Tag Archives: folk

Folk Rock / Indie: album review – The Revellers ‘Reactors’

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

Following a gap of nine years since their previous release, popular Shetland indie folk rock band, The Revellers, are back with their third album, Reactors. The Revellers are Michael Anderson (lead guitar), Magnus Bradley (lead vocals, guitars), Daniel Gear (fiddle), John William Halcrow (drums, vocals), Erik Peterson (mandolin, vocals). Lewie Peterson (banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar, vocals) and Adam Priest (electric and double bass).

Often described as ‘heavy folk music’, The Revellers are seven musicians brought up on a typical millennial musical diet of alt rock, punk and metal that’s combined with a love and reverence for traditional music that’s an intrinsic part of any Shetland upbringing. The result is an explosive mix of soaring melodies, searing guitar riffs and energetic fiddle, mandolin and banjo.

From reflections on the challenges and contradictions of modern life (‘The Reflector’) to standing up for what’s right (‘Stand Up and Fight’) there are themes that wouldn’t be out of place on any typical indie rock album, but this being a band with traditional influences at its heart there’s also material like a reworking of Rhoda Butler’s poem ‘Clearances’ in the Shetland dialect and the song ‘Republic of Vinland’ which celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage.

An album fizzing with energy and verve, it’s one that will appeal to ardent rock fans as much as dedicated folkies. Highly recommended.

Released: 26/11/25 https://www.facebook.com/therevellersshetland/

This week’s featured artist: singer-songwriter Stuart Mick Macfarlane – new album ‘The Test of Time’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

Stuart ‘Mick’ Macfarlane is a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist based in the Glasgow area. He has performed his folk-flavoured acoustic songs across Scotland, holding long-running residencies at venues including Jinty McGuinty’s in Glasgow and The Drovers Inn near Loch Lomond. Alongside his solo achievements, Macfarlane is a core creative force in Glasgow’s respected progressive rock band, Abel Ganz. His song ‘Thank You’, featuring special guest performances by Runrig’s Malcolm Jones and Fairport Convention’s Jerry Donahue on the group’s acclaimed self-titled album, has become an enduring live favourite among audiences.

Although Macfarlane’s compositions have frequently been covered by other artists, The Test of Time is his first solo album to receive a commercial release.

Stuart ‘Mick’ Macfarlane: “These songs mean so much to me. I’m delighted this album is finally out. I hope they resonate with people on an emotional level, as they’re all honest and heartfelt pieces of music that I’m very proud of.”

The themes explored on the album range from the highly personal to themes around environmental degradation and homelessness, and draw on traditional Scottish folk, classic singer-songwriter and progressive rock influences.

https://stuartmickmacfarlane.bandcamp.com/track/jigsaw-pride

Beautifully produced by long-time collaborator, Colin Johnson, at Glasgow’s Audio Lounge, the album features Macfalrlane on electric and acoustic guitars and vocals, Johnson on drums, Fiona Cuthill on fiddle, Stevie Lawrence on bouzouki and percussion, and a special guest vocal appearance from Macfarlane’s own daughter, Ceitidh, on the title track.

Showcasing some fine songwriting, lovely melodies and thought-provoking themes, The Test of Time is an engaging album that’s worth checking out.

Released 24 October 2025: stuartmickmacfarlane.bandcamp.com

‘Steeleye Span 1970-1989 On Track: Every Album, Every Song’ – Book reviews round-up

Book reviews, Folk music, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Following my ‘glam rock trilogy’ on Slade, Sweet and Suzi Quatro, my fourth book for Sonicbond Publishing came out in August 2025: Steeleye Span 1970-1989 On Track: Every Album, Every Song. I’ve been really heartened by the enthusiastic responses from readers so far (reaching Number 2 on Amazon’s Music Encyclopaedias Chart) and the many kind words from reviewers.

