Johnny Whalley

Some outstanding young musicians have emerged from the Dublin folk scene over the last couple of years and this second album from The Jeremiahs shows they’ve earned their place alongside the likes of Lankum and Daoiri Farrell.

Johnny sits down in a teepee at FolkEast with The Young’uns to chat about their new album Strangers and the some of the incredible people that feature in the songs. Strangers is out now.

We catch up with Damien O’Kane at FolkEast to talk about his music and his forthcoming new album Avenging & Bright. Plus we’ve some great news about his 2018 Summer tour with Ron Block (Alison Krauss band).

Johnny catches up with Sam Kelly at FolkEast to talk about his new album with The Lost Boys – Pretty Peggy. He also talks about the Cornish language and delves back in time to his Uni days in Sussex where you could count the student folk music lovers on one hand.

Ric Sanders shares some his Fairport Convention and Cropredy moments including the first time he played in 1986, Robert Plant turning up to a warm-up gig and all those Cropredy dogs.

Johnny shares some his many highlights of this year’s FolkEast festival including The Young’uns, Jon Boden, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Martin Carthy, Hughie Jones, Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage, LAU, Dan Walsh, Will Pound, Damien O’Kane and many more.

We talk to Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin about their new album Edgelarks, a name which also marks the genesis of a brand new band name. Plus watch their new video Song of the Jay

Following the release of their ‘Live’ album and a top performance at Cropredy Festival, we catch up with Gigspanner and Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin) to talk about their collaboration as Gigspanner Big Band.

Johnny shares some of his highlights of a special Cropredy weekend featuring Fairport band members, past and present. To help us along the way he sat down and chatted with a musician who’s been part of the band’s line up since 1985, fiddle player, Ric Sanders.

Johnny shares his musical highlights of Wickham Festival including Talisk, Kathryn Tickell & The Side, Mancunia, Ímar, Oysterband, Duncan Chisholm and more.

Johnny finds himself at Oban Live for 2017 and shares some his highlights of the weekend including Trail West, Skipinnish, Tide Lines and of course, Skerryvore.

We catch up with Irish quartet We Banjo 3 at Oban Live where the band share the idea behind their current tour theme ‘Light in the Western Sky’ and they talk about their plans to record a new album in Nashville.

Running chronologically, the songs and tunes on Decade perfectly illustrate the evolution of LAU’s music over the past ten years which has given rise to a totally unique sound. A great reminder of how unique and inventive they are.

I first heard this Skipinnish line-up last year at Oban Live and was bowled over both by the music and the almost ecstatic reaction it produced in the audience. The Seventh Wave comes about as close as any studio album could to replicating this feeling.

With Further Tales, TRADarrr have generously delivered on the promise shown by their debut album. These new tales are the product of a band bursting with ideas. It truly is an album that gives more and more each time you listen.

Rising stars of the South West folk scene, Kadia, return with their latest EP ‘The Outlandish Collection’. Recorded in the studio, it allowed them to exercise a greater freedom and flexibility which comes across in a richer fuller sound.

Kris Drever puts on a top performance at Fareham’s Ashcroft Arts Centre. Singing audience favourites from his first solo album through to the title track of his latest which has led to one of his two BBC Folk Award Nominations this year.

Fairport Convention celebrate their 50th Anniversary with 50:50@50. The mix of studio and live recordings along with the special guests, including Robert Plant and Jacqui McShee ensures there’s something for everyone.