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Welcome to our features and news page, essentially this little corner of Folk & Roots includes articles, news and links to features. Why not submit an article or news item or share your opinions or experiences with other visitors to the site?
Over the coming year this page will be expanded somewhat with more regular news/articles/press releases being added so watch this space...
Contents:
The Sacred Shakers....Cool, Old-Time Gospel Music.... Hallelujah!!
Dead Like Harry
North Devon Folk Festival
Canadian Trio Elliott BROOD Set To Release Stunning New Album, Mountain Meadows, A Career High On Six Shooter Records
From Lantern-making to Fandango at Towersey 2008
Who Gives a Folk?
Debut Album from Folk Dance Duo Folkus Pocus
Award-winning Folk group on UK Tour
Folk Stars Gather to Commemorate Vaughan Williams Anniversary
Eilen Jewell, The New Star Of Old-Time Country, Returns To UK In August
Chris Smither - DVD and UK Dates
'Moonshine, Murder, Mountains & Mudflats
- Songs & Tunes From The Leigh Folk Festival 2008'
Show of Hands help Tewkesbury draw line under disaster
Crooked Still, Still Crooked
Rachel Hair and Joy Dunlop Tour 2008
Sidmouth Festival Stewards
Folk by The Oak, Hatfield, Hertfordshire - Sunday 27 July 2008
Proms Appearance Beckons For Show Of Hands
EFDSS Announces Bert Lloyd Centenary Event
Les Elvin & Pete Fyfe’s Big Night Out
Tanglefoot Wins best Vocal Group
The Folk Handbook - Working With Songs From The English Tradition
Classic Folk Song Collection In New Edition
Viv Youell
Report of Fiddlers Various 2007: Tommy Peoples' tour of SE England
Cyril Tawney - new CDs
Virtual Open Mic - Online Radio Station
Travellers Joy Zetcast
Rock'n'Reel is back!
Sheffield Folk
The Grascals
New Folk Guide for Cumbria
Folk Music Library Goes Online
Angelic Music
Strangeworld
New Publication - The Anglo-Concertina Music of William Kimber
Radio Britfolk
Lauren MacColl
Gloucestershire Blues
Across the Pond
Girls with Guitars
Rose of the Ribble Valley
Jen Charlton
Siansa
Sidmouth - 50 Years in the Making
Borders Young Fiddlers
The Sacred Shakers....Cool, Old-Time Gospel Music.... Hallelujah!!Fresh from the success of her sensational old-time country gem, Letters From Sinners And Strangers, Boise-Idaho native Eilen Jewell and a handful of her like-minded chums are set to release The Sacred Shakers, a sensational take on American gospel music from the 1950s. The album will be released on September 22nd on Signature Sounds.
In early 2006 The Sacred Shakers hosted the Country Gospel Brunch Sunday afternoons in the Boston area. Jason Beek, Shakers' drummer, assembled the group after hearing about a similar series from a friend in New Mexico. The idea was to find like-minded musicians who share a passion for a sort of niche gospel music and not the typical R&B gospel sound of today...gospel music that was performed by the likes of country legends Hank Williams and the Carter Family. Other influences included hill-country bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell and the She-Wolf, Jessie Mae Hemphill as well as gospel greats like Rev. Charlie Jackson, Rev. Louis Overstreet, The Staple Singers and many more.
Beek assembled a fine group of Boston area roots musicians for the gig – the aforementioned Americana gem Eilen Jewell, Bluegrass cat Daniel Fram, America's Bass player Johnny Sciascia and veteran violinist Daniel Kellar. In addition, the brunch series featured a special weekly guest. Among the many great guests were WC Handy Award winners Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Signature Sounds recording artist Mark Erelli, Mr. Airplane Man's Margaret Garrett, Alastair Moock and many more.
Eilen Jewell UK Tour (Full Band)
Aug 22nd Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Aug 23rd Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Aug 24th Low Mill, North York Moors – The Band Room
Aug 25th Brighton – The Prince Albert
Aug 27th Cornwall – Penzance – The Acorn Arts Centre
Aug 28th Bristol – St Bonaventure’s
Aug 29th London – The Green Note
Aug 30th Woodbridge, Suffolk – Maverick Folk Festival
Sheffield Band Released on iTunes
- Dead Like Harry, the latest band to come out of Sheffield launches on iTunes -Hot on the heels of Tiny Dancers, Richard Hawley and of course the Arctic Monkeys, Dead Like Harry seem to be riding the wave of young talent coming out of Yorkshire.
After playing to over 6000 people at the Sheffield Hallam FM Arena, followed by a couple of shows at the renowned Rock Garden in London, Dead Like Harry are appearing at The Cornbury Music Festival in July playing on the same bill as the legendary Paul Simon.
Working with producer Alan Smyth (Richard Hawley, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Reverend and the Makers) Dead Like Harry have just released their new EP 'When We Were 17'. This music will be available to download from iTunes from 2nd June.
With a blend of rock, blues, country and even folk influences, Dead Like Harry look to be the latest Sheffield band to find success through their increasingly high profile live performances.
-Press-
"Strong of melody, rich in lyrical content and bound together by top-notch musicianship, Dead Like Harry's fresh take on traditional influences such as the blues, rock and folk is a real treat to behold. Surely fame beckons for this Sheffield-based six piece". BBC Radio Sheffield
"Dead Like Harry are the Steel City's answer to Fleetwood Mac" Sandman Magazine
"Their musicianship and harmonies are a wonder to behold" www.whatsonsouth.com
"Sheffield country magic" Sheffield Scene Magazine
www.deadlikeharry.co.uk / www.myspace.com/deadlikeharrymusic
North Devon Folk FestivalTalented folk by the sea
The second North Devon Folk Festival is back with Melanie, Bellowhead, Eddi Reader, Trans-Global Underground and more…
After the success of its first year the second North Devon Folk Festival is back from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th September with more great music and entertainment. Set in and around the stunning sea front location of the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe with North Devon’s dramatic coastline as a backdrop, this is a great excuse to escape the rat race and sample some superb folk music.
The line up this year includes Melanie, Bellowhead, Eddi Reader, Trans-Global Underground, Tarras, John Tams and Barry Coope, Devon Sproule Band, Last Night’s Fun, Bella Hardy Trio, Annabelle Chvostek, Martha Tilston, Steve Tilston and many more.
The music takes place across three stages, all under cover so there will be no need to bring your wet weather gear! As usual there will be a range of local real ales and ciders to try as well as festival food to tempt you and market stalls to browse around.
Headliner Melanie Safka is one of the most recognised and respected faces in the folk music world. Hailed by the New York Times as the female Bob Dylan, she is best known for her huge 1971 hit Brand New Key which was later re-written by the West Country’s own The Wurzels for their number one song The Combine Harvester.
Melanie’s popularity has not diminished over the years. On average she has released one album a year since 1969, and in 2007 she performed to a sell-out crowd at the Meltdown Festival in London, garnering rave reviews with The Independent stating, “Melanie has earned her place alongside Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell and Marianne Faithfull in the pantheon of iconic female singers”.
Bellowhead are an eleven piece band and the brainchild of folk duo Spiers and Boden. Formed in 2004 after John Spiers and Jon Boden came up with the idea of creating a big folk band while stuck in traffic on the M25, Bellowhead create riots of colourful sounds and are fast becoming the talk of the folk world. The band has won the Best Live Act at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards three times (2005, 2007 and 2008) and released their debut album Burlesque in 2006 to great critical acclaim.
Singer/songwriter Eddi Reader has come a long way since forming the pop group Fairground Attraction in the 1980s. With the band she recorded the number one single Perfect in 1988, and won two BRIT Awards for Best Single and Best Album in 1989. Eddi is now a successful solo artist and has worked with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra recording an album of material by celebrated poet Robert Burns, and released her eighth album last year.
Fresh from WOMAD Festival, Trans-Global Underground bring their special fusion of Western, Oriental and African music styles to the North Devon Folk Festival. Formed in the early 90s, the band has a fairly fluid line up and welcome many guest artists to perform with them. They have recorded nine albums and remain a very popular live act with gig goers.
Other acts performing over Saturday and Sunday are the highly regarded traditional band Tarras, the spine tingling harmonies of John Tams and Barry Coope, the magical guitarist Devon Sproule and her band, the blistering soulful tunes of Last Night’s Fun, fiddle-singer extraordinaire Bella Hardy Trio, Canadian multi-instrumentalist Annabelle Chvostek Trio, father and daughter Steve and Martha Tilston, good time performer Debby McClatchy, the vibrant and original Dragonsfly, the jigs and shanties of The Dambuskers, comedy musical trio The Singing Sous Chefs, home-grown talent Jenna, the imaginative fiddle and bluesy sound of Fiddlebix, and atmospheric songwriter Chris Millington.
Friday evening’s entertainment is completely free and will showcase well known North Devon songwriters, traditional musicians and new wave folk. Special guest will be Jez Lowe, the enchanting singer/songwriter and BBC Radio 2 Folk Award 2008 nominee. He will be joined by Tom & Barbara Brown, Al & Pam Cruse, Ian Hudson, and Martyn Babb.
The North Devon Folk Festival has teamed up with nearby accommodation providers Woolacombe Holiday Parcs and Hidden Valley Park to offer great savings over the Folk Festival weekend. With a choice of sea view holiday homes, luxury lodges, camping and caravan sites it couldn’t be easier to spend some time in beautiful North Devon while soaking up some great folk music by the sea before the autumn weather kicks in.
Tickets for the weekend are priced at £50 for adults, 12-16 year olds at £10, and under 12s free. Day tickets are also available.
For further information or to book tickets call the Box Office on 01271 32 42 42 or visit www.northdevontheatres.org.uk
Canadian Trio Elliott BROOD Set To Release Stunning New Album, Mountain Meadows, A Career High On Six Shooter Records
Stalking shadows on the prairies with a compass and set of matches and whispering tales under darkening skies, obsessed with history or historically obsessed, either way, Elliott BROOD have a penchant for stories they just can’t shake.
With the release of their new record, Mountain Meadows, released on September 22nd on comes a new chapter. It marks the evolution of Elliott BROOD from a backwoods character into a timeless figure. Recorded in town halls, front rooms, back rooms and good old recording studios with BROOD stalwarts – Mark Sasso, Stephen Pitkin, and Casey Laforet - the album’s wandering melodies are driven by rusty guitars and aching vocals that waltz around charming piano lines while ukuleles and banjos sway to and fro between a chorus of horns. It’s sunnier the higher you climb the Mountain, but in the Meadows below lay darker themes each with their own lore.
Since their beginnings with their EP, Tin Type, home of the cult hit, O’ Alberta!, to their Juno-nominated, debut full length Ambassador, Elliott BROOD have earned the praise of connoisseurs and critics alike. They’ve won over legions of fans with their raw, energetic live shows and their atmospheric, richly crafted records, making a name for themselves worldwide. They’ve carried their tune through seven cross Canada marathons, including the headlining spot on the Exclaim! Magazine sponsored Wood, Wires & Whiskey tour and opening shows for Wilco, Blue Rodeo, Corb Lund and The Sadies. They’ve completed three European tours, playing Festivals throughout Europe, the UK and Scandinavia, including an opening spot in Paris with Broken Social Scene. The BROOD have toured through the USA with Do, Make, Say Think and they made their debut in Australia with the release of Ambassador on ABC Records in the spring of 2008. Alongside the Juno nomination, Ambassador earned The BROOD a Galaxy Rising Star award for Best New Artist 2006, landing them on Best of Lists from The Globe & Mail to CBC Radio 3, a four-star review from UNCUT, and kept them on the college radio charts for over 17 weeks.
Elliott BROOD will be playing a number of UK shows in October
From Lantern-making to Fandango This year, Oxfordshire's Towersey Village Festival is packed full with more workshops than ever before. From Fandango and Harmony Singing to Lantern-making and Yoga, the Festival's wide and varied workshop programme offers activities for all ages and abilities. All that's really left to decide is which one to try first!
