John Kirkpatrick

Following his 2006 Carolling & Crumpets, the English folk squeezebox maestro John Kirkpatrick delivers a midwinter treat with a new Christmas collection titled ‘Joy & Jubilation’. He is accompanied by members of the South Shropshire ‘Castle Carols’, and his son Benji also features.

John Kirkpatrick’s Carolling and Crumpets is an excellent antidote to the perpetual Wizzard and Slade drummed into shoppers ears this time of year. There are no airs, no graces, just a man and his instrument, a few stories and a set of good songs.

If there are any listeners who might harbour the thought that the presentation of “one man and his box” would by now be sounding a touch tired, then this thoroughly refreshing new John Kirkpatrick album should convince them otherwise. It finds him in splendid voice and both nimble and sparky in his perennially expert squeezeboxery.

Johnny shares some his many highlights of this year’s FolkEast festival including The Young’uns, Jon Boden, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Martin Carthy, Hughie Jones, Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage, LAU, Dan Walsh, Will Pound, Damien O’Kane and many more.

Chris Foster has the uncanny ability to make everything he does appear easy, assembling or arranging songs like an artisan builds a drystone wall. And like drystone walls, Hadelin is sure to stand the test of time. The album features Jim Moray, Jackie Oates, John Kirkpatrick, Jim Causley & more.

Whilst not a full-on festive offering, our latest mix does contain some festive cheer from Steve Tilston & Maggie Boyle, Tim Laycock, Richard Farina With Blind Boy Grunt (better known as Bob Dylan) & Eric Von Schmidt, and some top-notch wassailing from John Kirkpatrick. Plus classics from the likes of John Martyn, Sandy Denny, Hamish Imlach and Richard Thompson and some great new music and a wee delve into Topic …

A New Ground admirably follows the acknowledged Home Service practice of complementing keen philosophical and politically aware commentaries in song – stirring, diverse and creative. A magnificent team effort with John Kirkpatrick as vocal frontman.

Jon Boden compiles The Ultimate Guide To English Folk, a lavish two-disc primer designed to appeal to experienced folkies and newbies alike. It is not the first such collection, but it is probably the most wide-ranging, lovingly compiled and inventively sequenced. One of the most important messages to take from this compilation is that while folk music in England is something of an extended family, it is by no means …

Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as part of its All Together Now project, have commissioned folk musician John Kirkpatrick to create a unique archive of traditional music from Shropshire, the first ever collection of music that has its origins in the county.

For three days, Bristol’s Colston Hall was transformed into a place called Lau-Land. Traditional music mixed with the avant-garde and the genre-defying to create an all-round remarkable experience. But what else would you expect from a weekend curated by such an innovative, creative band such as Lau?

Read our latest Sidmouth Folk Week interview: English singer and melodeon/concertina player…and dancer/founder of Shropshire Bedlams – John Kirkpatrick

Cult classics, originally released in the 90s, a live and studio set from The John Kirkpatrick Band prove to have the style and substance of their bid for folk rock stardom.