Darren Johnson

“Both satisfying and engrossing, what should’ve been a simple task to read and comment on, became a series of rabbit holes, as songs and entire albums had to be revisited or indeed investigated. Both for the purposes of research and pure enjoyment, as well as a degree of nostalgia.” Folk North West (read full review here)

“Darren Johnson has done a remarkable job in squeezing the details of fourteen albums into this slim volume” “Johnson’s research is thorough” RnR magazine

“I hadn’t heard some of these records for a very long time, but this deep dive into the band, their music and indeed the history behind some of the traditional songs they performed, caused me to listen again with fresh ears. Check it out if ‘The Span’ or indeed folk rock in general are your thing.” The Afterword (read full review here)

“The book though is very fair in recognizing it’s sources. It brings together a lot of info into a well written book – definitely recommended!” A Celebration of Steeleye Span  (read full review here)

Steeleye Span 1970-1989 On Track can be purchased via Amazon here as well as most other major book-sellers. And via the publisher’s own online shop at Burning Shed here

Related posts:

Reviews: ‘Slade in the 1970s’ reviews round-up

Reviews: ‘Suzi Quatro in the 1970s’ – reviews round-up

Reviews: ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’ reviews round-up

This week’s featured artists: The Metagama Ensemble – new album ‘Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey’

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

The exotically-titled Metagama Ensemble take their name from the SS Metagama, a ship whose voyage across the Atlantic in the 1920s, marked the beginning of a mass emigration scheme from the Hebrides to Canada.

The Metagama Ensemble explain the aim of Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey as follows:

“Movingly commemorating and celebrating the lives of the young emigrants, from the heartache of homesickness and separation, the emotional poignancy of tragedy and loss, to the lively fun of cèilidh tunes on the dance floors of North America, this album gives voice to the experiences of those who left and those who were left behind, telling the story of an important but little-known period in Hebridean history, the devastating impact of which is still felt in the islands today.”

Originally conceived as a live show, Atlantic Odyssey began life as a Creative Scotland-supported tour of the Highlands and Islands in 2023. Since then, the Metagama Ensemble project has grown exponentially. Interest in the project and the stories around the mass emigration, has been widespread, with capacity audiences throughout the tour, followed by a sell-out show at Celtic Connections in 2024.

Countless requests for a recording of the concert prompted the Ensemble to release an album. It was recorded in Black Bay Studio on Great Bernera and in The Wee Studio on the Isle of Lewis, while also including several live tracks from Celtic Connections and Eden Court Theatre.

Across thirty-six tracks, a mixture of traditional Gaelic songs, brand-new songs performed by the ensemble in English, original instrumental pieces and spoken-word segments, the album features writer and poet, Donald S Murray; pianist/singer-songwriter, Liza Mulholland; Gaelic actor and 7:84 Theatre Company co-founding performer, Dolina MacLennan; Gaelic singer and piper, Calum Alex Macmillan; fiddler, Charlie Mackerron; singer-songwriter, Willie Campbell; and cellist Christine Hanson.

Poignantly commemorating the lives of the Hebridean migrants and of those left behind, Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey is a gripping collection of beautifully-performed music and compelling storytelling.

Released: 19th July 2025

https://metagamaensemble.bandcamp.com/album/metagama-an-atlantic-odyssey

Folk/bluegrass: album review – Damien O’Kane & Ron Block ‘Banjovial’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

Dubbed a ‘banjo bromance’ following two highly successful albums, Damien O’Kane and Ron Block are now back with a third.

The pair’s USP is all about fusing the equally distinctive sounds of the five-string banjo (that highly rhythmic sound prominent in American bluegrass) and the tenor banjo (heard in countless renditions of traditional Irish jigs and reels).

Northern-Ireland born Damien O’Kane (with an enviable CV as a musician working in the traditional sphere and husband of folk singer Kate Rusby) plays the latter; while California-born Ron Block (with a slew of Grammy awards and best known for his work with Alison Kraus & Union Station) plays the former.

As with the previous Banjophonics album released in 2022 (reviewed here), Banjovial is a mainly instrumental album that showcases their unique and highly infectious style across an array of equally inventive tunes.