Towersey offers an enormous array of dance workshops including Breton, Scandinavian, Contra, Rapper, French Bourrees, Austrian, Fandango, Irish Step, Molly, Border Morris, North West Morris, Longsword and Appalachian. For those keen to flex their vocal chords there are workshops in Harmony Singing, Global Vocals and festival-goers can even learn how to Sing Like a Bloke! Music workshops range from Afro Brazilian Dance, Austrian and Hungarian music to American Traditional music and English Song as well as Concertina classes and the ever-popular Slow and Steady Music sessions. The Festival also offers Yoga sessions, lantern-making and circus skills workshops.
Towersey's Shooting Roots project offers young people aged 12-25 an opportunity to develop new skills, meet loads of other young people and experience the excitement of being involved at the grass roots of a folk festival. This year's workshops include the Funky World Band, the Ceilidh Project as well as Theatre, Craft, Dance and Song. The work of all the Shooting Roots participants will be presented in a dazzling Showcase on Monday evening.
There are also loads of great activities on offer for the younger ones at the Towersey Children's Festival, which is renowned for being one of the best on the scene. This year's programme includes Taiko drumming, song workshops, storytelling, craft workshops, parachute games, circus skills, dance classes, Mini Melodeons and a ceilidh workshop with Whapweasel. There will also be a magical family puppet show from Hand to Mouth Theatre Company called Head in the Clouds, the Grand Family Ceilidh and a chance to experience the hugely popular Family Bat Walk.
Towersey's workshop programme offers a great opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and get truly caught up and involved in the Festival atmosphere. More information and all the latest updates can be found on the Festival website at www.towerseyfestival.com
Towersey Artist Line-up : June 2008 Bellowhead * Show of Hands * Kathryn Tickell Band * Lunasa Martin Simpson Trio * Salsa Celtica * Blowzabella * Chris Wood The Poozies * Breabach * Roy Bailey * Jez Lowe * Whapweasel Faustus * Ruth Notman * The Omega 3 * Mawkin:Causley * Stygiens Crucible * Leon Rosselson * Glorystrokes * Skavolution * Jody Kruskal * Hugh Lupton Lauren McCormick * Park Bench Social Club * The Woodpecker Band The Gloworms * Last Orders * Benji Kirkpatrick * Jackie Oates * Axe Bahia Axe Mick Ryan and Pete Harris * Steamchicken * Jeana Leslie and Siobhan Miller English Contra Dance Band * Beckett Irish Dancers * Stephen Taberner * Asha Doug Eunson & Sarah Matthews * An Danserien Noz (Brittany) Jiggerypipery Musicians of Regos Hungarian Folk Music Ensemble * Witchmen Stone Monkey Sword Dancers * Chinewrde Morris * Pig Dyke Molly Haddenham Hoofers * Jake Jones & Dan Eccles * Bampton Morris Folk Group Klosterneuberg * Andrew Swaine * Gordon Potts * Pete Rees Cat Kelly * Martyn Harvey * Tom Moore & Archie Churchill Moss Bob & Gill Berry * Jason Maverick * Hand to Mouth Theatre * Larkin About Circo Rum Ba Ba * Mike Jackson ?Wynndebagge * Towersey Morris Men David Oliver * Gael Folk Music Academy * Kerry Fletcher and more…
Who gives a folk?Folk, the people's music, means many things to many people. Folk music often seems squeezed from above and below. Pop music, and the folk-fusions that follow in its wake, are seen by some purists as diluting the folk tradition. At the same time it seems that this 'people's culture' is scorned by the cultural establishment. In the last few years, however, a revival of English folk music has seen a plethora of new folk styles sprout up, from nu-folk to twisted folk, from Bat for Lashes to Tunng and even twindie, a new generation seems to be giving folk new meaning and an unexpected lease of life. Has folk finally left behind its parochial, twee image?
Politics seems to be an essential part of the revival. From the Levellers' Battle of the Beanfield to Clan Dyken's 'eco-folk', have 'new age' subcultures and green politics helped to recover folk's radical roots? Some hope a revived folk tradition might help create a more 'radical' English identity and heritage, an alternative to the flag-waving jingoism of Rule Britannia. Liberal peer Lord Redesdale wants to have 14,000 morris dancers at the 2012 Olympics. But is folk in danger of being co-opted and sanitised just as it seems to be reinvigorated? At the start of the 20th century progressive enthusiasts propagated the idea that folk music could reconnect 'the people' with their past, and with each other, and inspire a collective outlook. In the very different political context of the 21st century, is folk music fulfilling its potential, or is it just another brand?
Join the legendary singer Barb Jungr, the Daily Telegraph music critic Ivan Hewett, Time Out music editor Eddy Lawrence, together with the music journalist Neil Davenport, music scholar Cara Bleiman, folk artist, composer and lyricist Chris Wood and folk enthusiasts Don Eales and Abdul Rehman-Malik in discussion with the Institute of Ideas and Guardian arts blog's Shirley Dent to find out who really does give a folk. Plus Joe Discoll and Sean Taylor live and free in the Vibe Bar. Hang on to your harmonica and prepare to fight your corner in the first Time Out Battle Satellites 2008 in association with Vibe Live.
Vibe Live, 91-95 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL, 7 - 9pm 29 July 2008
Tickets £7.50/5.00 available online at www.battleofideas.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7269 9220
Debut Album from Folk Dance Duo Folkus Pocus‘Under No Illusion', the debut album of the folk dance duo Folkus Pocus, was launched at the Lichfield Folk Festival on 21 June 2008. Published by the English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS), the album features 17 tracks ranging from traditional tunes such as ‘Morpeth Rant' and ‘Pipe on the Hob' to tunes from Playford's 17th century dance collection including ‘Parson's Farewell', as well as American contra dance reels and some recently written tunes.
The CD booklet includes the descriptions of three previously unpublished dances, and all the tunes are played at dance speed.
The album will appeal to dancers, callers and musicians, particularly within the folk dance club scene, as well as folk dance festival enthusiasts.
Folkus Pocus are Caroline and Dan Hollingshurst, two young instrumentalists who met while studying music at university. Caroline's life-long love of folk dance music combines with Dan's improvised jazz and classical music background to create arrangements that are fresh, vibrant and eminently danceable!
Caroline's main instrument is the fiddle, but she also plays the flute and recorder on the CD, while Dan plays the piano. Read more about the duo at www.folkuspocus.com
The EFDSS is grateful to the Lichfield Folk Dance Festival and Lichfield Folk Dance Club for financial assistance with the production of this album.
‘Under No Illusion' by Folkus Pocus [EFDSSCD16] is published by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Copies are available from the EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY. Tel: 0207 485 2206. www.efdss.org Price: £13.95 plus £2.00 p&p.
Award-winning Folk group on UK Tour The Anna Massie Band are set for another busy summer with a full UK tour taking them across England and Scotland and then heading off to the US to play a prestigious folk festival. It's no wonder they have been picking up awards since they formed in 2003.
This band is on the up, as their increasing array of nominations and awards proves: nominated for "Best Up and Coming Act" at the 2004 Scots Trad Music Awards, Anna's nominations for the "Horizon" award at the 2005 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and "Best Instrumentalist" at the 2005 Scots Trad Music Awards, and "Best Folk Band" at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2006.
The Anna Massie Band is a young, dynamic trio finding a very warm welcome amongst Scotland's top bands. Featuring Anna Massie, who won Young Trad Musician of the Year in 2003, on fiddle, mandolin, tenor banjo and flat-picking guitar, Jenn Butterworth on guitar and vocals and Mairearad Green on accordion and border pipes, the band has made a considerable impression on the international folk scene.
The Milwaukee Irish Festival is where the band is off to after the UK tour. Their engaging, energetic and enthralling music and song are sure to win them many fans over in America where they will be performing along side top names such as The Saw Doctors, Peatbog Faeries and Lau.
Be sure to catch them in July during their tour!
July Tour Dates
Thursday 3 CARNEGIE HALL, CLASHMORE
Friday 4 BYRE THEATRE, ST ANDREWS
Saturday 5 THE TOLBOOTH, STIRLING
Tuesday 8 ALNWICK PLAYHOUSE, ALNWICK
Wednesday 9 EASTGATE THEATRE, PEEBLES
Friday 11 LODGE ON THE LOCH, LOCH LOMOND
Saturday 12 LOCHINVER VILLAGE HALL, LOCHINVER
Wednesday 16 PITLOCHRY FESTIVAL THEATRE, PITLOCHRY
Thursday 17 EDEN COURT THEATRE, INVERNESS
Friday 18 COIGACH COMMUNITY HALL, ACHILTIBUIE
Saturday 19 FEIS AN EILEIN, ISLE OF SKYE
Folk Stars Gather to Commemorate Vaughan Williams AnniversaryLuminaries of the folk world will gather at Cecil Sharp House in London, home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, on Saturday 4th October to pay tribute to one of the most important figures in English music, Ralph Vaughan Williams.
RVW is a day-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams, featuring concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and appearances by folk legends including Shirley Collins and Eliza Carthy.
While Vaughan Williams' legacy as a composer is widely known, his contribution to preserving the nation's traditional music heritage is perhaps less celebrated outside of folk circles. He was responsible for collecting over 800 songs from traditional singers, and such tunes often found their way into his composed work. This collecting legacy was vital, as the songs collected by Vaughan Williams and his fellow composers formed the backbone of the English folk song revival.
The day's events will include two concerts: Vaughan Williams and Friends is an informal afternoon concert of songs collected by Vaughan Williams' contemporaries such as Percy Grainger and George Butterworth, which will be performed by Tim Van Eyken, Mary Humphreys and Anahata, Chris Coe and Katie Howson, Jim Causley, and Sam Lee and Lauren McCormick. Bushes and Briars is an evening concert featuring a soundscape journey through the song collecting of Vaughan Williams himself. There will be songs from Eliza Carthy, Jon Boden and Fay Hield, Lisa Knapp, Jim Causley and Jackie Oates, and Jim Moray. Shirley Collins will bring the story to life with narrative readings.
Between concerts there will be talks from Katie Howson, Shirley Collins and Mary Humphreys which explore Vaughan Williams' life and work, and exhibitions provided by the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
The day starts at 12 noon, with the evening concert starting at 8pm. Tickets are £20 (concessions £15) for the full day, or £15 (concessions £13) for the evening concert only. All profits will benefit the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Tickets are available by phone on 020 7121 1100, on line at www.theplace.org.uk. Postal bookings should be sent to EFDSS at Cecil Sharp House.
Eilen Jewell, The New Star Of Old-Time Country, Returns To UK In AugustFollowing on from her hugely successful UK tour earlier this year where she recorded sessions for both Matk Lamarr and Bob Harris (BBC Radio 2), Boise Idaho born songstress Eilen Jewell returns to these shores in August. In the company of her fabulous band, Jewell will be performing at both The Shrewsbury Folk Festival and Maverick Festival alongside some club shows.
Jewell, whose unique brand of old-time country stylings mixed with R’n‘R and Rockabilly has left audiences drooling in her wake, released her excellent Letters From Sinners And Strangers to great reviews late last year. Jewell’s heart-achingly hushed style and intimate grasp of roots music’s wild graces are revealed in the CD’s provocative, melodic originals and timeless country and blues classics. Set to a swaying, irrepressible groove, the subdued emotion in her soft soprano feels like music straining beneath skin. Her band (drummer Jason Beek, Jerry Miller on electric and steel guitar, and Johnny Sciascia covering the low end on upright bass) evokes classic country, folk and swing without feeling nostalgic. Nothing about roots is retro in Eilen Jewell’s universe.
Later this year Signature Sounds/Continental will be releasing the self-tiled Sacred Shakers album. This is a record that features Jewell in tandem with her gospel band including Jason Beek, Daniel Fram, Daniel Kellar, and a host of Boston’s finest roots musicians.
