James MacKinnon

We catch up with the ever busy globetrotting Nive Nielsen of Nive and the Deer Children to talk about her new album. Plus we have an exclusive album stream of Feet First for you all to enjoy!

These songs are shape-shifting beasts that twist as soon as you think you’ve got them pinned down, and it is Nielsen’s bewitching voice and playful spirit at their centre which ensure that Feet First will take you to unexpected places, but in the most enjoyable way possible.

Few debuts sound so fully formed, but this one shows an emergent talent whose work possesses a quiet intensity that moves you gently, but surely just as the moon tugs the tide.

Neko Case brings her powerful stage presence to Union Chapel with a voice that barely needs amplification. Now entering the fourth act of her career, Case has emerged as a lyrical force of nature and whatever may come next, her greatness is assured.

James heads to the Speaker’s House, Palace of Westminster, for the launch of Sweet Liberties featuring BBC Folk Singer of the Year Nancy Kerr and singer-songwriters Martyn Joseph, Sam Carter and Maz O’Connor along with Patsy Reid and Nick Cooke.

Shirley Collins celebrates her 80th Birthday in style at Cecil Sharp House including a tribute concert with guests including Eliza Carthy, Billy Bragg, Jackie Oates , Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker, Martin Wyndham Read, The Askew Sisters and more. Read our live review here.

Performing at London’s Royal Festival Hall Steve Earle, with heartbreak, addiction, politics and go-go boots shows, he’s got the blues aplenty… Long may he have them.

Must Take More Care is full of hard truths spoken with a soft voice, and as summer’s glow fades and the nights draw in closer you could certainly do worse than cosying up with this quiet gem over the coming autumn.

Upon discovering Johanna Warren’s nümün, released earlier this year, it was too good to miss out on, an album that will engulf you as it oscillates between moments of serenity and tumult.

True to type, you can always expect Duke Garwood to do things his way, and do them masterfully – as James finds out when he catches his performance at St. Pancras Old Church.

Like other albums that have been wrought from painful experiences, Carrie & Lowell is disarmingly beautiful and uplifting because of its origins, not in spite of them. Stevens has managed to do that rare thing which many artists strive for: render a personal experience in all its richness and ambivalence in a way that feels vivid and universal.

James heads to St. Mark’s Church in Dalston to catch a very special evening with Sam Lee and friends as he kicks off the first night of his Temples Tour Album Launch for The Fade in Time. It turned into a very memorable evening as you can read here.

Serafyn are a Swiss five-piece folk-pop band, which started off as a busking group touring through Europe, their debut EP ‘Quantum Leap’ has a strength and quiet confidence that is certainly worth exploring.

The atmosphere on the latest release from The Phantom Band is darker and moodier than their previous offering, evoking a twilit landscape haunted by isolation.

While wide-eyed rock is the order of the day, Idlewild demonstrate they still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve on their latest offering ‘Everything Ever Written’.

Way Back Home is a very personal introduction to Sorren Maclean’s solo work and with fully-formed songs like these, it shows great promise for the forthcoming LP.

‘Save No One’ shows major promise and with a sense of vision and an intelligent ear for arranging, Simon Bertrand could very well be a diamond in the rough.

James heads to the basement venue of the inconspicuous Sebright Arms in London to catch Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett, better known to most as the indie-folk duo Luluc.