The duo don’t write together. Each of the tunes on the album are written by one or the other but the individual labours of each are often paired together in some imaginative tune-sets. Block’s beautifully mellow ‘Shabby and Cookie’, for example, (inspired by a couple of easy-going black cats who showed up when his children were young) is coupled with O’Kane’s much more frenetic ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ (so titled because he wrote it on St. Patrick’s Day).

Both Block and O’Kane also contribute a song a piece, with Block taking lead vocal on the genuinely lovely ‘Love Is Like That’ – written as a tribute to his mother; and O’Kane taking the lead on ‘The Loudest Word’ – a charming paean to the power of music and kindness.

As with its two predecessors, Banjovial showcases stunningly adept musicianship, both from the two main protagonists with their respective banjos, and from the talented cast of long-time collaborators and special guests. Yet again, they take us on a captivating journey across a range of musical styles, moods and tempos, proving once more that the humble banjo continues to attain new heights of cool in the hands of these two.  

Released: 3rd October 2025 https://damienokane.co.uk/band/

Related posts:

Folk/bluegrass: album review – Damien O’Kane & Ron Block ‘Banjophonics’

Eagles / Robert Plant & Alison Krauss at Hyde Park 2022

This week’s featured artist: Scottish folk musician and singer-songwriter Donald WG Lindsay

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , ,

Two Boats Under the Moon is the solo song debut of Scottish musician and musical instrument inventor and builder, Donald WG Lindsay.

Writing in the accompanying album notes, the Scottish folk musician Alasdair Roberts observes:

“Donald WG Lindsay is rightly renowned as a piper of considerable skill, and many will be aware of his innovative work as the inventor of the novel extended-range chanter system which bears his name. However what many piping aficionados (as well as more general listeners) might not know is that he is also a very fine singer, guitarist and writer of songs.”

“It might seem confounding that it’s taken Donald until now, in his late forties, to release his first full-length album of songs (following the 2003 Album of pipe tunes To the Drum of the Sea). But he’s a careful, patient man; one surmises that he’s been quietly and diligently serving out a very thorough apprenticeship, emerging when he feels the time is right as a fully-formed master craftsman. And, as if making up for lost time, he’s generously bestowed upon the world a long-awaited double album, spanning some ninety-one minutes over fourteen tracks.”

Two Boats Under the Moon is a two-disc collection of 14 live-in-the-studio recordings, made during December 2024 at Watercolour Music in Ardgour, in the Scottish Highlands.Lindsay sings, plays guitar, and plays on his own Lindsay System Scottish smallpipes. Roo Geddes plays fiddle, and on three numbers, piano.

The first disc is themed as a disc of original songs, including ‘Casuarina’ inspired by the casuarina trees Lindsay encountered during his three-year stay on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. They are also known as the whistling tree, after the distinctive shushing or whispering sound made by its pines when even a light breeze blows through them. The title track ‘Two Boats Under the Moon‘ is another song Lindsay wrote during his stay on Ascension Island. This first disc also includes a setting of a Scots poem by Vale of Leven poet Hugh Caldwell to an original tune he wrote a few years ago, and a rendition of a little-sung number by Allan Ramsay ‘An Thou Were My Ain Thing’.

The second disc is themed as a disc of traditional, mainly Scots, songs from a variety of sources and directions. These are songs that have held their seat in Lindsay’s repertoire for many years – in most cases for many decades. This second disc also includes two instrumental sets, pairing Roo’s fiddle with Donald’s Bb Lindsay System Scottish smallpipes.

Released back in May, the album has received numerous plaudits from reviewers as well as attracting warm reactions from fellow musicians as diverse as singer-songwriter, Tom Brosseau; piper and composer, Matthew Welch; and rock and roll legend, Iggy Pop.

With a voice rich in character, poignant songwriting and inspired interpretations of traditional material, Donald WG Lindsay’s Two Boats Under The Moon is a delightful album with beautifully-evocative musical accompaniment.