UK Tour (Full Band)
Aug 22nd Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Aug 23rd Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Aug 24th Low Mill, North York Moors – The Band Room
Aug 25th Brighton – The Prince Albert
Aug 27th Cornwall – Penzance – The Acorn Arts Centre
Aug 28th Bristol – St Bonaventure’s
Aug 29th London – The Green Note
Aug 30th Woodbridge, Suffolk – Maverick Folk Festival
Chris Smither Announces DVD Release And UK Dates For OctoberMiami-born guitarist and songwriter Chris Smither is set to release a live DVD, One More Night, to coincide with a number of UK shows lined-up for October. Released on Signature Sounds on September 1st, the DVD features footage from two intimate shows Smither performed in Lyme, Connecticut in 2007, plus excerpts from a rare full-band show in 2006 from The Sommerville Theatre in Boston. Smither is joined in these performances by the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and producer David Goodrich. Also included is an in-depth interview with Smither in which he describes both his influences and technical procedures.
Smither will be playing a number of solo shows in the UK in October. A renowned live performer both in Europe and the US has led to him becoming almost a permanent fixture on the festival and acoustic scene since the early 70s.
Honing a synthesis of folk and blues for more than 40 years, Chris Smither is truly an American original. His music draws deeply from blues and American folk music, modern poets and humanist philosophers. A profound songwriter, a blistering guitarist and, as he puts it, a "one-man band to the bone," Chris melds the styles of his two major influences, Lightning' Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt, into his own signature guitar sound. Critically acclaimed, Chris tours solo all over the globe, performing 150+ concerts a year. Perhaps known best for having written the songs "Love You Like a Man" and "I Feel the Same" (both recorded by Bonnie Raitt), Chris' music has also been covered by John Mayall, Emmylou Harris, and most recently, jazz great Diana Krall. Reviewers praise his dazzling guitar work, gravelly voice, and sophisticated songwriting.
UK Tour - Sept/Oct 2008
30th Huntingdon Hall, WORCESTER 01905 611427, 8PM, £12/10
1st South Street Arts, READING 0118 9606060, 8PM, £12
2nd The Garrick, LITCHFIELD 01543 412121, 7.30PM, £12
3rd Sundial Theatre, CIRENCESTER 01285 654228, 7.30PM, £10/12
4th Tremayne Hall, MYLOR 01326 374767, 8PM, £10
5th Plough Arts Centre, TORRINGTON 01805 624624, 7.30PM, £12/10
6th The Luminaire, LONDON 020 7372 7123, 7.30PM,£14
5th Plough Arts Centre, TORRINGTON 01805 624624, 7.30PM, £12/10
6th The Luminaire, LONDON 020 7372 7123, 8PM. £14
7th The Mill Arts Centre, BANBURY 012952 279002 (TBA)
9th Trades Club, HEBDEN BRIDGE 01422 845265, 8.30PM, £8/10
10th Little Theatre, NEWCASTLE 01912 605605, 8PM, £12
11th Brookfield Hall, BROOKFIELD 01505 706346, 8PM, £12
12th Tall Ship, GLASGOW 0870 220 1116, 7.30PM, £12
'Moonshine, Murder, Mountains & Mudflats
- Songs & Tunes From The Leigh Folk Festival 2008'
- This is the first compilation CD to be produced as a fundraising project by the Leigh Folk Festival organisation.
- Entitled 'Moonshine, Murder, Mountains & Mudflats', the CD features a 20 track cross-section of the 70+ musical acts due to perform at the 2008 event.
- All the tracks have been generously donated to the project by the artists involved, with the title referring to some of the themes that emerge from this exceptional batch of songs.
- The selection reflects the wide range and diversity of the festival programme, ranging from traditional to contemporary sounds, taking in Americana, psychedelic folk, early music and much more besides.
- The acts featured include high profile names, such as Rachel Unthank & the Winterset, Mawkin, Kirsty McGee & Mat Martin, and Rachel Harrington, alongside less established and many local performers.
- The CD retails at the affordable price of £5, and will be available from early June via the festival websites, local outlets and from venues during the festival itself.
- Leigh-on-Sea and the 'Thames Delta' area has ever been a hotbed of artistic and musical creativity, and each summer the town plays host to what is probably the largest free folk festival in the UK, in a unique seaside setting.
- The last few years have seen a real resurgence of interest in the folk music and traditions of the British Isles, with a whole new generation recognising the richness and relevance of their cultural inheritance.
- The event, which this year runs from Thursday June 26 to Sunday June 29, attracts visitors from all across the country, while still firmly maintaining its connection to the local community.
- Uniquely for a folk festival on this scale, this is essentially a free, open event, giving an opportunity for all to see and hear some of the finest folk artists in the country. The same mix of music, camping, foodie stalls, and laid-back vibe as Glastonbury, without the startling ticket price!' - The Observer.
The Thames Delta Recording Co. MUD001CD www.leighfolkfestival.co.uk
www.myspace.com/leighfolkfestival2008
"A great festival band" - Johnnie Walker, BBC Radio 2
"One of the great English bands" - Peter Gabriel
"Wonderful music" - Jools Holland
One of the finest folk duos ever to grace the scene"-Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2SHOW OF HANDS HELP TEWKESBURY
DRAW LINE UNDER DISASTER
England's award-winning, Albert Hall-playing acoustic roots duo Show of Hands are to help the Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury move on from last year's devastating floods - when they take part in a special festival on Sunday, July 20.
On the first anniversary of the catastrophe, singer songwriter Steve Knightley and multi instrumental wizard Phil Beer (left in picture) will be part of the top notch musical line-up at the Over the Rainbowfestival - an event which aims to boost the local economy and get picturesque Tewkesbury well and truly back on the map.
The Devon duo - voted Best Live Act in BBC Radio 2's 2004 Folk Awards- have sold out the Royal Albert Hall three times now, most recently in Easter 2007 and have a massive following for their unique genre-hopping music, most of it written by Knightley. Both artists used to live in Gloucestershire.
Thousands of people were affected by last summer's floods and a recent report revealed that some 380 households are still effectively homeless in Tewkesbury - with people living in caravans, B & Bs, rented homes or staying with relatives.
The festival, which will take place in and around the 12th century Tewkesbury Abbey (left, during the floods), is being funded by local businesses and organisations and organised by the Vicar of Tewkesbury, Canon Paul Williams; Borough Mayor, Councillor Brian Calway, and a group of volunteers.
The event will start with a 10am service in Tewkesbury Abbey followed by a picnic in Vicar's Garden and a carnival. The outdoor concert - a free entry event - will also feature Tewkesbury's own chart-topping ska punk quintet Spunge and The Who tribute band, My Generation while the day is due to end with a spectacular fireworks display.
Show of Hands will perform at 30 UK festivals this summer, including Gloucestershire's Saul Canal Festival (cancelled last year due to the flooding), WOMAD at Malmesbury, Wiltshire and the Welsh Proms at Cardiff's St David's Hall.
At Tewkesbury, they will be accompanied by rising star Miranda Sykes (right) on double bass and much lauded vocals. They will be on stage between 4-5pm.
The band recently added two new festival dates to their schedule - headlining at Wadebridge Folk Festival in Cornwall on Friday, August 22 and the Mind, Body & Boogie music and dance festival at Bollington, near Macclesfield on Saturday, August 30, organized by the Mental Health Organisation, where they will perform in the outdoor festival marquee.
Tickets for the Wadebridge event, price £15 (children £9) are available on 01208-814638 http://www.wadebridgefolk.co.uk
Tickets for the Show of Hands gig at the 3-day Mind, Body and Boogie festival, price £20, are available on 07725 627835 http://www.myspace.com/mindbodyandboogie
The band's full summer festival and other dates can be found at www.showofhands.co.uk
To see a video of Show of Hands performing their latest popular single Roots - which includes live footage from the Trowbridge Festival in Wiltshire - go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5h4PFBuzvw
New England’s Acclaimed ‘Modern Traditionalists’ Crooked Still Return With New Line-Up And New AlbumThe new five-member version of Crooked Still converged to mingle their creative processes at Allaire Studios in upstate New York, with producer Eric Merrill for Still Crooked, set for release in the UK on July 28th. Following a format much-praised on their last album, Shaken By A Low Sound, the album once again balances unknown traditional material with self-penned compositions, along with "Did You Sleep Well?" by fellow old-time musician Nathan Taylor, and a Mississippi John Hurt standard. The entire album was recorded "live" in one big room, with everyone playing together with Merrill capturing most songs in one or two takes. "I was outside in the hallway, because my voice is so quiet," O'Donovan says. "Recording live, you don't have an option to overdub; that always makes a better album."
Adding ‘new blood’ to the band in the shape of Brittany Haas (5 string fiddle) and Tristan Clarridge (cello), the band have taken an even more adventurous route, breathing their cosmic fire into old songs. "When Rushad left, we wanted to move in new directions," O'Donovan says. "Brittney adds another female presence to the band; I can hear my voice in her fiddling. Tristan has a refined cello tone, with a powerful, restrained energy. They bring a fresh outlook to the arrangements that keep the music exciting."
"We rehearsed for a few days before we recorded," Clarridge says. "We'd listen to a source recording, strip the songs to the bone and build an arrangement incorporating everyone's ideas. It's fun to see how many directions you can take a song." Everyone brought material for consideration.” "As we worked on the songs, we realized there was a lot of loss and mortality in the lyrics," banjo player Greg Liszt adds. . On 'Captain, Captain' a woman asks what happened to her lover and the Captain replies 'he dropped down dead in the gulf.' It's a 400-year-old line, but it gives you chills."Still Crooked is an ensemble effort of inspired music making that moves the bands' impossible- to-pigeonhole style in new directions while honouring their folk roots. "It's hard to pin down our music," bass player Corey DiMario says. "We play improvised old time music, bluegrass, folk and our own songs within the broad context of a string band. Like a lot of today's bands, we have modern and traditional influences that confuse the boundaries. We want to keep blurring those lines to make something all our own."
Summer Tour 2008 Sparkling jigs and reels, rhythmic waulking songs, heart stopping slow airs and passionate love songs…join Scottish Harp player, Rachel Hair and Gaelic singer and Scottish step dancer, Joy Dunlop, for an evening of the finest Scottish Traditional Music and Song.Rachel Hair : Scottish Harp
Joy Dunlop : Gaelic Song & Scottish step dance
Paul Tracey : Acoustic Guitar
Both critically acclaimed in their own right, the concert will see them perform as soloists, together and with accompanist Paul Tracey on guitar, as part of their Summer Highlands and Islands Tour.Rachel Hair
Described as "One of Scotland's brightest harpists" (The Scotsman), Ullapool born Scottish clàrsach player Rachel Hair is one of the most exciting and dynamic performers of her generation. Performing and touring regularly throughout the UK, Europe and further afield, her solo album "Hubcaps and Potholes was released in 2007 to rave reviews.Joy Dunlop
A native of Connel, Argyll, Joy Dunlop is one of the country's most popular Gaelic singers, "Joy Dunlop has a voice that will enthrall ANYONE! Yes...she is THAT good!" (IRFT Celtic Radio). A multi prize-winning singer and Scottish step dancer, she has performed extensively in the UK, Europe, Canada and New Zealand.Tour Dates- Summer 2008
June
Thursday 19th BLAIRGOWRIE Town Hall 7.30pm tickets on the door
Friday 20th ULLAPOOL The Cèilidh Place 7.30pm tickets 01854 612103
Saturday 21st INVERNESS Bogbain Farm, Inshes, 8pm tickets 01463 772800
Tuesday 24th ISLE OF MULL An Tobar, Tobermory 8.30pm tickets 01688 302211
Wednesday 25th ISLE OF LISMORE Village Hall, 7.30pm tickets on the door
Thursday 26th GLENCOE Crafts & Things 7.30pm tickets on the door
Friday 27th ISLE OF HARRIS Harris Hotel, Tarbert, 8pm tickets on the doo
July
Thursday 3rd ISLE OF ISLAY, Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle, Bowmore, 7.30pm tickets on the door
Friday 4th LOCHGILPHEAD Parish Church, 7.30pm tickets on the door
Saturday 5th TAYNUILT Village Hall, 7.30pm tickets on the door
August
Tuesday 12th ISLE OF SKYE Portree Community Hall, 7.30pm tickets on the door
Wednesday 13th ISLE OF SKYE Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, 7.30pm tickets on the door
Thursday 14th ACHMORE Village Hall, 7.30pm tickets on the door
Friday 15th ISLE OF HARRIS Harris Hotel, Tarbert, 8pm tickets on the door
For more information visit: www.rachelhair.com www.joydunlop.com
Sidmouth Folk Week 1-8 August 2008
Volunteer stewards are still needed. Please look at web site for information and application form http://www.sidmouthfolk.week.co.uk
Cheltenham Music Festival Highlights the influences of Folk-Song on Classical Music in 20th CenturyMeurig Bowen has announced the programme for the 64th – and his first – Cheltenham Music Festival (Friday 4-Saturday 19 July).
