Peter Shaw

The songs on Tobias Ben Jacob’s ‘Refuge’ are important and significant and deserve to be heard. One of the best, certainly the most emotionally powerful, albums I’ve heard for many years.

Ben Walker gives us another masterclass in technique, feel and tone with a second compact collection of tunes – a trip from England to Ireland and back again. All proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Sophisticated songs for a sometimes saccharin season, A Midwinter Miscellany (featuring Ashley Hutchings, Becky Mills, Blair Dunlop and Judy Dunlop) is a Christmas album with a big dollop of class.

‘From There To Here’ finds Jacqui McShee & Kevin Dempsey at their very best taking you to the heart of every song. It’s a pure and simple pleasure.

A rallying cry to dwell, to exist and revel in the moment, with ‘Fish Pond Fish’ Darlingside have turned adversity into adventure and separation into sensation.

It was a magical ‘socially distanced’ evening at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in the company of one of our finest folk duos: Tobias Ben Jacob and Lukas Drinkwater.

A timeless and heady mix of traditions, the self-titled debut from The Wilderness Yet is an outstanding collection from three musicians at the top of their game.

Taking his experience of filmmusic composition and applying it to folk music, Roly Witherow creates soundscapes and atmosphere that tell the story as much as the melody and lyrics.

Released on Joe Boyd’s legendary Hannibal label, this reissue features a brilliant bonus LP of the “the 2nd album that never was”. The Eighteenth Day of May evoked a legendary era, and now they are a justifiably legendary band too.

‘I’ll never write a song as good as Chuck Berry’s Maybellene,’ says Teddy Thompson when introducing these songs…but he comes oh so close, proving once again he is much more than the sum of his lineage.

Joined by The Excess – Pete Flood on drums and Pete Thomas on bass – Benji Kirkpatrick delivers a glorious and powerful sound on Gold Has Worn Away, a persuasive and impressive album.

Seth Lakeman’s “A Pilgrim’s Tale” condenses the story of the Mayflower with purpose and vigour. But it also tantalizes, leaving stories unresolved and details to uncover. It will be a history primer for many and there’s no better place to start your voyage than here.

In All Weather feels like a high watermark (so far) with the promise of great, and greater things to come. It is an artistic triumph, and certainly Josienne Clarke’s most assured work to date. A remarkable, impeccable collection.

This is an album with many highs, with even the more familiar material sounding fresh in the band’s capable hands. Let’s hope this is just a start of their recording journey, as this is a road that’s definitely well worth taking.

With this second remarkable album, Jack Rutter has confirmed himself to be one of the foremost performers of traditional material in the British folk scene. With his voice, alongside his guitar, proving to be an equally enthralling instrument.

Saskia and her band re-present familiar material in an inspirational and contemporary way and for those new to these extraordinary and timeless songs, it may well be the start of a rewarding musical journey.

Wheels of the World is a remarkable achievement: an album that not only sounds like a classic folk album of many years vintage, but it can also stand head-and-shoulders with the best of them too. And it seems like they’ve only just started…

Celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year, Steeleye Span’s latest album finds them on something of a roll as they continue dragging Child Ballads into the 21st century.