Lets plug a few more UK folk acts....
I like Seth and its good to see WORD feature this fine genre so could we take a moment to celebrate our other favourite UK folk acts, that are equally good, that share these Isles but who may not share the spotlight. A recent thread on music mags saw 'Q' slated but I seem to recall their recent buying guide to "English Folk Music'. If so, well done Q! Billy Bragg at an Imagined Village gig suggested its only when other cultures celebrate 'your music' do you begin to recognise its worth (e.g. 'blues to beatles and back to america' or 'irish music grew in popularity through emigration and was then more cherished and played in the homeland') So can we take a moment to put forward our our favourite Folk & Acoutics artists from our own backyard...or perhaps "UK's Best Dead Folk Star" in emulating the current mag feature
For the living I put forward Chris Wood singing his beautiful song 'Come Down Jehovah' backstage at Later... I believe
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What is it about folk?
A quick way to find a list of new and upcoming folkies is to type in the name of yesterdays icons, by surname, into google. Lo and behold, out they come a'pouring, the sons and daughters of the 60s names, be it Kemp, Kirkpatrick, Stradling, Carthy (obviously), Thompson, Wainwright. OK, so Teddy, Rufus and Martha may not be overtly folk, but sufficient roots are showing thru', I would suggest. Even the Rusbys of this world have a deeply imbued streak of folk in their DNA.
Why is folk so much more dynastic than other genres?
perhaps that's a more pertinent topic?
but i have some ideas....
(a) Partly heritage , passing down the oral tadition through families
b) child folkies participate in the many festivals workshops whilst parents perform on stage
(c) there is room for them in the folk industry to develop and breathe in the many clubs up and down the country...in rock its often about simply signing the record deal
(d) in folk its often. but not always, about 'the song' and its interpretation by players and generations whereas in rock its mostly about the artists 'new material'
(e) lastly, it fun, participative, accessible and possibly an outcome of good parenting to have your offspring carrying on the family business...
Nailed
I think you hit the nail on the head with (b). Folk music is participatory in ways that just don't happen in pop, jazz or rock. It's commonplace at folk gigs for the performer to tell you the chorus before they start the song, and to actively encourage the audience to join in on the chorus. And if you hang round a folk club or festival for more than a couple of hours, you can be sure someone will ask you to sing them a song, if you've got one to share. If you're clutching a bodhran, fiddle or guitar, you'll likewise be invited to join in a "session". This inclusive approach can be a bit intimidating at first, for someone accustomed to the passive-consumer, "us and them" band/audience divide in rock culture, but generally the folkies are so friendly even the most socially nervous (e.g. me) soon starts joining in. In this kind of environment, it's no surprise folk musicians' kids end up doing it for a living themselves.
For me amongst the greatest things
about folk artists is their accessibility, when the artist comes straight from the stage to sell a CD, have a chat with audience members and show up at the bar.....something some folk artists now doing bigger venues appear to fail to reconnect with.
Some current favourites
Thanks to the wonderful Lichfield Arts - yes, I know I'm always plugging them - I get to see a lot of folk gigs each year. Some favourites from the last year or two are:
The mighty Shooglenifty
Kathryn Tickell and her band - this clip's not the most atmospheric of settings, but the sound's particularly clear on this one:
Now THIS is my idea of a Girl Band - The Poozies giving it some harp:
Finally, two for the price of one - the fab singer Julie Fowlis, with another personal hero, John McCusker, on fiddle:
My sons.....
....jazz saxophone teacher used to be the banjo player in Shooglenifty. Fabulous musician...can get a good tune out of almost anything!
Julian Sutton (is that his name?)
the box player with Tickell always makes me chuckle when I watch him...dont know why...hardly any movement except in the face....reminds me of a supply teacher...great player though
John McCusker.....
Sadly no longer Mr Kate Rusby, reducing a tad the enjoyment her live show can bring. Near feckin inaudible as fiddler for Mark Knopflers mud as sound live show at NEC.
A shout for the Roddy Woomble, him out of REM-alikes Idlewild, solo LP of last year, produced by Mr McC. A bit pretentious (moi) in the lyrics and mood, but still good.
And ex-Runrigger, Donnie Munro did a cracking solo set last year as well.
There was nothing in Heat magazine about this?
Are McCusker and Rusby no longer an item?
Sad but true, it seems.
I was wiki-ing them both, to get the name of a track she sang on one of his LPs, and it was there, large as life. I suspect true rather than a rogue wiki.
Shame, cos I have followed each of their careers, from his Battlefield Band days and from her duo LP with Kathryn Roberts, which contains the cover version (to blow away all cover versions) of the Suzanne Vega song, the Queen and the Soldier. They seemed well together on the last tour of her I caught in 2004, he leading a who's who band of 6 or so tip top musicians.
Good luck to them both in the future.
I heard this also
but I saw her last year at the Cambridge Folk Festival and he was still there playing fiddle so they may still be musical partners if nothing else.
North East
has quite a few artists to its name, could speculate that there's a concentration of folk tradition, strong sense of community, ex-mining villages, nowt else to do on a winter's evening than gather round and sing... whatever. My favourites -
Jez Lowe with his bad pennies...
... and without ...
Plus Kathryn Tickell as above, and the glorious Rachel Unthank & the Winterset:
This last one - which doesn't do them justice, buy their CD "the Bairns", you won't regret it - shows one of the things you really don't get in other genres: the song doesn't start until the audience have been taught the chorus...
The Bairns
I bought this two days ago - still working my way into it (it's long!) but first impressions are that it's a fabulous thing. Traditional, but not afraid to push the boundaries. And those harmonies are gorgeous.
quite
yes, I'm with you on that - I've had my copy about a month and am now at the stage that certain tracks - Blackbird for one - send a shiver down my spine.
My North East additions....
Bob Fox...fine fine voice, great humour too
Nancy Kerr's from NE isnt she? Although I think now based near Bath...prefer her doing her own things...great fiddle and voice
another dynasty
Ah yes, Nancy Kerr, daughter of Sandra Kerr who despite working with Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl, Oysterband, Roy Bailey, Martin Carthy etc etc and directing a women's folk choir "Wercasfolk", is perhaps best known for ...
Angus Lyon & Ruaridh Campbell are worth looking out....
Love this super group too!
Hard Times of Old England Retold by The Imagined Village
That's me in the corner...
Heidi Talbot
Who I think I may be in love with. Irish I think.