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It’s hard not to like Emma Stevens, she spins a chirpy, rootsy pop with an ability that turns the world on a sunny smile. This is album number three, and to be honest it’s no great deviation from previous work, catchy tunes, heart felt lyrics and a rush of country tinged back melodies which hold… Read more »
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‘Afterglow’ arrives as the first post-Bellowhead release from Jon Boden. From that point of view, it’ll be likely to get more scrutiny than his earlier solo records – no pressure, then! Students of the solo Boden will know that his last release, ‘Songs From The Floodplain’, was themed around an apocalyptic landscape played out in… Read more »
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Categories: Reviews
Umpteen albums down the line from when I first caught him supporting Steeleye Span, with an obscure item to plug called Golden Vanity on the long vanished Trailer imprint as I recall,Martin Simpson has gone from prodigy to phenomenon. You couldn’t find a more considered acoustic guitarist no matter how hard you look, Trails & Tribulations is the latest… Read more »
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Best known as the man behind the Roud Folk Song Index used to reference songs collected from the oral tradition, Steve Roud is one of the leading folklorists in England. He’s published a variety of books but it’s the arrival of ‘Folk Song in England’ with over 600 pages that concerns us here. Unlike other… Read more »
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With her ‘Honest Life’ album, Courtney Marie Andrews got the attention that her fine songwriting deserves. It’s taken a little while to get to that point. So, Loose Music decided that re-releasing some earlier material for this freshly growing audience would be a wise move. It’s a particularly good decision as ‘On My Page’ was… Read more »
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How easy can it be for a trio who sing acapella, admit a love of sea shanties and unashamedly cup their hands to their ears in time honoured trad manner? You’d think if ever there was a niche act then here it is. However I’m describing the Young’Uns, who apart from having a name which… Read more »
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Categories: Reviews
The Young ‘uns have just released this video for their great song Be The Man, for some background on the songs story have a look here The lads step out on this month: 4 LANCASTER Dukes Theatre https://dukes-lancaster.org/?event=younguns 01524 598 500 5 SHEFFIELD City Hall (Memorial Hall) www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk/events/The-Young-Uns 0114 2 789 789 6 GLASGOW Oran Mor www.seetickets.com/event/the-young-uns/oran-mor/1086128 7 SHREWSBURY Theatre Severn www.theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/the-young-uns/ 01743… Read more »
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Categories: Reviews
Once Paul Brady made albums that hit you smack between the eyes, Hard Station was the kind of record which thrilled you from the off, one listen you were hooked and couldn’t wait to hear it again. The songs were about life, love and experience, tracks were five minutes plus. When the man had something to say… Read more »
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Categories: Reviews
This album has been bobbing around for a couple of years and was thrust into my hand recently. The Pagoda Project is Paul Hutchinson, from Balshazzars Feast, and Karen Wimhurst, from, well, just about anything from the ENO to climate change circus shows (I kid you not). Now I generally get twitchy and start eyeing… Read more »
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Categories: Reviews
Hanging out at various folk festivals over the last year or two, I’ve noticed that there’s been a noticeable group of young revellers who seem to spend as much time watching and listening out front as they do performing on stage. From my occasional observation point in the bar, this might have been just a… Read more »
