The Folk Forecast: 12–18 April 2021
Including Lucy Farrell, Singing with Nightingales and Folk Weekend Oxford, which features the first duo gig from Spiers and Boden since 2014!
Hello, and welcome to another week of non-stop folk! From Lucy Farrell and Singing With Nightingales to workshops with Martin Simpson and The Rheingans Sisters, there’s lots to look forward to over the next few days.
At the weekend, it’s time for Folk Weekend Oxford, with loads of events in store, including Spiers and Boden, Martin and Eliza Carthy, Faustus, Hannah James & Toby Kuhn and lots more. To get a taste of what’s coming up, have a listen to this week’s playlist.
MONDAY 12 APRIL
Soundhouse Spotlight Sessions: Folk* — 8pm BST
Soundhouse
Soundhouse presents four incredible new acts from the Scottish folk scene, including Chloë Bryce and Luc McNally, Janice Burns & Jon Doran, Jenna MacRory and Evie Waddell. A great opportunity to hear some of the finest up and coming artists on the scene.
Tickets pay as you can, from £5
TUESDAY 13 APRIL
Wurzel Bush Folk Club with Daria Kulesh & Marina Osman — 8.30pm BST
Wurzel Bush Folk Club
Join Wurzel Bush Folk Club for a livestream to their Facebook group. The evening begins with floor spots from 8.30pm, with Daria Kulesh and Marina Osman featuring from 9.30pm.
Free to view
WEDNESDAY 14 APRIL
Martin Carthy on Clubhouse — 7pm BST
Clubhouse
New social media platform Clubhouse is a way for like-minded people to come together and share ideas (or songs!). Eliza Carthy has set up a Folk Club on there and she runs the Folk Room on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. This Wednesday, she’s inviting Martin Carthy along as a guest.
Clubhouse is currently only available for iPhone users, and you’ll need an invite to access it. We have a handful of invites, so if anyone is keen to give it a go, email TheFolkForecast@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to help.
Free to access
Lucy Farrell* — 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Acclaimed folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lucy Farrell has been a key member of numerous influential folk acts including Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band, the Emily Portman Trio and The Furrow Collective. She is due to release her new solo album with Hudson Records in 2021, and this is a great opportunity to hear some of her solo work performed live.
Tickets £15, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
Singing with Nightingales: Homecoming — 11pm BST
The Nest Collective on YouTube
Celebrate the return of the nightingales to UK shores with this special late-night live broadcast from The Nest Collective, hosted by Sam Lee. It will include crowd-sourced recordings that people have submitted on the theme of nightingales and the natural world.
Free to view
THURSDAY 15 APRIL
Blue Rose Code - Tolbooth Shindig — 7pm BST
Tolbooth Stirling
Tolbooth Shindig is back for 2021, with a series of concerts streaming on Thursday nights on the Tolbooth Stirling Facebook page. Blue Rose Code (Ross Wilson) writes straight from – and to – the heart. His songs address universal themes of love, loss, travel, home, accepting the past and embracing the future in a deeply personal way.
Free to view
Steve Knightley Live with the Waveney Valley Folk Collective — 8pm BST
Firebrand Music Events / Waveney Valley Folk Collective
Join Steve Knightley for an intimate solo gig, hosted virtually by Waveney Valley Folk Collective. There will be an optional Q&A session on Zoom after the concert.
Tickets £15 plus booking fee
FRIDAY 16 APRIL
Folk Weekend Oxford: Spiers and Boden — 8pm BST
Folk Weekend Oxford
Folk Weekend Oxford gets off to a fantastic start with a concert from the much-loved duo Spiers and Boden. It’s their first gig as a duo since 2014, and it’s sure to be a night to remember!
Tickets £14, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
An Hour or So With… Megson — 8pm BST
Downend Folk Club on Facebook
Enjoy an hour or so of song-sharing and conversation with folk duo Megson. Four times nominated in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and double winners of the Spiral Earth Awards, Megson draw heavily on their Teesside heritage to create their own brand of folk music.
This event is presented by Downend Folk Club, who have been hosting events regularly on Friday nights through lockdown. This is their last online event for now, although there may be something in the pipeline later on.
Free to view, but donations gratefully received to the tip jar.
The Brothers Gillespie — 8pm BST
The Globe Newcastle
Brothers James and Sam Gillespie grew up in the Northumbrian village of Wall and sing finely crafted original and traditional songs. Rich with lyrical intensity and soaring sibling harmony, guitars, flute, fiddle and mandolin, their second album The Fell has been described as ‘a classic in the making’ (Northern Sky) and as showing ‘British acoustic music in its best possible light’ (Folk Radio UK).
Tickets £7.50, with the option to pay more to support the artists and venue. Stream is available to view for a week.
Folk at the Maltings online concert with Iona Fyfe plus Callum Granger and Oisin Kisdon-Ireland — 8pm BST
Folk at the Maltings
Aberdeenshire singer Iona Fyfe has become one of Scotland’s finest young folk singers, rooted deeply in the singing traditions of the North East of Scotland. She was the youngest ever winner of Scots Singer of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2018. She will be joined by New Roots finalists Callum Granger and Oisin Kisdon-Ireland.
Tickets £10 for one person, £15 for two and £20 for three or more. Concessions available.
The Isolation Sessions: Piers Cawley Song Swap with Lady Nade — 8pm BST
Piers Cawley on YouTube
Piers Cawley chats and swaps songs with Lady Nade, a songwriter who tells an array of stories through her own blend of Americana and indie-folk.
