Richard Hollingum

An excellent 6-track taster EP that celebrates the 50th anniversary of British folk and blues label Village Thing Records featuring Wizz Jones, Ian A Anderson, Steve Tilston & more.

On Acoustic, Oumou Sangare finds the space to let her voice blossom which shines through, along with her personality and her presence.

Not only is this a great album, it is also an important one. Shiran sees no boundaries in her art – a powerful female voice in the contemporary Arabic world bringing people together to celebrate their shared heritage and not further divide their perceived differences.

Avocet may not have been travelling that long but they are definitely travelling in the right direction. Their 2018 Borrowed Seed EP was an attention grabber and this, their first full-length album, is no different. Excellent.

Tom Kitching’s latest album ‘Seasons of Change’ is accompanied by his book of the same name in which he shares his experiences of busking around England – a book that shows whatever the situation, this England is so full of life, accompanied by an album of music that is as equally full.

All in all a great album – a great collection of tunes, not limited in style or type, and full of invention, excitement and tradition. It will be interesting to see where Skipper’s Alley take us next. Excellent.

On Prophecy Playground’s debut ‘Comfort Zone’ – elements of English bucolic poke through, swirl around with the sprites of the guitars, the subtle lush backdrops of strings, and with the lyrics that may mean something or may mean nothing.

The Broken Pledge, the latest offering from Irish traditional music group The Bonny Men, is an album that shows how the handing on of the music, the tradition, is carried out very successfully. Clear the floor and start dancing.

Mhairi Hall’s Airs is excellent an album that sets you adrift – mountains, the sea, the grey, the bright, the mist, the sunshine, the solitude, the camaraderie, human emotions, things greater than us, beyond us, behind us, in front of us.

Robb Johnson’s Eurotopia demonstrates why he’s one of our best songwriters in a collection of reflections on his travels around Europe – the people in these places and their stories.

Cinnamon Tree, the debut album from a teenaged Nora Brown, took me by surprise. I love the tunes and it makes great listening but even more importantly it shows that even the old tunes are still capable of being passed on. It also shows us what a talent for playing and interpretation Nora has.

This is a set of songs, all written by Samantha, that come from the heart and are great observations on life, whether that be hers or others; we can instantly relate to them and know that they reflect how we feel.

This is an album that is unashamedly political and whilst it contains stories back from across history, these serve to remind us of how we got to where we are now, and that we should think before we are led down the same route again. An album of protest and of warning but also of hope and of aspiration.

On Bring Us In, the clarity, the harmony and the arrangements offer a good picture of what Marisa, Jack and Davy have to offer – full of style and, yes, quirky but good quirky. Now we can hopefully look forward to the full long-player.

This is an excellent album in so many ways. Nick and Becki’s own compositions fit well with the traditional pieces and whole works together in such a way that is rare to find. If you don’t listen to this, you will be missing out on a great album.

Fire Under the Bridge is almost relentless in its energy. This is joyful music and you just know that Pons Aelius are having fun making it. Lots of talent, lots of dynamism.

Timeless; exquisite production; great selection of tunes; social commentary. What’s not to dislike? Nothing. But what has lifted it even higher for me is that my partner says that she really likes it. Now that kind of praise is extremely rare.

We take a look at Richard King’s latest book The Lark Ascending which is said to explore how Britain’s history and identity has been shaped by the mysterious relationship between music and nature.