Category Archives: Folk music

folk performers and music

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2026

Folk music, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , ,

As we headed towards our usual rendezvous point in a Banbury layby so that our assembled group could drive in together and set up camp next to one another, there were two niggles on my mind. Would we cope with the heat during this latest heatwave? And would there  be an easy Plan B in place if the new-fangled ticket app didn’t work on my phone in the middle of a field with poor mobile reception?

The latter proved to be a doddle. Although the ticket app wasn’t loading properly, I gave my order details to a special helpdesk at the wristband exchange and they printed off old-fashioned tickets for me so we could pick up our wristbands. Phew!

Cropredy 2026 (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

As for the heat. It was bloody hot. Even when I’m abroad laying by a pool I prefer to be ‘sun adjacent’ and avoid direct sunlight by finding myself a large sunshade and, ideally, a big cluster of palm trees to plonk myself under. There were none of those at Cropredy, of course. On the plus side, I think we’ve got better at adapting to life at the festival in the middle of a heatwave: copious amounts of fresh water alongside all the beer and cider, hats, umbrellas, Factor 50, time spent standing at the front by the stage (which was naturally in shadow throughout the day) and not being afraid of giving some of the acts a miss and heading back to the campsite to sit under the awning if it all got a bit too much.

Fairport pride themselves on running a pet-friendly festival (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

This was the second year of the new slimmed-down version of Cropredy, now with a maximum cap of 6,500 on ticket sales and the line-up focused more on folk scene favourites and less on big-name headliners from the world of rock and pop. It’s working. There’s still a nice mix between the familiar and the not-so-familiar. Crucially, it’s ensured that the festival remains financially viable with a predictable income stream and a budget based around that.

Looking at the music, the new discoveries, for me, included the entertaining and highly energetic Banter; the rock-country-soul crossover band, Danny the Champions of the World (yes I know have been around almost 20 years now but it was my first time seeing them); and the Celtic folk band, The Haar, who performed breathtakingly unique version of traditional folk standards.

Danny the Champions of the World (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

More familiar favourites included Turin Brakes whose particular brand of laid-back, melodic, indie rock which went down so well when they last played Cropredy back in 2022 and was equally well-received this time. They’ve clearly built a special rapport with the Cropredy audience, partly because of the excellent music but also because of the lifelong connection to the festival that their drummer, Rob Allum, has – he told us been coming to Cropredy since he was a toddler.

Turin Brakes (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

Another set of familiar faces was the French Canadian Celtic folk group Le Vent Du Nord, who have never failed to woo the crowd with their fantastic musicianship and energetic performances at every festival I’ve seen them at over the years and Cropredy was no exception, as did Breabach.

Braebach (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

Hayseed Dixie, also made a welcome return to Cropredy with their tongue-in-cheek but hugely entertaining selection of Bluegrass arrangements of heavy metal classics.

Hayseed Dixie (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

And then we get to the perennial Cropredy icons: Namely, Richard Thompson, who headlined on the Friday night with a stunning set of solo acoustic RT classics, followed by an equally stunning electric set with some of his old Fairport bandmates. And then, headlining on the Saturday, of course, Fairport Convention themselves.

Fairport Convention – Dave Pegg (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

There has been no new studio album for some while now (2020’s Shuffle and Go) being the last. But the band’s huge back-catalogue of albums and total lack of Top 20 singles means there’s plenty of scope for varying the set-list. It was wonderful to hear a couple of songs from Rising For The Moon  (the band’s final album with Sandy Denny) and Festival Bell (my favourite Fairport album of the modern era).

Ralph McTell (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

While it was a shame Richard Thompson wasn’t available to return the favour from the previous night and do a guest slot with his former bandmates, I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of him next year when it’s the band’s 60th anniversary.

Vikki Clayton (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

In the meantime, we had guest spots from Steve Ashley, Ralph McTell, Vikki Clayton, Jen Butterworth and Anna Ryder to enjoy and by the time ‘Matty Groves’ and ‘Meet on the Ledge’ came we’d had a wonderfully varied delve into Fairport’s eclectic back catalogue.

Til the same time next year!