The major theme of this year’s Festival is the 50th anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ death which prompts a broad-ranging investigation of classical music’s connection with folk-song in the 20th century. The various compositions of the folk-inclined RVW, Holst, Grainger, Britten, Bartok, Kodaly and Lutoslawski are all performed at the Festival by distinguished folk influenced artists such as the greatest ambassador to British folk music, Kathryne Tickell. Kathryn will also explore the possibilities of combining Indian and British folk traditions with percussionist Kuljit Bharma in collaboration with SPNM. The Manchester Camerata with Gordon Nikolitch bring together Vaughan Williams’ expansive masterpiece with folk tunes and the (Cheltenham raised) Holst’s St Paul’s Suite, as well as Bartok’s 1939 Divertimento which brilliantly combines modernist and folk-like influences.
Alongside their folksong arrangements for more conventional vocal or orchestral line-ups, Vaughan Williams, Holst and Grainger all created folk suites for the remarkable sonorities of military band and they have become central showpieces in the HM Royal Marines Band repertoire around the world.
Wells Cathedral School Chamber Choir, the jewel of the specialist music school will include two choral works by Maxwell Davies, as well as Britten, Kodaly, Peter Dickenson, Bardos and Vaughan Williams in their programme.
The Trio Medieval on 5th July will dazzle with the purity of their voices and immaculate blend combining with the simplicity and pathos of their country’s folksong. ‘Early Music’ and ‘Folk’ has never combined more beautifully.
The emphasis on Folk continues with virtuoso Venezuelan Band, Trabuco. Featuring folk instruments like the cuatro (four-string guitar) and the lute-like bandola, Trabuco brings together eight of the finest classical and traditional performers in Venezuela. Their astonishing repertoire focuses on Venezuelan ‘joropo’, derived over many centuries from styles as diverse as Spanish Baroque music, Arabic dances, flamenco, melaguenas and fandangos. This is music to make you smile and dance, to mesmerise and dazzle.
Highlights include:
- Paired concerts from the BBC Philharmonic, to include Holst’s The Planets, Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra and VW’s The Lark Ascending
- An opening-weekend early music triptych, featuring Trio Medieval, the Rolf Lislevand Ensemble and John Potter’s project with saxophonist John Surman
- Schubert’s three song cycles, performed consecutively on the Festival’s final three days by Mark Padmore, Allan Clayton, Florian Boesch, Paul Lewis and Roger Vignoles
- Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis sung by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
- Handel and Vivaldi from mezzo Sarah Connolly and La Serenissima
- A pianos and percussion extravaganza, combining Carmina Burana with Reich’s Sextet and Grainger’s The Warriors
- Premieres by Peter Maxwell Davies, Mark Anthony Turnage, Tansy Davies and Jo DuddellThe Messiaen centenary is marked with performances of the Quartet for the End of Time and Ex Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum – in the magnificent, lofty surroundings of Tewkesbury Abbey.
In a Festival whose performers range as widely as Romanian gypsy legends Taraf de Haidouks, Northumbrian pipist Kathryn Tickell and the Royal Marines Concert Band, the many mainstream artists appearing feature exciting, emerging talents alongside beloved, established names:
The published programme of the 2008 Cheltenham Music Festival will be available in early April, and public booking opens on 21 April.
Acoustic Bliss Sublime Ballads Enchanting Reels JSL Productions present a picnic concert of sublime contemporary folk music set amongst the wooded fields of Hatfield Park.
The line up features an award winning gathering of musicians whose contemporary style of folk will open up a whole new acoustic world to those who haven't visited the folk genre for a while. A revolution in acoustic music, inspired by traditional roots, has been quietly evolving. Folk By The Oak will reveal the incredible wealth of talent that makes these artists so unique and exciting.
Seth Lakeman:
The MERCURY PRIZE nominee and folk sensation Seth Lakeman, has done more than anyone to bring folk into the mainstream and is a truly magnetic live performer.
Cara Dillon:
Award winning Cara Dillon described in MOJO as having 'a stunningly beautiful voice' will team up with the extraordinary talent of rising 'nu-folk' star John Smith.
Martin Simpson:
A spell-binding master of his craft and winner of BBC RADIO 2 Best Album and Best Original Song Award 2008. Julie Fowlis:
Hailed by Mark Radcliffe as ''enchanting and beguiling and as fascinating as songs by Kate Bush and Bjork" Julie is winner of BBC RADIO 2 Folk singer of the year 2008.
Ruth Notman:
A remarkable, pure and powerful voice. '…one of the most assured, varied and impressive debut albums of the year'. THE GUARDIAN. "A new voice in British Folk" The Independent - ALBUM OF THE WEEK"
Breabach:
"A young group performing with technical assurance and a feel for traditional idioms....Their raucous, driving attack is energised and exciting!" The Scotsman. These Scottish firebrands will have you up on your feet!
Matthew Ord:
An exciting newcomer on the UK roots music scene - an exceptional player and vocalist who will entertain you with his own brand of technically exquisite acoustic guitar at its best.Bring a picnic or have one delivered, sit back and absorb yourself in wistful ballads or dance along to jigs and reels surrounded by ancient trees in the beautiful Queen Elizabeth Oak Field at Hatfield House. In addition to the musical programme there will be traditional fairgrounds side stalls, craft stalls, music stalls, recycled gifts and a selection of tasty produce on site. There will also be a selection of quality refreshments and bars on site.
JSL Productions look forward to inviting you to an afternoon and evening of some of the finest acoustic music you'll hear today.
Concert arena opens 1.30pm (Ticket holders can enjoy the rest of the park at Hatfield for free from 11.00am)
Concert commences 2.30pm
Concert finishes approximately 9.30pmTicket information:
Info and booking line: 01432 355 416 website: www.folkbytheoak.com
Adult: £26 (£33 on day of concert subject to availability), Child under 16 years: £14, Family Offer: (2 adults and 2 children) £72.
Group Offer: Advance groups of 10 or more qualify for a £2 reduction per ticket
Children under 5 years free.Tickets also available from local Tourist Information Centres.
Acclaimed Devon roots duo Show of Hands will be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Welsh opera stars Bryn Terfel and Rebecca Evans and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra when they join the headliners at the 23rd Welsh Proms at Cardiff's St David's Hall this summer.Singer songwriter Steve Knightley and multi instrumentalist Phil Beer will spearhead the first Folk Prom on Tuesday, July 22 - a melting pot of music with a Celtic influence.
They will be joined by two contrasting Cornish acts - the funky 3 Daft Monkeys - an institution on the festival circuit with their infectious acoustic jiggery - and the on-song shanty singers Fishermen's Friends (left) - - a crew of real fishermen, coastguards, lifeboatmen and others all living within a nautical mile of each other in Port Isaac and making their first foray into Wales.
Fishermen's Friends guested with Show of Hands at their sell out Royal Albert Hall gig last Easter and have appeared on Show of Hands recordings, providing a rousing chorus line for some of the band's best known songs like Roots and Cousin Jack.
One of the highlights on Cardiff's cultural calendar, the Proms event at St David's is bigger and better this year, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the National Concert Hall of Wales. The 2008 season (running July 3 through to the Last Night of the Welsh Proms on July 26) will feature no less than seven magnificent home grown orchestras, also including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales whilst Terfel and Evans will star in a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah. There will also be Gamelan, Organ and Children's Proms as part of the programme.
The Show of Hands gig will showcase some of the mighty musical talent to come out of the West Country. Based at Topsham, near Exeter, Knightley and Beer have sold out the Albert Hall three times and played almost every leading festival from Glastonbury and Cambridge to Scotland's Celtic Connections.
Nominated for both Best Duo and Best Live Act at the 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - and previous winners of the latter - they continue to champion the West Country and regularly weave its people, places, legends and history into their inspirational, diverse and often anthemic songs.
Tickets for the Show of Hands gig, which starts at 8pm, are available on 029 2087 8444, price £16. More info at www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
Folk Magazine Celebrates Liverpool’s Capital of Culture YearThe new issue of English Dance & Song magazine is available today, published by the English Folk Dance and Song Society.
To celebrate Liverpool European Capital of Culture, the magazine has several features about music in the city. After an introduction, entitled ‘In My Liverpool Home’, the feature Songs of a Seaport looks at Liverpool’s maritime heritage, with a ‘new’ version of the well-known song The Leaving of Liverpool.
Jack Coutts writes about the International Shanty Festival, Shanties 08, which will accompany the start of the Tall Ships Race in July. The importance of Irish music in the city is explained by Chris Boland, chairman of the local branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (the Irish traditional music association) and Clive Pownceby looks at the long-running Radio Merseyside Folkscene programme. There are also features on eighty years of morris dancing in Liverpool, and Mersey Morris Men’s Morris Ring meeting in July, and on the folk scene in Liverpool.
The cover feature is the Young Coppers, representing a new generation of singers from this famous family of Sussex folk singers. To coincide with the release of their debut CD, Passing Out, the ‘Singer, Song and Source’ feature looks at the Young Coppers (written by Vic Smith), the song Come All Bold Britons, and editor Derek Schofield looks back at singing amongst previous generations of the Copper family.
Gavin Atkin investigates a new tune book from East Anglia, Before the Night was Out, and accompanying the article, there are two versions of the tune Oh, Joe, the Boat is Going Over, from Oscar Woods and George Craske.
Caller Cat Kelly is interviewed by Joan Crump and contributes a new dance. There is a feature on Fay Hield’s project about singing communities.
In Sam Bennett – the Film Star, Elaine Bradtke describes an amazing film of the traditional Warwickshire fiddle player – a ‘talkie’ that pre-dates The Jazz Singer. The EFDSS is appealing for funds to help restore this unique film.
Ron Smedley draws on his experience as a dance teacher with the Royal Ballet School in the article Teaching Billy Elliot, to explain the use of folk, morris and rapper sword dance in the training of the young ballet dancers.
The EFDSS has a new Chief Executive, Katy Spicer, and this issue has a feature article about her.
There are eight pages of reviews, including CDs by Chris Wood, Ruth Notman, the songs of Lal Waterson and the amazingly titled ‘Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience’, a DVD review of Tony Palmer’s new documentary about Ralph Vaughan Williams, and a book review of the Ben Harker’s new Ewan MacColl biography.
English Dance & Song magazine also includes regular features such as Festive Round Up; Lives Remembered, News; The Spring Dancing Season (list of dance events); and EFDSS Matters.
The magazine’s website http://eds.efdss.org gives access to sound files of the Coppers’ Come All Bold Britons, as well as to illustrations of the front cover and details of back issues. The list of folk festivals in 2008 published in the Winter issue has now been updated and is available on the EFDSS website, www.efdss.org Over 130 events throughout England and Wales.
