News

Villagers treated the good folk at NPR to a Tiny Desk Concert. Connor O’Brien of Dublin, Ireland, kicked off the set with Ship of Promises which shows off his great vocal talents to the full. If you are new to Villagers then you’re in for a surprising treat from this amazing young man. NPR declared this one of the most beautiful sets they’ve ever had. Villagers will be playing at …

According to Johnmartyn.com work on a tribute album is now well underway that will feature many well known artists singing their own interpretations of John’s songs. To date the following artists have all confirmed their support.

ODDSAC, is the new feature film collaboration between the band Animal Collective and filmmaker Danny Perez. The band have been working on the film for the last four years which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Mt. Desolation are pleased to announce details of their debut tour of the UK and Ireland, as announced on the band’s blog this week. The new side project of Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin will head out across the UK and Ireland in September, kicking off in Belfast on the 9th September and concluding in Brighton at The Ballroom on the 28th September.

After a sell-out gig at London’s Roundhouse The Black Cab Sessions managed to knab a couple of band members for a next morning cab session. According to the site, the guys were very hungover. I thought they performed well despite this. The shades maybe helped. They made a big impact at SXSW this year and they released their third full-length LP, entitled ‘Infinite Arms’, back in May through Columbia Records. …

This August will mark the limited release of Simone Felice – Live From A Lonely Place. Recorded at home (in the barn) just a few weeks after his heart surgery, this retrospective collection includes songs from the earliest Felice Brother days, Duke & King favorites, and the traditional Celtic waltz ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ arranged by Simone.

Sons of Noel Adrian, The Leisure Society and varied Willkommen support lay a course from Brighton to Bristol to Leeds, across to Manchester and finally to Kendal in the Lake District.

Bobby Long’s manager, Phil Taylor, has just announced details of Bobby Long’s long awaited European tour. He is hoping for an addtional Paris date on 4th October but this is still to be confirmed. I’m guessing this will tie in with his album release on ATO records but I’m just guessing OK. For those wanting to catch him in England, you better get in there quick and get a ticket …

Bristol’s Folk Festival is being revived – after a gap of 32 years. And this time it will be indoors. It will take place over three days at the city’s Colston Hall during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend next year.

We’ve been catching up on news from some of our favourite artists today and came across this recent live performance by Sharon Van Etten. Sharon is due to release her second album in October titled Epic which will be a seven song collection. This video was filmed at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and it’s one hell of a powerful performance.

We are big fans of Emily and the Woods here on Folk Radio UK. We first heard her at a Communion Night in Bristol. Since then she has been busy finishing her studies at University and has managed to release a great music video for Never Play. Watch the video now and listen again to the exclusive acoustic session she recorded for us back in May this year

Momentos is a new short film from Nuna Rocha. Nuna wrote and directed it for LG Portugal. The concept, “Life’s good” was the main theme. Despite being made for a commercial company, you could easily be unaware of this. It is both a sad and moving short film, one you would not maybe expect to be used commercially. Enjoy