Fairport Convention – Simon Nicol (Photo credit: Simon Putman)

Related posts:

Interview with Chris Leslie 2026

Interview with Ric Sanders 2025

Interview with Dave Pegg 2025

Interview with Simon Nicol 2024

Live review: Fairport Convention at Union Chapel 2025

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2025

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2024

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2022

Book review: ‘On Track: Fairport Convention – every album, every song’ by Kevan Furbank

Fairport Convention at Bexhill 2020

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2018

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2017

Album review – Fairport Convention ‘Come All Ye: The First Ten Years’

Fairport Convention – 50th anniversary gig at Union Chapel 2017

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2014

Fairport Convention at Union Chapel 2014

Folk: album review – Jon Loomes ‘Dust in the Sun’

Album reviews, Folk music, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Dust in the Sun by Jon Loomes is presented as a ‘lost’ English folk album, recorded in the long hot summer of 1976.

According to the press blurb: “A troubled artist made a remarkable folk album whose creation was beset by difficulties. Almost immediately, the label collapsed into insolvency. A pressing plant fire destroyed almost the entire original run, after which the album slipped into rumour and half-memory, after which the album slipped into rumour and half memory. Dust in the Sun was long thought lost forever. Miraculously, a single copy arrived into the present day, and the album has now been reissued to mark its fiftieth anniversary.”

This is an all an elaborate scene-setting fiction, of course. Unlike yours truly I doubt Loomes was even old enough to be spending the summer of ’76 tearing around the streets on a chopper bike, let alone recording long lost folk albums.

What the album does do, however, is authentically capture the ambience and repertoire of some of the great folk albums of that era, with an affectionate nod to artists such as Martin Carthy and Nic Jones.

There’s plenty of tried and tested classics from the Trad. Arr. repertoire that seasoned folk fans will be more than familiar with (‘Bonnie Bunch of Roses’, ‘Maid on the Shore’ ‘The Female Drummer’ et al). Yet in spite of the luridly tongue-in-cheek nature of the album’s back-story there is a sincerity and a passion behind Loomes’ interpretations that immediately brings the songs, and their vivid story-telling, to life.

https://jonloomes.bandcamp.com/track/bonnie-bunch-of-roses

Add in some authentic period production, some beautiful accompaniment to Loomes’ vocals and guitar (Rachel Crowther – bass; Tom Kitching – fiddle; Trolsynx – side drum; Rakoczy – English pipes; recorder, concertina; Gill Loomes-Quinn – Dulcimer; and Becky Turner – Uillean pipes) and you have the makings of a genuinely compelling folk album. And for those who are intrigued to find out more about the album’s fictional back-story, there’s even an accompanying novel.

Released: June 2026 https://jon-loomes.com/home

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Diamond Rainbows’

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , , , ,

Diamond Rainbows is the fifth album from the Julie July Band and their fourth album of original material. Their first, back in 2018, was a tribute to the late Sandy Denny, representing a foundational plank of their live show. Although Denny herself drew on a much wider range of influences than the folk rock label usually given to her would imply, with each successive release the Julie July Band have been on a mission to broaden the palette of musical textures they draw from. The results have been consistently pleasing and Diamond Rainbows is no exception.

The joyfully optimistic ‘Sunny Day’ with its jaunty fiddle playing is a classic slice of English folk rock while opening track ‘Riverside’ has that lush West Coast feel from the golden age of introspective singer-songwriter albums. The Eagles-ish ‘Just a Little’ again picks up that West Coast vibe. Meanwhile, ‘Medicine Man’ with its energetic rhythms coupled with gorgeous vocal harmonies put me in mind of songs like Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’. Elsewhere on the album there’s some more ethereal prog-rock influences and even a touch of gypsy jazz.

In short, while the songs exude freshness and vibrancy, the influences are pleasingly familiar, without ever straying into the formulaic.

As the Julie July Band themselves put it: “Diamond Rainbows celebrates the excitement of hearing new songs for the very first time. Every classic song was once unknown. This collection is an invitation to rediscover that sense of musical discovery.”

Throw in some top-notch musicianship from seasoned players, crystal clear vocals, beautiful harmonies and great song-writing and you’ve got the perfect summer album. Diamond Rainbows is highly recommended.

Released: 20th June 2026 https://www.juliejuly.co.uk/

Related posts:

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Wonderland’

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes?’ – A Tribute To Sandy Denny

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Lady of the First Light’

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Flight Of Fancy’

Folk: album review – Bity Booker ‘There’s No Song About a Stone’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , ,

I first came across the delightful Bity Booker supporting Green Diesel in Brighton last summer. Describing her as “a London-based alt-folk singer-songwriter with beautiful songs, a sweet voice and some hilariously deadpan introductions” her performance certainly left an impression on me. Now she has an album out, which she refers to as her “first non-debut album”.