English Dance & Song magazine has been published regularly since 1936, making it one of the world’s longest-established folk magazines. Published quarterly, in full colour, it is available to members of the EFDSS, or on separate subscription. Individual copies can be purchased at festivals and other events and also from the EFDSS. Since 2005, the editor has been Derek Schofield.
BERT LLOYD CENTENARY EVENT ANNOUNCEDFebruary 29th 2008 marks the centenary of the birth of A.L. (Bert) Lloyd, the renowned English singer, folklorist, journalist, and writer. To mark this anniversary, the English Folk Dance and Song Society will publish a biography, by Dave Arthur, entitled Bert: The Life and Work of A.L. Lloyd.
To launch the publication and to celebrate Bert Lloyd’s life and work, the English Folk Dance and Song Society will host a day of concerts at its London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House, on Saturday 15 November 2008.
Guests confirmed so far include folk luminaries Frankie Armstrong, Martin Carthy, Bob Davenport with Roger Digby, Will Duke, Dan Quinn and Alex West, Roy Harris, Louis Killen, Maddy Prior, Dave Swarbrick, Norma Waterson, Martyn Wyndham-Read with Iris Bishop and, from the current explosion of young singers and musicians, Lisa Knapp and Sam Lee.
Bert Lloyd (Albert Lancaster Lloyd, 29 February 1908 – 29 September 1982) was not only a world-famous scholar but also a spellbinding singer who inspired many of today’s leading folk performers, giving generously of his time and material. He continues to influence new generations of singers through his books and recordings.
Bert’s daughter Caroline Clayton and her husband Ted are pleased to support the occasion, all proceeds from which will be donated to the English Folk Dance and Song Society’s Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
In what is hoped to be a series of special concerts as part of Croydon Folksong Club’s ongoing programme there will now be occasional events under the banner “Les Elvin & Pete Fyfe’s Big Night Out”.The first of these will feature Show Of Hands award winning multi-instrumentalist and vocalist PHIL BEER with support from Kent based duo Galliard plus Les & Pete.
Unlike the general club evenings there will be a PA system and no floorsingers
The first concert in the series will take place at Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1BD, on Monday 7th April 2008 and start promptly at 8:00pm. Tickets will cost £10.00 available on the door.
For further information contact Les 020 8656 8770 (E Mail: leselvin1@fsmail.net) or Pete on 020 8680 4302 (E Mail: petefyfe@aol.com)
Tanglefoot win Best Vocal Group in 2007 Canadian Folk Music AwardsTanglefoot, the rambunctious five piece from Ontario, has won Best Vocal Group in the 2007 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Tanglefoot were up against (amongst others) The Be Good Tanyas and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, but carried off the top honour.
Tanglefoot has been touring in the UK to ever-increasing audiences since 1998. May 2008 sees their 12th tour, all of them organised by Jacey Bedford of Jacey Bedford Tour Management and formerly songstress with Artisan. "I first met Tanglefoot at Nova Scotia's Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival in 1995," says Jacey. "I was touring with Artisan and I saw them - then a four piece - playing the main stage. I was utterly gobsmacked by both their musical ability and their stage presence. I had to bring them over to the UK to tour. It took a couple of years to make it happen, but once it did they've never looked back."
Since 1998 Tanglefoot has had a few personnel changes. Only rhythm guitarist/vocalist Steve Ritchie and bassist/vocaslist Al Parrish are still originals from that first UK tour, but like the hammer that's had three new heads and two new handles, the band is still very much Tanglefoot with that big vocal harmony sound, superb multi-instrumentals and Canadian-based songwriting. They acquired, lost and re-acquired Steve Ritchie's brother Rob on thundering piano, adopted Terry Young as their main multi-instrumentalist on anything from mandolin to pennywhistle, and broke with tradition by having a girl in the band when they stole Sandra Swannell from the Owen Sound Symphony Orchestra, complete with fiddle and viola.
Asked about the actual Canadian Folk Music Awards ceremony in Ottawa, Tanglefoot's Steve Ritchie said, "I know this will sound like false modesty, but up until a few minutes before the announcement I hadn't given much thought to actually winning. It was enough of an honour to nominated, and even that was unexpected. So when they called out our name I kind of just sat there stunned for a moment. It's a really nice acknowledgement from our peers and from the Canadian mainstream folk music community that they see what we do as worthy of notice. That may sound a bit dry, but it means an awful lot to me. The whole thing is brilliant, because it gets people talking, and that was the whole point of the Canadian Folk Music Awards in the first place - to get people outside the folk community talking about Canadian roots music."
Tanglefoot also enjoys the unusual claim-to-fame of having had one of their CDs fly aboard the space shuttle. 'Music In The Wood' accompanied Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in April of 2001.
Tanglefoot's 2008 UK tour in May-June is now fully booked, and dates are already booking for their 2009 tour in June-July. May-June 2008 dates include festivals at Cromer, Chippenham, Southwell (Notts) and Chester and venues from Montrose to Leigh on Sea. Full details are on their gig list at www.tanglefootmusic.com. Dates are already booking for their June - July 2009 tour via www.jacey-bedford.com.
SHOW OF HANDS FANS RAISE £1,400 FOR UK'S LEADING CHILDREN'S CANCER CHARITY Show of Hands fans dug deep and raised nearly £1,400 for the UK's leading children's cancer charity - CLIC Sargent (Cancer & Leukaemia in Childhood) - on Sunday night (December 2).
They bought tickets for a raffle to win a unique recording of the Bristol Colston Hall gig - a special night as singer songwriter and frontman Steve Knightley was able to join the line-up having pulled out of the band's UK winter tour when his six year old son Jack was diagnosed with leukaemia.
The first three gigs of the tour were cancelled and the tour then recommenced last week with Steve's musical partner Phil Beer at the helm.
In a message to fans Steve announced that Jack had contracted acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He said: "This is a life threatening but often curable cancer. My wife Clare and Jack will be travelling to Bristol to begin an intensive round of tests and treatment. For the near future I will be looking after our two youngest children."
Multi instrumentalist Phil Beer quickly shaped a new show to stage at the remaining venues together with the other original members of the line-up - Show of Hands's regular bass player and vocalist Miranda Sykes and special guest, Texas-based cult singer songwriter Slaid Cleaves, accompanied by skilled guitarist Michael O'Connor.
The result was that few ticket holders opted for a refund. Said Phil: "The show of solidarity from Show of Hands fans on our website and elsewhere has been incredible as has that of fellow musicians and we thank everyone so much for that. Steve's family and friends are giving wonderful support and young Jack is in very good hands."
The Colston Hall concert was an emotionally-charged, exceptional evening with Steve starting the show by talking personally to the audience and the gig ended in two standing ovations. They opened their set with Steve's apt song The Bristol Slaver. He was able to join the tour as his son is being treated at Bristol Royal Children's Hospital, within striking distance of the venue.
The CLIC Sargent charity has provided a family room in a house close to the hospital for Steve, Clare and their other two young children - and the money raised by the raffle will pay for five other families in a similar situation to stay at the house for a week.
Following the wonderful response at Bristol, Show of Hands have decided to have further collections for CLIC at the remaining gigs on the tour - Hall for Cornwall, Truro (Weds Dec 5); Lancaster University (December 6); Lawrence Sheriff School, Rugby (December 7) and the sold-out Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre on December 8.
Chris Banting of the Bristol CLIC fundraising office said: "It was an excellent and heartfelt evening at Colston Hall. We were bowled over by the fans goodwill and support for Steve and his family."
The gigs will continue to showcase the newly released milestone double album "Roots -The Best of Show of Hands" which marks the unique 15-year partnership of the award winning duo of Knightley and Beer, who have sold out the Royal Albert Hall three times. Last week they were nominated in two categories of the 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - Best Duo and Best Live Act.
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www.efdss.org
THE FOLK HANDBOOK - WORKING WITH SONGS
FROM THE ENGLISH TRADITIONBackbeat Books, in a partnership with the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), has just published The Folk Handbook - Working with Songs from the English Tradition.
The Folk Handbook is an authoritative overview of the English tradition and its continuing relevance. It includes the words and melodies for over eighty traditional songs, with detailed explanatory notes illuminating each song's origins and meaning. A number of essays place the tradition in a wider cultural and musical context, in particular examining its continued impact on contemporary performers in the UK and the US.
The spiral bound, hardcover book also includes an extensive discography, bibliography and a fourteen-song CD of field recordings compiled from the Veteran Records archive.
Malcolm Taylor, Library Director of the English Folk Dance and Song Society's Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, worked extensively with Backbeat Books on The Folk Handbook. Malcolm said, "This will be a valuable resource book for folk song enthusiasts of all ages and for those involved in music education. The English Folk Dance and Song Society is proud to be working with partners such as Backbeat Books."
The songs in the book have been selected by Malcolm Taylor, and David Atkinson, Editor of the EFDSS's Folk Music Journal, who also wrote annotations to the songs. They include 'Scarborough Fair', 'Barbara Allen', 'The Daemon Lover' and 'George Collins'
Vic Gammon has contributed an introductory essay, while folk singer Martin Carthy has written about performing traditional songs. The book's other contributors and editors include Mark Brend, John Morrish, Ricky Rooksby, David Sheppard, Stephanie Smith and Nigel Williamson.
Mark Brend at Backbeat Books says, "The English Folk Dance and Song Society is the carrier of a vast amount of knowledge and expertise on the subject of English traditional song, and we were happy to work with it to produce what we think is a unique book."
There is an associated website www.folkhandbook.com which contains supporting material for The Folk Handbook, including MIDI files of the tunes for the songs in the book.
"This is a very fine, user-friendly collection, a sharing of experience and knowledge by some of our best contemporary English folk singers and scholars". Charlotte Greig, The Independent on Sunday, 19 August 2007.
The Folk Handbook -- Working with Songs from the English Tradition. ISBN 978-0-87930-901-5. Available from all good bookshops.
The Folk Handbook is also available from the English Folk Dance and Song Society, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY. Tel: 020 7485 2206. www.efdss.org The price is £19.95 (book and CD), plus £2 p&p.
CLASSIC FOLK SONG COLLECTION IN NEW EDITIONOne of the most influential books of folk songs ever printed in England is being re-published in a completely revised edition by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS).
Marrow Bones was originally published by the EFDSS in 1965. At the time, no self-respecting folk singer was ever without it in their jeans pocket or guitar case.
Marrow Bones had been out of print for many years until folk enthusiast Malcolm Douglas from Sheffield offered to completely revise the song book. Enlisting the help of Steve Gardham from Hull, Malcolm returned to the original manuscripts of the songs to check all the texts and tunes.
The songs published in Marrow Bones all come from the collections made by two brothers, Henry and Robert Hammond, working in Dorset, and by George Gardiner, who collected in Hampshire. The songs were all collected in the Edwardian era - the golden age of folk song collecting in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Marrow Bones includes songs of love, songs of the sea and seafarers, and songs from the countryside. Titles include 'The Female Cabin Boy', 'Bold General Wolfe', 'Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping', 'The Lark in the Morning', 'The Rambling Sailor' and 'The Tailor's Breeches'. The song 'I Live Not Where I Love' was popularised by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, before they formed Steeleye Span. Other songs from the book have been sung and recorded by such well-known singers as Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick.
The early twentieth-century singers of the songs in Marrow Bones include the prolific singer Marina Warner from Upwey in Dorset, who remembered the tunes of a hundred songs. Other singers from Dorset included Robert Barratt from Puddletown, and fisherman Joseph Elliott of Todber. Hampshire singers include Daniel Wigg from Preston Candover, whose photograph is included in the book's cover design. Many songs were collected from residents of workhouses, a sad reflection of the poverty of the era.
The original edition of Marrow Bones was compiled and edited by Frank Purslow, who sadly died in April, just before this new edition was published. Frank acted as a consultant to the new publication, and very much approved of the revised edition.
