James Fagan

We chat to Sheffield’s Melrose Quartet about their new album ‘Make the World Anew’ – a staunch defence of the sheer joy of creativity, allowing for contemporary political songwriting and age-old dance tunes, poignant a cappella standards and complex instrumentals.

Make The World Anew attempts in a small but determined way to achieve the edict set out in its title, and it succeeds resoundingly. It is the Melrose Quartet’s most upbeat and accomplished album to date.

Melrose Quartet, featuring Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, and Jess and Richard Arrowsmith, announce their new album, ‘Make The World Anew’ and share their lead single and video animation (by Marry Waterson) for ‘Scarecrow’, a song written by Lal & Mike Waterson.

An Evening With Nancy Kerr And James Fagan captures one of folk music’s most enduring and talented acts in their natural habitat and provides the perfect snapshot of the duo at the top of their game.

The Melrose Quartet embody the kind of collaborative spirit and socially aware stance that makes folk music such an interesting, challenging and continually relevant form. As demonstrated on Dominion, they have prospered by seizing the day, by daring to do things that are slightly different…who are able to make old songs sound new, and new ones sound timeless.

Multi-award winning folk musician Nancy Kerr and her Sweet Visitor Band provide an evening of top entertainment at Ashcroft Arts Centre which included new material that will feature on her next album.

English folk singer Sandra Kerr shares her Sidmouth memories which range from performing a Bagpuss show to drinking pimms. If that doesn’t sell it, nothing will.

The James Brothers are in fact not brothers and only one of them is called James…James Fagan and Jamie McClennan announce UK tour and are also our Tune of the Day.

The highly anticipated debut album Fifty Verses from Melrose Quartet: Nancy Kerr & James Fagan / Jess & Richard Arrowsmith get’s released this August. Find out how fate brought them together.

Eliza Carthy’s biography Wayward Daughter by Sophie Parkes was released this month. To celebrate, a launch party was held at The Greystones, Sheffield, yesterday evening (22nd May) which was attended by some very familar faces!

The following videos are from the Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2010 which featured a host of names I’m sure many of you are familar with including Bellowhead, Dervish and Andy Irvine, Genticorum, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Boo Hewerdine and Heidi Talbot to name just a few.

Some great gigs coming up that are worth getting a ticket for if you can over the next week, including: Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Goodnight Lenin and The Old Dance School, Martin Carthy, Ade Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds, Annabelle Chvostek, Dave Swarbrick, Vicki Swan And Jonny Dyer and more