Bity Booker at the Folklore Rooms, Brighton – Photo credit: Darren Johnson

Bity Booker: “I call it a ‘non-debut album’ because I have long been making music in different forms, from death metal to alternative folk, so it feels strange calling it a ‘debut album’. It is the product of years of songwriting and performing solo as Bity Booker. I do take my time making things in a way that makes me happy, out of the commercial sphere and outside of norms and rules. I like to think of my creations as something organically formed and shaped by time, dreams, thoughts, rain and wind. These tape recordings feel very much alive, in the background you can hear sounds of birds, people, the sounds of London, all of which were in the room with me while recording.”

Photo credit: Stef Martin

Featuring Booker’s magical voice, her classical guitar and nine of her unique and never less than utterly charming compositions, There’s No Song About a Stone was recorded at home on a four-track tape recorder over a three-year period in South London and Thanet.

The natural world is a recurring theme in Booker’s songs or, more accurately, the natural world as a metaphor for human emotions: love, hope, sadness and a sense of belonging. The latter is very much the sentiment behind ‘Parrots in London’, Booker’s delightful paean to the growing population of feral parakeets who have made London their home. The song never fails to raise a smile when performed live, with its knowing nod to one of the capital’s most enduring urban myths (‘Some say they escaped from Jimi Hendrix’s cage’).

It’s certainly not all light and whimsical though and darker themes are explored in songs like ‘The Ballad of Lost Town’ and ‘A Tear’. Whatever the subject matter, Booker’s beguiling honesty as a performer and natural gift as a storyteller shine through.

Released: 5th June 2026 https://www.bitybooker.com/

Related post:

Bity Booker and Green Diesel in Brighton – June 2025

This week’s featured artist: Pàdruig Morrison – debut solo album ‘Buin’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

From the island of Grimsay, in Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Pàdruig Morrison is an acclaimed accordionist and composer. Performing around the country with fellow Uist musicians as part of Beinn Lee, the six-piece band have received many plaudits for their impassioned interpretations of traditional Gaelic music. Morrison himself was a finalist in the 2020 BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year and also picked up a Celtic Connections New Voices commission that same year.

Equally comfortable in the worlds of both classical and contemporary composition, Morrison has also written music for the National Trust for Scotland, St Magnus International Festival, Thirteen North string ensemble, Hebrides Ensemble, Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, Edinburgh International Book Festival, members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and soundtracks for TV and radio. When he is at home and not performing or composing, he teaches accordion and piano and raises cattle and sheep on his croft in Grimsay.

Buin is Morrison’s debut solo album and features an array of original tunes and four original Gaelic songs. Written over the past six or seven years, the music distils his aural assimilation of old Gaelic songs and pipe melodies, to produce original material with a much older flavour.

‘Buin’ means belong. Equally appropriate titles for this album could have been ‘buain’, meaning harvest, and ‘buan’, meaning long-lasting. All of the tunes and the songs on this album have some form of reflection on belonging to a place, a people, and a culture.

https://padruigmorrison.bandcamp.com/track/an-t-ionnsachadh

Pàdruig Morrison: “I feel it is important to understand and convey how Gaels have long been fighting both for our right to land on which we can live and feed ourselves, and for our language to be spoken by those who come after us, just as it was by those who came before. This history is not sufficiently taught to us and I hope that this album might act as a reminder of, and an insight into, some of that history.”

Beautifully packaged with extensive liner notes, this album is an enchanting celebration of the Gaelic tradition and a fine showcase for Pàdruig Morrison’s exceptional musicianship and highly accomplished composition and arrangement skills.

Released: 25 January 2026 https://www.padruigmorrison.com/

Related post:

Album review – Beinn Lee ‘DEÒ’

This week’s featured artist: John Paul Mason – debut album ‘Overstory’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

John Paul Mason is a Scottish singer-songwriter whose debut album, Overstory, was released late last Autumn. Originally from Edinburgh, but now based in Comrie, Perthshire, Mason draws inspiration from the natural beauty of his surroundings, and the mountains, rivers, forests, and lochs that define his home.

As a breathwork therapist and trainer, Mason integrates his therapeutic work into his songwriting. His stated mission is to create music that seeks to heal, awaken, and inspire.