The new edition of Marrow Bones includes the words and tunes of a hundred songs, plus extensive notes on each song. There is a Foreword by Vic Gammon, course leader of Newcastle University's Folk and Traditional Music degree programme; an extensive introduction; biographies of the Hammond brothers, George Gardiner and Frank Purslow; and an extensive bibliography, including internet resources.
"This is a most welcome reprint." Martin Carthy, English Dance & Song, Autumn 2007.
Marrow Bones was the first of four books of selections from the Hammond and Gardiner collections. It is intended to publish revised editions of the other books over the next few years.
Marrow Bones: English Folk Songs from the Hammond and Gardiner Manuscripts, selected and edited by Frank Purslow, Revised with New Notes and Commentaries by Malcolm Douglas and Steve Gardham. ISBN 978-0-85418-202-0.
Marrow Bones is available from the English Folk Dance and Song Society, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY. Tel: 020 7485 2206. www.efdss.org It is £15.95 plus £2 p&p.
Viv Youell's song Love in the Afternoon has been chosen by UK Music Search podcast listeners as their Summer Anthem - proof that folk can win and can inspire.
For further details and a link to the podcast, go to www.vaionation.co.uk/user/tinkerbell/blogentry/998
1st June 2007 saw the launch of a brand new website: www.scotchsnap.com, where you can download original Scottish compositions penned by many of Scotland's best musicians.We have 28 composer profile pages, each with a list of compositions available, 900 scores, collections of fiddle tunes by Donald Riddell, Eric Allan, Paul Anderson, Niel Gow & Sons, Captain Simon Fraser, William Marshall, J.S. Skinner, James Kerr and Alexander Walker.
Our scores are in digital notation that can be listened to and downloaded to your printer with no waiting for postal delivery.
Traditional musicians often carry around volumes of books just for a few tunes. On www.scotchsnap.com you can hear and see, buy single pages and make up specific sets from just 50 pence per page. Using the creative search system you can find both brand new tunes and ancient tunes that are out of print.
For the classical musician we have some exciting new compositions and arrangements for a variety of instrumentation and voices, ranging from easy to advanced difficulty.
This is an exciting new venture with the potential to promote hundreds of Scottish composers/arrangers to a world market. If you are writing music of professional standard and would like to be featured on scotchsnap.com please contact us for more information on info@scotchsnap.com
Singer-songwriter Anna Shannon is celebrating after scooping first and second places at the Captain Cook Seafest in Whitby on the 27 May. Anna entered two original songs in the competition "A Song for the Sea". "Safe Home" which won her BBC Radio Yorkshire songwriter of the year award last year, took first place and " Just a Tiny Boat", describing Grace Darling's rescue of nine people from the wreck of the Forfarshire, came second. Anna will now go through to the finals in September. This success coincides with the release of her latest album "Ready for the Shout", which consists of 11 original songs of a maritime nature and is being sold in aid of the RNLI. Members of the Scarborough Lifeboat crew and Filey Fishermans Choir Harmony Group appear on the album as guests.The album has been accepted by the RNLI to be sold in their outlets. Anna will be appearing at the Scarborough Seafest in July.
See myspace.com/annashannon for details.
ADA Recordings have released two new albums which were launched at "Celebrating Cyril", the recent national memorial event for Cyril Tawney.
"The Song Goes On" (ADA 108CD), is a double album consisting of re-mastered recordings of archival traditional gems, beginning with the first song Cyril ever broadcast (1957), interspersed with a few of his classic compositions and a sprinkling of offerings from fellow songwriters. The collection ends with Mick Ryan's special recording of the title song which he wrote as a tribute, shortly after Cyril's death.
The other new release is a limited edition of a concert recorded at the legendary Holsteins in Chicago in 1981. "Cyril Tawney - Live at Holsteins" (ADA 109CD) is a fine example of Cyril in his heyday, on top form before an appreciative and knowledgeable audience and obviously loving every moment of this flawless performance.
All Cyril's CDs are available from ADA, shops, and via his website
Copies of the "Celebrating Cyril" Commemorative Programme are still available. In fact the programme part takes up only two pages out of the forty page booklet, which is principally about and by Cyril. Besides reprints of some of his classic articles ("The South West Folk Revival- the Early Years", "A BBC Folk Life Department – Why Not"?, "The Folksong Penny") there are verses, anecdotes and extracts from his (as yet unpublished) childhood memoir. Proceeds will go to the fund to preserve his archive.
The Programme is available via Cyril's website and from the English Folk Dance and Song Society. All the necessary information is at www.cyriltawney.co.uk
THIEVES TARGET DEVON MUSIC CHARITYDevon's folk and community arts development charity Wren Music has been hit by thieves who have stolen vital equipment used by young people all over Devon. In late January a large trailer containing all of Wren's "junk music" instruments was stolen from Okehampton's Exeter Road Industrial Estate.
The junk music instruments are made out of all manner of brightly painted recycled objects, such as kitchen sinks, gas pipes, giant plastic barrels, scaffolding, and dustbin lids. As long as you can hit it with a stick or a ping-pong bat, it counts as an instrument in a junk band.
Over the years, the junk rig has been used by children and young people all over Devon and farther afield, in schools, in community settings, at carnivals and fairs, and in special needs establishments, as well as in musical theatre productions, such as the play "A Wonderful Alteration" staged in Newton Abbot in 2006 as part of the Brunel 200 celebrations. Tens of thousands of young people have had the chance to play on the wide range of instruments.
Wren Music's Artistic Director Paul Wilson is appalled by the theft: "Whilst the trailer will cost over three thousand pounds to replace, the cash value of the junk rig is negligible, but the social, musical and community value is huge. Wren's junk builder Paul Tucker and others have put literally years of work into making the rig strong, safe, resonant and child-friendly - it feels like someone has stolen a work of art."
Wren Music has a long history of helping to create junk bands. In 1993, they started a series of workshops in Estover, Plymouth. Out of that sprang the famous "Weapons of Sound" junk funk band, who have played all over Europe, including the opening of the Commonwealth Games. Since then, Wren has used its junk rig to help numerous junk bands to form. The latest of these is Re-Cyc, a weekly junk workshop band for young people in and around Barnstaple.
The stolen trailer is white with a red stripe around the top with the words TOW A VAN 22P, twin axle, eight feet long, five feet wide with six feet headroom. The junk rig includes lots of bright yellow wide diameter pipes, dark blue large plastic drums, yellow wheel rims, and white metal piping with red and green ends. Wren Music would like to hear from anyone who may have found either the instruments or the trailer - call 01837 53754, or email info@wrenmusic.co.uk.
If the instruments are not recovered, Wren Music will have to create a new junk rig from scratch, sourcing materials, tuning, preparing, and painting. This will be a long process, and mean that young people will not be able to use the instruments for several months.
Wren Music would like to hear from any businesses or people who may be able to donate items that may be suitable for a new junk rig, such as six inch diameter gas pipes, 50mm diameter steel tubing, car wheels, plastic bins or drums, or metal A frames. The charity will also need a replacement trailer or the money to buy one, and would be very grateful for all support.
Virtual Open Mic is a new on-line open mic radio website which will be featuring a wide variety of music leaning towards the acoustic and folk types.
See www.virtualopenmic.com for more details.
NEW BOOK AND CDfrom the EFDSS...
Traveller's JoySongs of English and Scottish Travellers and Gypsies 1965-2005
Compiled by Mike Yates; musical transcriptions by Elaine Bradtke; editorial assistance by David Atkinson and Malcolm Taylor; audio recordings by Mike Yates.
". a plain speaking music with real passion and real humour. at the very heart of what it means, culturally speaking at least, to be English, Scottish or Irish, especially as those notions continue to develop apace."
Norma Waterson Traveller's Joy is a celebration of the extraordinary and ultimately unique musical legacy of the Gypsies and Travellers of England and Scotland.
The eminent singers and folklorists Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger once wrote that 'the travelling people have become the real custodians of English and Scots traditional song'. No wonder, then, that over the years folk song scholars and collectors have been fascinated by this rich heritage. Mike Yates is no exception and has met and recorded many fine singers from the travelling people of England and Scotland. Examples from their repertoires are presented here.
Traveller's Joy is first and foremost a songbook - a collection of over fifty songs to be learned, sung, and enjoyed by the reader. It is not meant to be a scholarly dissertation, though the intention is to portray the singers and their music with honesty and sensitivity. To enhance and complement the texts and musical transcriptions, an accompanying twenty-track CD allows the reader to hear some of the performers themselves. In addition, there is an authoritative introductory essay by Mike Yates, along with biographical sketches of the singers, notes on the songs, photographs of the singers and of travelling life, and a bibliography and discography.Published December 2006. ISBN -13 978 0 85418 200 8; IBSN -10 0 85418 200 4
WebShop www.efdss.org Tel.020 7485 2206 Fax. 020 7285 0534
EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London, NW1 7AY.Price £18.50+ £2 p&p (UK only, Overseas rates available on request). Trade rates available
ZetCast is a not-for-profit collective administered by Shetlanders Marvin Smith, John Smith, Bryan Peterson and Jimmy Carlyle who aim to provide a valuable resource to the Shetland community while promoting Shetland culture, music and arts to the world.Mr Peterson said “Most of the current shows are music orientated but we have a wide range of content in the pipeline. The shows, which are all produced by locals, are recorded and uploaded and folk can access them via the www.zetcast.com website.
"The beauty of podcast technology is that anyone with a microphone and a computer can record a show and anyone with an internet connection and set of speakers can listen to them. We call it ‘citizen-driven media: made by the community for the community’."
Mr Peterson said listeners did not need to be tied to their computer to hear the shows once they are downloaded from the site.
"Any device that plays MP3s can be used, so you can transfer episodes to your portable music player and listen whenever you want."
One of the shows, the Shetland Sessions, is already making waves in musical circles.
Mr Marvin Smith the voice behind the Shetland Sessions said "Wherever you travel in musical circles you are likely to hear the name “Shetland” linked to quality music making. Shetland Sessions gives you, the listener, the chance to hear and experience the real sound of Shetland. The show will feature exclusive live recordings and radio session’s by the very best of Shetland’s musicians".
The first show is a highlight itself with exclusive content from a live performance of Shetland’s Jenna Reid recorded earlier in the year in Shetlands Fetlar Hall.
Mr Smith added "This is a very positive outcome of ZetCast since many who would wish to travel to Shetland to hear the traditional tunes played in Shetlands own backyard, but can't for whatever reason, can now at the press of a button listen to the sounds from anywhere in the world".
The site itself gives users a myriad of ways in which to access its content. From direct web based players at the click of a button, downloadable audio files, and linked feeds to pull into users own software, theres a choice for everyone.
Mr John Smith of www.yadUK.co.uk relayed that the objective of the site was to be as accessible as possible.
"Many sites of a similar vain are hard to navigate and users are often left confused as to where to find the actual music. We tried to step away from this and make the user experience as simple as we could. If users have access to the Internet - they have access to Shetlands music."
The website has also been built in accordance to the UKs Disibility Discrimination Act so making it accessible to users with disabilities. Users can also gain access via mobile devices should they wish to take this route.
ZetCast is also running a competition on its site in which folk can win an iPod portable music player, donated by the Shetland Mac Shop www.shetlandmacshop.co.uk.
Rock'n'Reel is back!Rock'n'Reel….a music magazine covering the very best in roots, rock, blues and beyond.
The new publisher of Rock'n'Reel is Richard Ellin who was the commercial publisher of 'CD Review' and advertisement director…'Forte' (Trust House Fortes magazine).
Ellin was consultant to Mercedes on the re-launch of their consumer publication. He was involved in the launch of the Today newspaper and has also worked for the BBC on 'The Radio Times'.
