and rocks! An impromptu midnight swim in the Baltic Sea. More rock. More roll.

The Unthanks ‘Archive Treasures’ is described by Adrian McNally as a shelf-clearing selection of snapshots and missing jigsaw pieces providing head space for the next ten years. Here’s hoping they continue with their archiving.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers and listeners. Here’s a folkie treat with a Winter Solstice Mix from Michael Tanner featuring Bob Copper, Shirley Collins, Jean Ritchie, Waterson:Carthy and more.