Peter Shaw

If you think you know what ‘joyous’ means, you will think again when you’ve heard ‘Not Leaving Quietly’ by Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble. It’s breathtaking.

Simon J Jones’ ‘How Things Work’ is a delight from start to finish, celebrating simpler times but with the pioneering spirit of the Ladybird books. Creating stories and soundscapes that seem very current but are somehow timeless, this album is a significant artistic achievement.

On Vulpus, The Drystones successfully fuse 21st-century electronica with contemporary British folk music. If they are the future of folk/dance music, then it is in very safe hands.

I Promised You Light seems to mark a turning point for Josienne Clarke, bursting with possibilities of the next steps for one of the most captivating and affecting musical artists around right now.

With “More Notes From The Field”, Jacob & Drinkwater reach the high-water mark of contemporary folk music. It is an exceptional album that digs deep creatively and emotionally but is also beautiful and accessible.

Granny’s Attic’s bold decision to record an all-instrumental album pays off in droves. With The Brickfields, they have secured their place as one of the most exciting and accomplished English folk acts on the scene right now.

There was plenty of highlights at a long-overdue Walton Folk Festival featuring Gilmore & Roberts, Odette Michell, Jenn & Laura-Beth, Kim Lowings and the Greenwood, Jacob & Drinkwater and Trials of Cato. It wasn’t without its serendipitous moments.

Fans of the original will appreciate the upgrade in sound, extensive sleeve notes and extra tracks on Steve Ashley’s Family Album Revisited. For those looking for a slice of vintage folk-rock from one of Britain’s finest songwriters, you’re sure to be welcomed into the family.

Before dropping his 100th album, Ashley Hutchings releases Ninety-nine Impressions, a spoken-word album with musical accompaniment from the likes of Blair Dunlop, Jacob Stoney and more. It’s an exceptional album and quite unlike anything he’s ever released before.

The Owl Service return with ‘Rise Up Rise Up’ a veritable treasure trove. There are more ideas and influences packed into these six tracks than many artists manage in a whole album.

The Electric Muse Revisited is a collection that will stay with you and promises to be a seminal document of folk music in these very exciting times. It’s guaranteed to get you thinking, hunting out but – above all – revelling in brilliant music.

While Peggy Seeger’s ‘First Farewell’ may be brief and beautiful, the material is so rich and vigorous, it makes for a satisfying whole. With this delightful album, we can only hope that she produces many more.

Curated by Peter Knight and spanning 2009 – 2017, From Poets to Wives is an alluring compilation. Peter Knight’s Gigspanner is a national treasure and this is the best of the very best.

Unearthed from the Dando Shaft archives and seldom heard because of its limited initial release in 1993, Shadows Across the Moon is a fitting final celebration for an influential and much-missed band, who deserve to take centre stage for a final bow.

Recorded on St Valentine’s day 1978, there is much to love here – John Renbourn’s earthy charm, Jacqui McShee’s cut-glass clear and peerless vocals and Keshav Sathe’s superb tabla – a band at the peak of their powers.

‘A Pocket Full of Acorns’ is Ninebarrow’s strongest and most ambitious album to date on which they are joined by the Ninebarrow band for an expanded sound and even some grittier moments.

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne’s vocals and box-playing delve deep into the songs and tunes with an alarming virtuosity. For all those who don’t yet revere the squeezebox in all its glorious forms, this might well make a few converts.

By any reckoning, Jim Causley’s “Devonshire Roses” has a sweet bouquet of evocative songs. All Devonshire life is here: meat pies, witches, cider, smugglers, ghosts, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.