Aoife O’Donovan can surprise you, as she does on Age of Apathy. For a singer who often uses quiet rather than trying to bowl you over with the strength of her voice, some of her thoughts can be a bit disconcerting.…
It’s about time that the wider world was introduced to the wonder that is Jake Xerxes Fussell – a song collector raised in Columbus, Georgia and the son of a folklorist and curator is his own right, Fred C. Fussell.…
Ren Lawton’s ‘Thinking About You’ is the perfect driving folk tune to kick off the week. With its jangling guitar and punchy verses, the tune recalls iconic rambling troubadours of eras past. Lawton rides a melody in stride on its…
At the crux of Ocie Elliott are two kindred souls. Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy continue to harvest their deep artistic connection, sewing it into beautiful, entrancing folk music. The near-spiritual ‘Coming Home’ is a testament to this bond, and…
Eliza Marshall’s Freedom to Roam is a music and film project inspired by a desire for universal compassion and respect for nature. The project traverses themes such as climate change, conflict, restriction, empathy and ecological destruction. Each facet of the…
And it’s hello to 2022! And the sessions of this new year kick off with ‘Breadcrumbs’ by Loris and the Lion. If you saw our best of 2021 roundup, I picked the band’s debut EP Jorinde and Joringel as one…
It’s been another strange year for everyone, but in difficult times there’s always music to look after us. 2021 saw some wonderful releases across the spectrum, so here For Folk’s Sake writers round up some of their favourites. Thanks for…
Earlier this year, on 30 March, Riley Basford died by suicide. To Christian Parker, he was a family friends’ 15 year-old stepson. ‘Last Glance’ is the artist’s beautiful tribute to the young man and his family. Replete with gorgeous mandolin,…
Today’s session track is ‘Winter Nights’ from Scottish multi-instrumentalist STAGG, showing us some fancy accordian playing. ‘Winter Nights’ is taken from STAGG’s new visual album 3.0. The “visual” part comes from all the songs being played live on camera, with…
Neil Young has always felt at his best when he’s playing rough and ready, and his best foils have always been Crazy Horse. Together they have created some of the most deceptively simple music, raw rock that captures a moment…
This is a remarkable and beautiful album, charming, moving, heartfelt and absolutely of the moment. Kick back and relax, let the wild world into your eyes, your voice, your heart. You are in safe hands here. Part praise, part blessing,…
Akin to her Appalachian contemporaries, folkie Heather Sarona sews her roots from the mountainside. The singer-songwriter grew up surrounded by folk and bluegrass music in the Uwharrie Mountains of North Carolina. Americana runs intrinsically through her veins, informing her warm, rootsy songwriting and multi-instrumentalist abilities—Sarona plays guitar in a way that recalls Saratoga greats, plus banjo and uke. Her debut LP, Head Above Water, invokes all of these elements into a cozy, inhabitable folk soundscape that recalls the likes of Gillian Welch and Watchhouse.
Everything changes over time. That’s certainly true for Sea Wolf’s Through a Dark Wood. Some of the pain has passed and now songs that didn’t make sense when the album was released in March of 2020 resonate differently. Eighteen months have…
Capturing magic in a bottle is hard, doing it twice is almost impossible. But that’s what Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have done with Raise the Roof. The first notes of ‘Quattro (World Drifts In)’ suggest that while it has taken…
Devin Hoff first heard Anne Briggs’ music about ten years ago, and that moment changed his life, leading him to spend thousands of hours listening to Briggs and eventually recording Voices from the Empty Moor (Songs of Anne Briggs). Striking a chord…
The Ghibertins carry the torch for clap-along, stomp-along folk-rock well on their latest. You wouldn’t be remiss for recalling the indie outfit’s commercial brothers and sisters with the soaring chorus and driving beat of ‘Ropes & Kites’.
This Friday we’re playing our first and only show of the year at Union Chapel in Islington. I’ve got quite a history with the place, so it’ll feel even more special to take to that stage again. The first time…