Released: 2 May 2025 https://www.donaldwglindsay.com/

Folk: album review – Ninebarrow ‘The Hour of the Blackbird’

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

After twelve years performing together and five extremely well-received studio albums, the folk duo Ninebarrow revisit some favourite songs with reworkings of material from their back catalogue. All of the key components you would expect from a Ninebarrow release are present and correct here: the lovely vocal harmonies of Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere, the intuitive connection to the natural world around us and the innovative adaptation of traditional material combined with compelling original songwriting.

However, the extra magical ingredient that is sprinkled throughout this collection are the stunning choral accompaniments, with Whitley’s and LaBouchardiere’s own harmony vocals joined by over forty others, courtesy of two locally-based choirs: Hart Voices from Hampshire and Chantry Singers from Surrey.

The genesis of the project can be traced back to the Covid lockdown, when the moratorium on live performances gave rise to a plethora of online concerts, Zoom choirs and sundry charity fundraising singles, the latter ranging in quality from the genuinely breath-taking to the frankly bizarre. But while we can safely assume that few people now sit at home listening to Captain Tom’s rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, Ninebarrow’s own charity single for MIND, ‘The Hour of the Blackbird’, certainly does stand  up artistically. What’s more, it convinced the duo that there was further mileage yet in such an approach.

Jay LaBouchardiere: “The response to that blew us away with people making donations from all over the world and we thought if one song can sound this good recorded through phones and laptops imagine what a studio collaboration could sound like.”

The result is simply stunning, with the thirteen tracks on The Hour of the Blackbird showcasing some truly spellbinding choral arrangements which take Ninebarrow’s elegant, understated, trademark magic to new heights. From the ethereal qualities of ‘Names In The Sky’ to the heart-warming optimism of the title track to the jaunty defiance of live favourite ‘The Weeds’, to the fresh take on folk perennial ‘John Barleycorn’, there’s plenty to marvel at here. A wonderfully uplifting album.

Released: 3 October 2025 https://www.ninebarrow.co.uk/

Related posts:

Album review: Ninebarrow – The Colour of Night

Album review – Ninebarrow ‘A Pocket Full of Acorns’

Folk: Album review – Amelia Hogan ‘Burnished’

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

I really enjoyed Taking Flight, the 2023 album by San Francisco-based folk singer, Amelia Hogan, praising her distinctive vocal style and the album’s beautiful musical accompaniment when I reviewed it two years ago. It wasn’t just me who thought that either. The album picked up many favourable reviews and made the top ten of the Folk Alliance International chart in the month it was released. Now Hogan is back with a brand-new album, Burnished.

Like Taking Flight there’s one song that’s a self-composed original which is written in a traditional style, with the remaining thirteen tracks being a mixture of traditional numbers and Hogan’s own interpretations of songs by more contemporary songwriters.

Amelia Hogan: “The album highlights familiar, often overlooked folklore about real places, sharing the hidden magic found in connecting with the natural world and its spirits of place, or Genius Loci. It also reflects on the emotional impact of remembering an animist perspective (what happens when we act as if everything around us is conscious?), where we share our space with everything around us-both seen and unseen. Through this, I encourage us to approach our relationships mindfully – with people, nature, and the world we co-inhabit.”

Highlights include the self-composed opening track, ‘Rolling in the Gold’ – a lovely song with both Americana and Celtic influences and described as ‘a love-song to California’. The traditional material includes a poignant version of ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ a seventeenth century American spiritual with roots back in England; as well as a lively, uplifting version of ‘Dh’eirich Mi Moch Madainn Chetein’ – a traditional Gaelic song originally sung by textile workers in the Scottish highlands as they treated wool in the process of making tweed.

Other material on the album includes a heartfelt rendition of the Irish singer, Dominic Behan’s ‘Patriot Game’. Originally written in the 1950s reflecting on the Troubles in Ireland, Hogan gives it renewed potency as a warning of the dangers of blind patriotism and manipulation by unscrupulous political leaders.