A fan and subscriber to the original Rock'n'Reel first published in 1998, Richard Ellin is committed to the magazine's long term future as a serious music journal.
Rock'n'Reel started life as a fanzine with modest ambitions and grew into a fully fledged magazine; this development will now continue with the relaunch in December 2006. The new version of Rock'n'Reel will appear nationally as a one hundred and forty page glossy bi monthly with its own distinctive cover mount CD entitled 'UN-HERD' Un-Herd Volume 1 includes music by Canned Heat, Ani DiFranco, Steve Hackett, Eleanor McEvoy, Paul Lamb and The King Snakes, Colin Scot, Heartless Bastards, Die Hunns, Luke Doucet, Denison Witmer and more. There will be a further free CD in the Un-herd series affixed to the cover of each subsequent issue of Rock'n'Reel. Never a magazine to cow-tow to the vagaries of musical fashion, Rock'n'Reel has attracted some of the best music writers in the British Isles.
Editor Sean McGhee returns with most of the original writing team who are equally delighted and excited to be working again on the magazine promising lots of exclusive interviews and interesting music features and off the wall photography.
Rock'n'Reel has been completely redesigned in full colour with reader friendly layouts. The review section will be divided into categories of styles allowing readers to locate their favourite music in a more satisfying and absorbing way.
The first issue of the relaunched Rock'n'Reel includes interviews with Shane MacGowan, Donovan, Paul Rodgers, Flogging Molly, Christy Moore, Jacqui McShee, Arlo Guthrie, Andy Roberts, Dick Gaughan, Legendary Shack Shakers, James Yorkston, Spiers & Boden, Joe Brown, and features on Bob Dylan, Marc Bolan, Nick Drake, Arthur Lee and Syd Barrett … plus all the usual CD, live, DVD, book reviews and news.
A one year subscription to the magazine includes a five CD offer. The collection courtesy of Terra Nova and Osmosys Records gives the listener almost five hours of hard core folk, world music and comedy as well as left field contemporary sounds. The offer earns the subscriber seventy one tracks which include some very rare pieces by well known performers as well as gems from up and coming artists. Potential subscribers can take up the offer by either visiting the web-site www.rock-n-reel.co.uk or by purchasing the first edition which includes full subscription details and an application form.
The new compilation CD entitled Forged in Sheffield will be out at the end of October 2006!
This unique collection features tracks from some of the finest folk artists based in Sheffield: Hekety, Silverwheel, Rackaback, Minnie Moosika, Glorystrokes, Derwenna, skyhook, Crucible, Box of Shivers, James Raynard, Outre Manche, Richard Masters, Treebeard, Trinculo, Hiraeth, Tegwen Roberts, Jon Boden.
See www.sheffieldfolk.co.uk for details or myspace.com/forgedinsheffield for clips..
GRAMMY-NOMINATED BLUEGRASS BAND THE GRASCALS TO RELEASE NEW STUDIO ALBUM, LONG LIST OF HEARTACHES, IN NOVEMBERSECOND ALBUM ON ROUNDER RECORDS FEATURES GUEST PERFORMANCES BY GEORGE JONES, DIERKS BENTLEY AND OTHERS
The Grascals, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) reigning Emerging Artist of the Year, will release Long List of Heartaches, the follow-up to their 2005 Grammy-nominated, self-titled debut album, in November. Featuring guest performances by Dierks Bentley, George Jones, the Jordanaires and Steve Wariner, the CD further defines the group’s stylistic blend of traditional bluegrass and country sounds. Like their first album, Long List of Heartaches was produced by The Grascals--Terry Eldredge and Jamie Johnson on lead vocals and guitar, Jimmy Mattingly on fiddle, Danny Roberts on mandolin, Terry Smith on bass and harmony vocals, and David Talbot on banjo and harmony vocals. The album includes 13 tracks, showcasing the band’s pristine vocal harmonies and virtuoso musicianship.
A new website aimed at the live roots, folk, blues etc music scene in Cumbria called http://www.mostlyacousticcumbria.co.uk has been set up.
It contains information on:
Local artists / bands
Local services (eg, music shops, music tuition, pa hire, recording studios, pr, etc etc)
Local venues
Jam Nights
Gig Guide
Useful links
Events (eg festivals, one-off events , workshops etc)
Forum
The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library today launches VWML Online.Indexes to the collections of some of the best-known folk music collectors of the twentieth century are now available on the Library's website - http://library.efdss.org
In the early years of the twentieth century, musicians and activists such as Ralph Vaughan Williams in East Anglia, Cecil Sharp in Somerset (and the Appalachian Mountains of the USA), Lucy Broadwood (Sussex), Henry and Robert Hammond in Dorset and George Gardiner in Hampshire collected hundreds of folk songs and tunes from agricultural workers, Gypsies and artisans in towns and villages in rural communities in England and beyond. For some - such as Vaughan Williams - the songs provided the inspiration for his compositions and editing The English Hymnal. Others, including Cecil Sharp, adapted the songs for use in schools. In recent decades, these songs have become increasingly popular as performed by musicians such as Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, their daughter Eliza Carthy, and Kate Rusby. And now a whole new generation is becoming aware of the folk arts that surround them.
VWML Online allows anybody to search these important collections by titles, the source singers' names, and their place of residence and dates of collection.
Perhaps you live in a village or town that was famous for its singing, or are related to a dancer whose tunes are now performed by morris musicians up and down the country? You might well track them down here.
And in the case of the Cecil Sharp collection, there are also photographs of some of the musicians he met a century ago: marvellous images of the people who in many cases sang the songs and played the tunes that had already passed through several generations of the same family.
The indexes are also linked to the Roud Folk Song Index, a monumental database of 146,000 references to songs collected from oral tradition all over the English-speaking world. The Roud Index, compiled over many years by researcher and author Steve Roud, is an on-going project which is constantly being up-dated. Once armed with a Roud Number or reference to a song, you are on your way to finding it - most likely in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library - the Archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.
Librarian at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Malcolm Taylor, explains, 'This is the first stage in a longer-term development to make all the Library's catalogues and indexes available online through our website. A specialist Library like ours lives or dies by the depth, breadth and effectiveness of the catalogues. We are proud to be able to make this unique resource available to a wider audience'.
The work has so far depended on the voluntary help of university computer science lecturer Richard Butterworth, and full-time staff in the Library. They have worked on the project whilst continuing to answer the constant flow of requests from folk enthusiasts, the media and educationalists all over the world. The next stage will be more dependent on external funding.
Eddie Upton, Director of Folk South West which covers many of the counties in which extensive song collecting took place, said, 'This is a fantastic resource which will be indispensable to folk music enthusiasts all over the country. I can't wait to use it myself'.
Further information: Malcolm Taylor 020 7485 2206 ext 29. library@efdss.org
Angelic Music
New label offers springboard for female artistsA brand new record label has launched a competition for female singer/songwriters, with first prize of a free national press and radio promotional package and a performance at the label launch party in London later this year.
Angelic Music was launched in January 2006 by Janis Haves, an artist herself with a mission to foster female talent in the music industry. Already the label has created a thriving network community called 'Angels Out There' for female artists to meet each other and share advice on anything from getting gigs and promoting shows to recording, touring and technical advice.
Janis Haves said: "Now I'm looking for an artist with the right song and a great voice to spearhead the project. The competition is open to all genres of music and the winning artist and song will be the lead track on a compilation CD of female singer/songwriters from around the world, for autumn release. She'll be promoted in through national press and radio, and will also be invited to perform at the launch party in London in the autumn."
Eddi Reader (ex Fairground Attraction) is supporting Angelic by writing and recording a song especially for the album and said she was "delighted to be involved!"
The competition is supported by Songlink International (a "who's looking" information network for songwriters and music publishers) with free memberships for the winner and runner-up. Songlink International editor/publisher David Stark, Pam Sheyne (Genie in a Bottle - Chrinta Aguilera) and Megg Nichol from the British Academy board will be among the judges.
Janis Haves added: "There are more women performing and recording independently today than ever before - yet most music marketing is still aimed primarily at the male market. Angelic Music is there to help these women reach each other, and grow as both musicians and artists."
Competition entry forms can be found on the Angelic website and artists can enter up to three songs in one entry - Closing date of the competition is 31st June 2006. For more details about the competition, Angelic Music and Angels Out There, go to www.angelicmusic.co.uk.
Strangeworld
Since the demise of Shave the Monkey in 1994 a number of projects have been undertaken by the ex-members of the band. Duncan now plays with Glastonbury band "Dragonsfly", Guido Rincon has been playing with Ian Cutler's "Sloughterhouse" whilst Bryan Causton is busy launching a very different acoustic group called "Strangeworld". Debuting at Hitchin Folk Club, the group make their first main radio appearance on BBC Shropshire next Sunday (5th Feb). Their first album, "Leap of Faith" has received great reveiws from Taplals, amongst other folk mags. More info on their website
www.strangeworldmusic.com
NEW PUBLICATION FROM
THE ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY
The Anglo-Concertina Music of William KimberDan M Worrall
Foreward by Roger Digby
Published October 2005 Special Introductory Price until 31/12/05 £11.50 (£15.99 from 01/01/06) ISBN 085418194146
96pp b&w illustrations¢ The first published collection of transcriptions of Kimber's music including both melody and chords
¢ A selection of 28 tunes
¢ Background notes on William Kimber and the Anglo-Concertina as an instrument
¢ Guidance for those learning the tunes
¢ Explanatory notes to accompany the transcriptions'Dan Worrall has produced this collection of transcriptions which presents in conventional music notation the exact notes that William Kimber played'
from Roger Digby's introductionDan Worrall has been playing the Anglo-Concertina for over 30 years during which time he has developed agreat admiration and affection for the playing style of William Kimber
Further information from EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, London NW1 7AY Tel 0207 485 2206 e-mail info@efdss.org
Order from the above or www.efdss.org. Please allow £2.00 for p&p (UK only. Overseas rates available on request)Trade rates available.
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Radio Britfolk - from July 1st - at www.radiobritfolk.co.uk
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Radio Britfolk is a new and exciting web-based radio project for the UK folk world, and it's happening right NOW! Developed by a group of professional folk musicians, it aims to become a major hub and world-wide shop window for the folk music of these islands, available 24/7 on your home computer
It's a new concept in folk radio.
Imagine an on-line folk festival - with main stage shows (like other radio stations), themed shows and documentaries (sometimes with a strong local slant), programmes showcasing lesser-known music and artists, plus workshops and tutorials (how to play an instrument etc.). Imagine each programme is supported by web-based content so you can look as well as listen and find links to artists, instrument makers and record companies. Now imagine you can tune in 24 hours a day, wherever you are in the world, and find programmes offering a balance of traditional and new music from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England and beyond, with all genres and styles represented. Good, yes?Radio Britfolk is licensed from 1st July, and that's when weekly programming starts - even though not all the features (such as the shop and the bulletin board) will be complete by then. Soon there will be 10-20 hours of folk programming available at any one time, with the schedule changing every week.
Behind the front page of available programmes, there will be listings pages, an on-line shop, message board, news and links pages and more. Anyone can become a member (and access past programmes and additional in-depth features). People can sponsor various parts of the site, and even post their own album tracks on the Britfolk Billboard, a separate section reserved for promotion.
Potential programme makers who are able to offer top quality ideas, professional presentation and production values are encouraged to submit proposals for shows to the Radio Britfolk executive programming team. The details of how to do it are all in the FAQ on the website. It's not an exclusive club. Many programmes are presented by well-known musicians and established broadcasters, but we encourage anyone with a good idea to get involved.
So who's involved already? A diverse bunch of performers, broadcasters, media people and journalists - a mixture of names you'll already know and some you won't - who perceive a need for broad-scope folk radio. The brain behind the web site is Phil Snell of Limbo Creatives, Yorkshire-based folkie and programming genius.
