Johnny Whalley

We catch up with the legendary folk singer and guitarist Martin Carthy at Wickham Festival and, in an in-depth interview, he shares his thoughts on folk songs and the singers from whom they were collected.

In part 2 of our live review of this year’s Wickham Festival we take in the Moulettes, Kathryn Tickell and The Side, Eliza Carthy and The Wayward Band, Seth Lakeman, Billy Bragg, The Hut People, Megson and more.

In part one of our live review of this year’s Wickham Festival we highlight performances from Sharon Shannon, Carlos Núñez, De Temps Antan, Gavin Marwick and more.

In part 3 of our live review of Gate to Southwell Festival we have live footage from Clannad, Simpson-Cutting-Kerr, We Banjo 3, The Young’uns, The Tweed Project, Manran and more.

Read part 2 of our festival review of Gate to Southwell which includes video performances from The Urban Folk Quartet, Coco and the Butterfields, BOC and Mànran.

In part one of our live review of Gate to Southwell Festival Johnny takes in top performances from Ranagri, The Hot Seats, Chris Wood, Billy Bragg & The Young’uns. It was, without a doubt, a superb festival and we have more to come!

With this album, The Jeremiah’s have shown an abundance of skill, producing both songs and tunes of high quality. The even better news is that all the signs lead us to expect a lot more from them in the future. They’ll be on a short tour of the UK at the end of June and if you’re lucky enough to be around, you’d be wise to give them a listen.

Kadia are a band to watch out for. This debut album confirms they are maturing rapidly as songwriters, as instrumentalists, as singers, as arrangers. They are the full package, destined to reach an ever widening audience.

The Escape as an album already comes highly recommended and as the centre piece of a live gig it proved to be irresistible. UFQ have done it again, ensuring their live shows continue to provide top notch entertainment that really has to be experienced.

With Despite the Dark, Rura have not only produced an album of its time for Scotland, but one with the musical breadth and strength to ensure it will appeal to a far wider audience. This is a band growing in stature and confidence, brimming with originality and innovation.

It’s two years since Manx trio Barrule released their debut album with the declared intention of bringing the music of the Isle of Man to everyone’s attention. Their follow-up, Manannan’s Cloak, is more varied and even more energetic and appealing than the first. If Barrule is yet to enter your musical life, open the door right now.

Interloper is the latest release from Tom Kitching on which he is joined by some well known musicians to define the current state of the English tradition. This is a collection of cracking tunes with intelligent, absorbing arrangements. You can’t go wrong with this one.