Influenced by artists like Spell Songs, Will Varley, Kris Drever, and Krishna Das, Mason’s sound is a blend of modern Scottish folk, spiritual resonance, and environmental activism. Using guitars, cello, and violin, his music weaves together poignant storytelling and a call to action, echoing the transformative power of nature and community.

His ten-track album, showcasing titles such as ‘Forest’, ‘Nightingale’, ‘Sweet Spirit’ and ‘Crows’, represents a beautiful interplay between folk and nature.

Writing in the sleeve-notes, John Paul Mason asks: “What would a life-affirming story look like? Perhaps if we listen, quietly, closely, by a stream or within a forest to those remaining wild things we share our world with, and to the whisperings of our own soul, nature might, just maybe, bring us back home.”

Alongside Mason on guitar and vocals are some stunning contributions from assorted guest musicians who provide  bass, percussion, string arrangements and backing vocals, together with some lovely choral backing from the Earnsong Choir on the penultimate track, ‘Carry Me’.

With its enchanting melodies, powerful eco-themed story-telling and classy production, Overstory is a wonderfully uplifting debut album and John Paul Mason is an endearing performer with much to say.

Overstory released: 21 November 2025 https://johnpaulmason.com/

Folk: album review – Honey & The Bear ‘A Wish & A Tide’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , ,

Already with three albums under their belt, the popular East Anglian folk duo, Honey & The Bear, have just released a fourth. Featuring eleven original songs, A Wish & A Tide could well be their best album yet. Once more, the husband and wife team of Jon and Lucy Hart delve deep into Suffolk’s landscapes and legends for inspiration as well as exploring more personal themes of love, loss and resilience.

Lucy Hart: “This album has been 14 months in the making. At the start of 2025 Jon hit on a songwriting streak and decided it was time to start work on our fourth album… and here we are. A collection of songs with far-ranging inspiration. We feature a few myths and legends from our Suffolk home, as well as taking inspiration from nature around us and historic tales, but we’ve also taken a much more inward look with some poignant numbers that can only be written after experiencing something truly life altering. We hope you’ll find beauty in it … and maybe something you’ll find yourself connecting with.”

The song-writing is as thoughtful, perceptive and compelling as ever, the gentle melodies soar with some dazzling musicianship and the harmony vocals of Lucy and Jon are just sublime. Once again, the duo’s regular cast of supporting musicians, Toby Shaer (flutes, whistles and fiddle), Archie Churchill-Moss (accordion), Evan Carson (percussion and bodhran) and Graham Coe (cello), add some truly magical touches. A particular mention must go to Shaer’s flute-playing on tracks like ‘Close to the Edge’ which complements the duo’s vocals and melodies so perfectly, it’s almost starting to become part of their USP.

Honey & The Bear continue to impress, with every album even more of a delight than the previous one. A Wish & A Tide is no exception.

Released: 23 April 2026 https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/

Related posts:

Album review: Honey & The Bear – Away Beyond The Fret

Album review – Honey and The Bear ‘Journey Through The Roke’

Live review: Moore, Moss, Rutter at Cecil Sharp House 13/4/16

Live review: Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2018

This week’s featured artists: Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer – new album ‘Some Other Stories’

Album reviews, Folk music, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer are a South London-based duo. Their personal partnership also became a musical one when Crew turned her hand to songwriting and started performing them live. Palmer, already a songwriter himself and a veteran of the folk and roots scene, began sitting in on live performances, contributing guitar and occasional harmonies and before they knew it, a duo was born. Following an EP and a well-received debut album, Quiet After Midnight, the pair released their second album, Some Other Stories, at the end of 2025.

Drawing on influences from Fairport Convention to Elliott Smith, many of the songs reflect highly personal themes such as the beautifully melancholic ‘Look Back on Before’ which was released as a single.

Melanie Crew & Ross Palmer: “The songs contemplate the connections we make with each other and what happens when those connections break down. They examine the people we are and how we become those people. They look at the past with a kind eye and to the future with cautious optimism.”

The pair split songwriting duties just as they split lead vocal duties but as with all the best duos they are very much more than the sum of their parts and complement one another to perfection. The pair are also ably accompanied by Adam Beattie and Colin Somervell on double bass, Basia Bartz on violin, Nick Frater on piano and Hammond organ, and Ben Handysides on cello. Palmer’s bandmates, Yo Zushi and Russell Parton, from his other project Great days of Sail also feature in the choral parts on ‘Our Captain Cried All Hands’, the album’s one traditional ballad and another definite highlight.