The Radio Britfolk team is excited about this and they hope you will be as well when you hear it. Go to www.radiobritfolk.co.uk, and give it a listen. and see how you'd like to be part of it! Remember, pre July 1st it's only a trial site. From July 1st there will be a new set of programmes. Radio Britfolk needs your support, so keep logging on and checking what's available as the concept develops. Listen, become a member, make programmes and support independent, democratic folk radio on the internet.
"BORDERS YOUNG FIDDLES CDBorders Young Fiddles are five of the most accomplished young fiddle players in the country. Their first CD contains about half Borders traditional music and half their own original music in the Borders 'style'.
The CD has had extremely favourable reviews and is a landmark in Scottish fiddle music bringing the Borders 'style' back to the centre of scottish fiddle playing.
Have a look at www.islemusicscotland.com"
The First Week in August - Fifty Years of the Sidmouth Festival by Derek SchofieldThe Festival - 50 years in the making. The Book - 20 years of research and archiving, 3 years of detailed writing and collating by the author. The History of the biggest Festival of its kind in Europe and probably the longest established arts Festival in England is now published.
Just one hundred folk dancers gathered in the beautiful East Devon town of Sidmouth in the first week in August in 1955. Their intention was to perform for the general public, and enjoy the friendship and fun of a week's holiday with dancing. Fifty years later, the motives are just the same. Only now, the Festival participants are numbered in their thousands, and the programme has been extended to include not only the folk dances of England, but also song, music, storytelling, dance and theatre from across the globe.
Sidmouth International Festival has always reflected, and often led, the folk music and dance movement. It was the first major folk festival in the country, and it continues to set the standard. The many new initiatives over the last fifty years have included separate song events, international dance and music groups, a Children's Festival, a workshop programme, world roots music, theatre productions and a youth programme called Shooting Roots. The venues include the Parish Church and pubs, marquees in the middle of the town and the magnificent open-air amphitheatre of the Knowle Arena.
For fourteen-year-old Willow Smallbone, "Sidmouth Festival is truly a part of my heart", whilst Pamela Gold feels that, "The title of the event fails to conjure up the colour, excitement, spectacle, verve and vitality that abound: it has a completely universal appeal."
The First Week in August - Fifty Years of the Sidmouth Festival has 224 pages, over 450 photographs, more than 120 of them in colour, and a map of venues and sites through the years. It is a year-by-year account of just how this event has become the most significant folk and roots music Festival in the country, spreading the fame of Sidmouth across the world.
Now available in many bookshops and by Mail Order from the Festival Office tel: 01629 827010 for £25 (inc P&P in the UK).
Festival Office, PO Box 296,
Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3XU
Tel: 01629 827011 Fax: 01629 821874
Linda Fisher writes a weekly column in the Gloucester Citizen, which deals deals with blues and associated acts who are appearing withing 50 miles of Gloucester, read the column here.
Venue Review - “Girls With Guitars”by Elaine Samuels
“Girls With Guitars” is an international female singer / songwriters group, the London branch of which is organised by Jae Avery and runs monthly showcases at the Porter House, Covent Garden (usually on the first Monday of the month). The show originated in Nashville, Tennessee USA in 1996 and is now highly successful there. The London branch is relatively new, having been launched in July 2003 but, as I will relate to you following my visit there on February 2nd, is fast becoming a Mecca for female singer / songwriters, from all over the UK, as well as “the place to be” if you want to find a good venue featuring some truly great, original acoustic music.
When I arrived with my guitar on February 2nd, I made my way down to the plush “Basement Bar” and was immediately welcomed by Jae herself who took the newcomers; myself and Carol Palmer (who had come all the way from Leicester !) to a quiet corner and explained how the evening would unfold and where we would be featured.
Basically, the first part of the evening is an “open mic.” slot, where newcomers usually get to perform one of their songs. Performers are encouraged to arrive by 7.30pm and the performances usually start around 8pm. On this particular evening, some girls had been unable to come at the last minute; so we were invited to perform three numbers instead of the usual one. The remainder of the evening then consists of performances from some of the core members of the “Girls With Guitars” group along with occasional special guests; for instance Toni Catlin, from the Nashville GWG group, was featured in the December showcase. Finally, at the end of the evening, the core members jam along together on a couple of cover numbers to finish the evening with a bit of fun.
All the core members of the group are featured on the “Girls With Guitars” web site, which can be found at www.girlswithguitars.co.uk and are featured regularly at the showcases. Jae Avery is also arranging UK and international tours for these core members; Carrie Lennard, one of the founder members, is going to be performing in Berlin in a few weeks time.
The performances take place on a small stage, with a good quality PA system and sound engineer, as well as some coloured spotlighting to create a special ambience to the space. The “open mic.” part of the evening featured Carole Palmer, myself with Annie Parker on flute (we call ourselves “Kindred Spirit”), Lara A. King, Silvia Rox, Kate Feinstein and Jae Avery herself. The featured core members then performed. These were Carrie Lennard and Project Winter Haven.
Carrie Lennard comes from west London, like myself. She is a very talented singer / songwriter and excellent guitar player, who, if Mondays are a problem for you, also has her own regular Sunday night gigs at another plush venue, “The Old Fire Station” in Brentford High Street.
Project Winter Haven are a super trio; featuring singer / songwriter Julz Parker (no relation to my flautist, Annie Parker) with “Chubs” Winterhaven on bongos and Joe Parker (Julz’s brother) on bass. The entire group are excellent musicians; Julz playing some outstanding lead guitar between verses. They are very tight and have a funky sound. They are also living proof that men are, in fact, welcome to perform on stage as support musicians. If you want to find out even more about them you can look at their web site www.projectwinterhaven.com.
After Project Winter Haven performed, Annie & I were very kindly invited to perform another couple of numbers and “Chubs” accompanied us on one of them. If you are interested in finding out more about my music and group ,“Kindred Spirit”, you can check us out at www.elainesamuels.co.uk. I have to say, it was one of the friendliest and most supportive singer / songwriter groups I have ever performed at (and that was even before Jae realised I was going to be reviewing the evening - so don’t think anyone was on special behaviour here) !
In conclusion, if you are a female singer / songwriter you should get along straight away and become a part of this phenomenon. This is definitely the group to be involved with and it is going places fast. If you are looking for somewhere to go in London that won’t cost an arm and a leg (admission is a mere £3) to spend a more interesting, musical Monday evening - this is it. I recommend you get down there - I’m going back - so I’ll see you there !
What Is “Core” By Elaine Samuels 24/11/03
It is a new term for a type of music; like “Rock”, “Rap” etc. and it allows a whole range of music, which has not previously been properly defineable to be identified. I also believe that it is a type of music that people who are music listeners as
opposed to dancers prefer to experience.
Core is :-
As a performer, people constantly ask you “What kind of music do you play ?”
- * music that is performed completely live
- * music that is not “throw away” and tends to have a deeper meaning
- * music that has melody
- * music that is played from the heart
- * music that can embrace many styles and often has a rock element
- * it is the sort of music that many singer / songwriters play
And I find myself struggling because although I’m primarily a grass-roots singer / songwriter, I also perform some covers (popular, country and rockclassics), depending on where I am playing, and instrumentals including irish as well as classical. The crucial thing I keep coming back to is that the main feature of both myself (as a solo) & my musicians (as “Kindred Spirit”) is that we perform completely live, with no recorded backing tracks. I think real live music is able to be so much more exciting and spontaneous. There is also beginning to be a backlash from venues against booking the musicians who use recorded backings. Why should people pay for “live music” and then get what is essentially the juke box track plus a bit of singing over the top *The real strength of live music is its passion; the highs and lows, the fast & loud as well as the quiet bits. As a musician who plays “Core” music you find that the whole experience can be so exciting you sometimes get transported onto another plane. So if you are a musician who fits this description - let them know you play “Core” and lets keep it really live !
Elaine Samuels and Kindred Spirit are a regular feature on the acoustic scene across the South East, visit her site for dates and further details.
Read a feature on up and coming young singer-songwriter Jen Charlton along with three full length mp3s to download
Featured Artist
Click above for a review of London based Siansa's newly released Album and further information....
Bex Marshall is a young "cross genre" Singer-Songwriter based in the London area, click here for an interview with Bex
The Rose of the Ribble Valley
Graham Dixon has just had his first Novel published - "a story of a Folksinger and a Folk song." ....
"Folk Singer, GEOFF, is the ‘Front man’ with ELDERFLOWER PUNCH – a four-piece musical group who, when they perform, pack the pubs and folk clubs of Northwest England. WAYNE plays bass; CHLOE, a student archaeologist is the singer and LUTE is the mandolin player. The band are plagued with cancellations, due to the ‘ridiculous’ law which allows no more than two performers to play at any one time, in venues that do not hold a very expensive ‘Public Entertainment License. BRIAN CLAYTON, an old folk-singing friend comes to the rescue when he opens a new ‘Live Music Venue’ in the area.
Brian’s wife TINA is from a ‘well to do’ family, her father FRANK CROXLEY and her devious brother STANISLAW run a large company and own much of the land and property in the Ribble Valley. The Croxleys have many secrets and past indiscretions locked away with other skeletons in the family cupboard. The beautiful ROSEMARY appears to Geoff, first of all in a vivid dream experienced after sampling a strange drink made from the rose petals collected from Croxley’s Wood, and then (apparently) in the flesh on a car park after a gig. From the ensuing conversation it appears that Rosemary is a ghost and has been dead for almost three hundred years. Rosemary is trying to find out what happened to her fiancé BRYAN of CLAYTON who was an eighteenth century street musician come minstrel and the author of the song THE ROSE OF THE RIBBLE VALLEY.
The story, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic sees Geoff and Chloe getting mixed-up in a clever illegal drugs operation as they try to solve the mystery of Bryan of Clayton and his beloved Rose of The Ribble Valley.
For further information and to order a copy of Grahams Novel visit www.roseoftheribblevalley.ukart.com
Paul Castle of the outstanding London based Cajun/Bluegrass Trio The Rosinators wrote a regular monthly column called 'Across the Pond' for the major US 'about.com' folk site, run by US singer songwriter and 'Fast Folk' organiser Hugh Blumenfeld. Paul has kindly allowed us to provide links to his archived columns listed below.
07/01 #22: Summer Issue: Festivals + Feature on David Crosby
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond22_0701a.htm06/01 #21: Features: Martin Carthy's 60th Birthday concert;
Telephone chat with Shawn Colvin
Roy Harper's 60th Birthday concert
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond21_0601a.htm05/01 #20: Feature: Copper Family, Dylan's B'day, New BBC mega-website www.balladtree.com/articles/pond20_0501a.htm
04/01 #19: Feature: Interview with Maddy Prior.
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond19_0401a.htm03/01 #18: Feature: Paul goes to Vancouver Folk Alliance + feature on Rick Scott and Canada's Pied Pumkin String Ensemble
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond18_0301a.htm02/01 #17: Feature: BBC Folk Awards and interview with top US bluegrass guitarist, Dan Crary
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond17_0201a.htm01/01 #16: Featuring Lucy Kaplansky in the UK and complete Celtic Festival listings
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond16_0101a.htm12/00 #15: Kate Rusby review and photos.
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond15_1200a.htm11/00 #14: Featuring the newsbreaking interview with Martin Carthy re: Paul Simon and "Scarborough Fair."
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond14_1100a.htm10/00 #13: Feature: UK News, Interview with Mary Black's bass player, James Blennerhassett
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond13_1000a.htm09/00 #12: Feature: Paul interviews Cry, Cry, Cry's Lucy Kaplansky.
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond12_0900a.htm08/00 #11: Feature: Paul Castle comes across the pond and sees more here in a week than I saw all year. His exploits (with a camera) plus the monthly UK tour info [HB].
www.balladtree.com/articles/pond11_0800a.htm07/00 #10:Feature: Cambridge Folk Festival Sandy Denny biography 'No More Sad Refrains'
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