With Hogan’s characteristically distinctive vocals, intuitive feel for emotive story-telling and gorgeous instrumentation, Burnished is a worthy follow-up to Taking Flight.

Released: 1 April 2025 https://ameliahogan.com/

Related post:

Latest folk reviews: Amelia Hogan, RURA, Milton Hide, Joy Dunlop and Megson

This week’s featured artists: folk trio Curmudgeon – new album Travelling North

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

Travelling North is the debut album from this Edinburgh-based folk trio. Curmudgeon is made up of Donald Gorman, Laurie Brett, Donald Gorman and Andrew Macintyre

Donald Gorman is a highly rated Edinburgh-based fiddle player specialising in traditional Scottish music. He also plays mandola and adds accompanying vocals on the album.

Laurie Brett, meanwhile, is the band’s lead singer and guitarist and although originally from Essex, he’s spent the last four decades based in Scotland.

The third member of the trio, Andrew Macintyre, is a familiar figure on the Edinburgh folk session scene and a teacher of small pipes and highland pipes. In the band he plays Scottish small pipes and various whistles as well as providing vocals.

Photo: Caitlynn Neil

The ten-track album features five songs interspersed with five tune-sets. The songs are drawn from the trad. arr. canon with a couple of contemporary folk-scene favourites thrown in, including a reworking of the Richard Thompson classic ‘Beeswing’. Meanwhile the tune-sets feature a charming array of traditional  jigs, airs, reels and hornpipes originating from Scotland and the north of England.

There’s a quiet, gentle dignity about the trio’s music but no shortage of creativity. The arrangements are built around the wonderful musical interplay between the three musicians. The warm, engaging vocals of  both Brett and Macintyre bring empathy and sincerity to the storytelling in each of the songs and informative liner-notes provide insightful background information on the origins of each of the compositions.

Regardless of the name, it’s clear the trio have been anything but curmudgeonly in the way they’ve approached the making of Travelling North. A lovely debut.  

Released: 1 June 2025 https://www.curmudgeonfolk.co.uk/

This week’s featured artist: traditional flute player, Frances Morton – new album ‘Sliocht’

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

Growing up in Glasgow, Frances Morton is a much celebrated flute-player with familial roots in both Scotland and Ireland. Learning piano at a young age, she later took up whistle and flute, winning several All-Ireland medals and becoming immersed in the session scenes in both Scotland and Ireland.

Since then, Morton has performed at festivals and concerts across Europe and the USA and has appeared in programmes for the BBC and TG4. Now living in Ireland, she has been active in the session scenes in Belfast, Galway and Donegal, playing alongside local musicians.​

Sliocht is Morton’s debut solo album. Meaning ‘trace’ or ‘lineage’, it celebrates Morton’s Scottish and Irish musical heritage where, from her extensive repertoire, she has curated a selection of jigs, reels, strathspeys and marches that have held a particular meaning for her throughout her life, all accompanied by an extensive set of liner notes, tracing the origins of the traditional tunes and explaining where she first learned them.

https://francesmorton.bandcamp.com/track/the-mayo-set-seit-mhaigh-eo

Produced by guitarist, Eamon McElholm, the album features a number of the top-flight traditional musicians Morton has collaborated with over the years, including fiddle-player, Ciarán Tourish; singer, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, on the one vocal track; Mark Maguire and Seamus O’Kane playing bodhrán on several tracks; and Ryan O’Donnell and Malcolm Stitt on bouzouki. Julie Langan, fiddle player from Mayo, also plays on one track.

From lively jigs to mighty reels to graceful airs, this album is packed full of majestic tunes and equally majestic playing, immediately transporting the listener from wherever they may be to the bars, community halls and timeless rugged landscapes of Scotland and Ireland. Dedicated to the memory of her late father, Sliocht celebrates Frances Morton’s musical heritage in style and does her forebears proud.

Released: 15 March 2025  www.francesmorton.com