Danny Neill

Smith & McClennan have triumphed on this debut release, in creating personal music that tells us more about who they are than we’ve ever heard before and suggests they’re only at the beginning of a fruitful musical adventure.

Danny Neill shares some of the highlights from Richard Thompson’s 70th Birthday bash at the Royal Albert Hall which featured an incredible line-up of guests “the royalty of 20th-century folk music”. A simply unforgettable night.

With ‘Battlefield Dance Floor’, Show of Hands have put together one of the most cohesive, diverse and persuasive sets of their entire career and one of the most consistently adventurous collections in their catalogue.

‘I’ve finally made the album I wanted to make’, says Vera Van Heeringen on ‘Won’t Be Broken’. We fully concur with her sense of achievement. It makes for a strong set so don’t be surprised if your first instinct is to go straight back to the start and play this mature, rich song cycle over and over again.

Danny Neill chats to Richard Thompson backstage at Cambridge Folk Festival where he shares his thoughts about hit songs, his 70th Birthday bash, recalls oversleeping in the seventies for his festival slot and the funniest far-fetched Dylan tale we’ve heard yet.

Eilen Jewell’s ‘Gypsy’ is one of those rare things, an album containing a perfect dozen songs without a single dud track. If all were right and just in the world, she would one day take her place amongst the country music legends.

The first live review coverage of Cambridge Folk Festival is in – featuring Ben Caplan, The Rails, Ralph McTell, Graham Nash, Tunng, Chloe Foy, Lisa O’Neill, Lucinda Williams, Nick Mulvey, Richard Thompson, Crooked Weather, Daoiri Farrell’s All-Star Celtic Session and more.

Canadian folk duo Mama’s Broke deliver a strong debut with ‘Count the Wicked, a journey through rural early 20th century Americana that’s fizzing with melodic ideas and tales to tell. Debut albums as strong as this should not be ignored.

Curve of Earth is an amazing album of emotional depth, scolding honesty amidst self-reflection but above all, a sharp focus on the basic truth that where there’s life there’s hope. Ohtis scoops up buckets of hope as it sails doggedly through these real-life troubled waters.

Ida Mae have finally earned the right to make the music they were meant to. This is the kind of debut collection that goes all out to prove itself; it has done just that and then some. Ida Mae are definitely here to stay.

This could be one of the most versatile and open collections The Waterboys have ever given us. They are literally capable of going in absolutely any direction from here.

‘Midnight Man’ may not have become one of Davy Graham’s celebrated long players, but its music stands the test of time and that’s all that matters. Until now it has been one of his most elusive releases too, so go and check it out on this lush new re-release.