Certainly a duo to watch and an album well worth checking out.

Released: 5 December 2025 https://www.melaniecrewandrosspalmer.com/

This week’s featured artist: Holly Clarke – new album ‘Wild Feral Fierce’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , ,

A singer and guitarist who’s been making waves on the folk scene in recent years, Cumbria-born Holly Clarke has performed alongside the likes of Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, Daoiri Farrell and Queer Folk. Appearing at festivals and venues such as, Sidmouth Folk Festival, Bromyard Folk Festival, Tiree Music Festival and The Glasshouse International Centre For Music, between 2019 and 2020 she was Artist in Residence at the latter, specialising in Traditional Folk Song and Ballads.

As well as performing solo, Holly has a duo with George Sansome (Granny’s Attic), The powerhouse band RE:VULVA (Amy Thatcher, Janice Burns, Cathy Geldard) and she also gigs with the trio, Holly and the Reivers, reviewed here back in 2024.

Wild Feral Fierce is Clarke’s debut solo album. Across ten tracks which mix interpretations of traditional ballads with original material, it’s an album that’s deeply rooted in folklore, myth and metaphor.

Holly Clarke: “The tracks on this record summon visions of the macabre, the supernatural and iconic figures from folklore and myth. This album is an unearthing of themes that aren’t just found lying dormant in the furrows of the land, they are alive and more relevant than ever.”

Traditional songs include beautifully atmospheric interpretations of well-known classics like ‘The Spectral Stag’ and ‘John Barleycorn’. However, like the late, great Bob Johnson of Steeleye Span, who had a similar fascination with such other-worldly themes, Clarke doesn’t just look to the British Isles for inspiration but also delves deep into the folk myths from Scandinavia where they’ve long excelled at this stuff over many centuries. ‘The Maiden Hind’, a classic Danish shapeshifting ballad, and ‘Sir Aage and Lady Elselil’, which has its roots in old Norse texts are two such tracks on this album.

Alongside her passion for adapting traditional ballads, Clarke is also a talented songwriter. The self-composed title track of the album, is a song where shape-changing is a metaphor for the joy that comes from self-acceptance and positive transformation.

Joining Clarke on the album is a core band featuring Anna Hughes (of Salthouse & Watersmeet) and fiddle and viola; Amy Thatcher (of Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening & The Shee) on accordion and synth; and John Pope (of Archipelago & MeLostMe) on double bass. The album also features a guest appearance from Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian pipes.

Haunting and ethereal, with compelling storytelling and captivating vocals, Wild Feral Fierce is a wonderful slice of trad. arr. inspired folklore.

Released: 6 March 2026 https://hollyclarkemusic.com/

Related post:

Album review: Holly & The Reivers – Three Galleys

Folk: album review – Andy M. Stewart ‘Songs of Robert Burns’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , ,

No, not the tartan-bedecked Andy Stewart of ‘Donald Where’s Your Troosers’ fame but Andy M. Stewart, former lead singer Scottish folk band, Silly Wizard, who went on to enjoy a successful solo career before succumbing to a tragic premature death in 2015.

A number of his self-penned songs have entered the folk canon and been widely performed by artists around the world but Stewart was also an adept interpreter of traditional material as well and was particularly fond of the work of Robert Burns.

Back in 1989, Stewart was  approached by a German record label, Wundertute, to record an album of Burns’ songs. Accompanied by Mánus Lunny (guitar and bouzouki), Charlie McKerron (fiddle) and Donald Shaw (accordion and keyboards) the album proved to be a wonderful celebration of Scotland’s national bard but for one reason or another it suffered from a distinct lack of promotion at the time and failed to attract the attention it deserved. Now, almost four decades later, Stewart’s son, Donald, and his former Silly Wizard bandmate, Martin Hadden, have remastered the album and made it available through Hadden’s own Birnam CD enterprise.

This rediscovered lost gem is a genuinely delightful album. From the rousing rendition of ‘Rantin’ Rovin’ Robin’ which opens the album to the sombre beauty of ‘Green Grow the Rashes, O’ it’s a wonderful showcase for both Stewart’s extraordinary talent as an interpreter of traditional material and for Burns’ timeless genius as a poet and lyricist.

Released: 25 January 2026 https://www.birnamcdshop.com/product/andy-m-stewart/