Johnny Whalley

Track Dog’s profile in the UK has blossomed rapidly over the last 18 months and it’s bound to get another massive boost from this album. The quality of the songs and the vibrant energy of the music will earn them plenty of new friends, make sure you’re among them.

Horsham showed its true colours with a near sell-out crowd for Skerryvore, there was a buzz around the theatre well before the house lights dimmed and with the band’s appearance on stage, the buzz turned into a roar.

We catch up with singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Leslie at Cropredy, who has been a member of Fairport Convention since 1997. He talks about his new love for the clarsach, plans for a new solo album, Fairport news and more.

We catch up with Will Pound at Cropredy and chat about the new projects he has underway as well as ‘A Day Will Come’ due to be released and toured in May 2020.

Featuring Greg Russell, Ciaran Algar, Josie Duncan, Pablo Lafuente, Evan Carson and Ali Levack, The Tweed Project’s EP mirrors their live performances – musically breathtaking, reflecting their skill, variety and energy.

Johnny Whalley catches up with Seth Lakeman at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention who reveals his new theatre and album project which ties in with the anniversary of the crossing of the Pilgrim Fathers.

On ‘Being Myself’, Tim Edey captures the spontaneity, energy, virtuosity and emotion that we’ve come to associate with his live performances. Brilliant!

Johnny shares his Wickham highlights including Graham Nash, Judy Collins, National Youth Folk Ensemble, Ryan Young & Jenn Butterworth, Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton, Treacherous Orchestra, Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys, TRADarrr, Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening and more.

“Dare”, Banter’s second album, is an equally polished showcase for the talents of three accomplished, adventurous musicians featuring Simon Care, Tim Walker and Nina Zella – they started out as a ceilidh band with a few songs, now they’re a concert band who can play ceilidhs.

While on a Hebridean road trip, Johnny decides to stay a little longer on the Isle of Lewis to catch Còig performing at Stornoway’s arts centre, An Lanntair. While the Canadian four-piece from Cape Breton are new to him he’s glad he stuck around.

Johnny catches up with Richard Shindell in Costa Del Folk for an in-depth conversation about his song writing – meaning and inspiration, his move to Argentina, the need for refuge and more.

Throughout ‘Natural Selection’, it’s Dodo Street’s absolute mastery of the instruments that shines through. While the virtuosity on display is breath-taking, it is the way that musical expertise is combined with a streak of anarchic fun that makes the album so entertaining.

Read the final diary entry from John Whalley’s Costa Del Folk experience in Ibiza featuring Belshazzar’s Feast, Richard Shindell, The Mighty Doonans, Track Dogs and more.

Read part two of Johnny Whalley’s Costa Del Folk diary featuring: Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar, Heg and the Wolf Chorus, Tim Edey, Mike Harding, The Outside Track, the Tweed Project, Calan, Odette Michell, Josie Duncan and Pablo Lafuente and more.

Stone Soup is currently one of our Featured Albums of the Month, Johnny caught up with Cormac Byrne and Adam Summerhayes in Ibiza at Costa Del Folk to explore their thinking, first when making this album of totally improvised music and then performing parts of it live.

Folk Radio UK’s Johnny Whalley headed to Ibiza for Costa Del Folk recently and kept a festival diary whilst there. Read part one featuring Efrén López Trio, Show of Hands, Seth Lakeman, The Outside Track and more.

Scran are a young Manx trad group from the Isle of Man whose talents have been nurtured by the island’s cultural organisation, Culture Vannin. Their debut album Nane is an album that bristles with a youthful vigour that leaves you marvelling at the talents on display.

Johnny looks forward to this year’s Costa Del Folk, Ibiza sunshine and Show of Hands, Richard Shindell, Seth Lakeman, Tim Edey, Hannah James, Calan, The Tweed Project, Belshazzar’s Feast and more.