Free to view, with donations encouraged via Ko-Fi.
Hanna Enlöf + Georgia Shackleton + Liz Simmons — 8pm BST
Green Note website, Facebook page and YouTube channel
Enjoy an evening of song-sharing with Hanna Enlöf, Georgia Shackleton and Liz Simmons, as they perform virtually ‘in the round’ for London’s Green Note.
No ticket required, but donations gratefully received on Paypal.
Mairearad Green and Anna Massie — 8pm BST
Furness Tradition
Two of Scotland’s most revered multi-instrumentalists, Mairearad Green (accordion and bagpipes) and Anna Massie (guitar, banjo, fiddle) are a truly captivating duo, providing a highly energetic performance with a warm and friendly on-stage presence.
Tickets £12 plus booking fee, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
Oshima Brothers — 8pm BST
The Live Room Saltaire
Oshima Brothers’ magnetic sibling sound results from a lifetime of making music together. Raised in a musical family in rural Maine, the brothers have honed a harmony-rich blend of contemporary folk and acoustic pop. On stage, Sean and Jamie create a full and complex sound with dynamic vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, octave bass, loops and percussion, often all at once!
Tickets £10
Iona Lane — 8.50pm BST
Folk at the Grove
Iona Lane’s emotive and well crafted songs are delivered with immense passion. She draws inspiration for her songwriting from exploring rural areas of the UK where the natural environment, landscape, sustainability and community are integral to people’s way of life. She is currently in the process of recording her debut album.
Free to view, but donations gratefully received to the tip jar.
SATURDAY 17 APRIL
The Rheingans Sisters Big Weekender — All day Saturday & Sunday
The Rheingans Sisters on Zoom
A full weekend of online workshops suitable for musicians at improver or advanced level with any instrument. Workshops will cover a range of topics including playing and exploring dance music, using folk tune archives, tunes from around the world, making tunes your own and more.
Tickets £100 for both days, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
Martin Simpson guitar workshop — 10am—5pm BST
Martin Simpson on Zoom
An opportunity to learn from Martin Simpson about his guitar techniques, the thought behind his arrangements, the tunings he uses and why. There will be a focus on material from The Bramble Briar, with transcriptions from it being sent out in advance to all participants. There will also be the chance to revisit some other classic Martin Simpson pieces and ask questions. Martin will respond live, talking about the things he loves best – guitars, songs and even banjos…
Tickets £125 including tuition for the day and tab sheets.
Folk Weekend Oxford — Various events
Folk Weekend Oxford
Join Folk Weekend Oxford for a superb Saturday line-up, including:
Katie Grace Harris, Henderson:Hooper — 12pm
Bow Selecta: An International Fiddle Extravaganza, feat. Josh Newman, Eddie Dickerson, and Mr Moon & The Beautiful Dream — 2pm
Jackie Oates and Megan Henwood (with support from Owl Light Trio) — 4pm
Faustus — 6pm
Martin and Eliza Carthy — 8pm
Zoom dance with Vicki Swan, Jonny Dyer and Bob Morgan — 8pm
Nosferatu, with a new score by Chris Green — 10pm
Ticket prices vary by event, from £8 to £14.
Rise Up! For Women And Girls — 6pm BST
Melt Productions
A virtual festival of music, comedy and more in aid of the charity Women and Girls. Featuring music from Kate Rusby, Harbottle and Jonas, Granny’s Attic and more, plus a great line-up of comedians including David Eagle of the Young’Uns.
Tickets £10
Firebrand Music & Shutlanger Music Events presents Steve Knightley LIVE online — 7.30pm BST
Firebrand Music Events / Shutlanger Music Events
A second chance to catch Steve Knightley of the mighty Show of Hands this week. There will be an optional Q&A session after the gig on Zoom.
Tickets £15 plus booking fee, with the option to pay a bit more to support Steve and the team.
Steve Turner — 7.30pm BST
Rosslyn Court
Fine concertina player and singer Steve Turner performs a livestreamed concert for Rosslyn Court in Margate.
Free to view, but donations encouraged.
SUNDAY 18 APRIL
Folk Weekend Oxford — Various events
Folk Weekend Oxford
It’s the final day of Folk Weekend Oxford, with a great line-up as follows:
Peggy Seeger in conversation with Jackie Oates — 11am
Oxford International Links Showcase feat. Steve Crawford & Sabrina Palm (Bonn) and Duo Nello (Grenoble) — 12.30pm
Classic European Dance Workshop for Solos and Pairs — 12.30pm
Hannah James and Toby Kuhn — 2pm
Naragonia — 4pm
Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman — 6pm
Mad Dog Mcrea — 8pm
Ticket prices vary by event, from £8 to £14.
Regular events
‘Almost Acoustic’ with Eliza Carthy on Radio Scarborough - Mondays at 8pm. The show is also repeated through the week, so you can catch up if you miss it.
Afternoon Tea with Paul Walker and Karen Pfeiffer - Concerts are held on Fridays at 4pm on Facebook.
Winter Wilson Live from the Lounge - Concerts are held on Thursdays at 8.15pm on Facebook.
Jack Hogsden’s Kitchen Sessions - Concerts are held on Saturdays at 7.30pm on Facebook. All money raised goes to Don’t Stop the Music.
Paul McKenna - Regular Facebook gigs on Saturday nights at 8pm.
Tim Edey - Concerts are held on Saturdays at 10pm on Facebook.
Will Pound’s Sunday concerts - Concerts are held on Sundays at 11.30am on Facebook.
Social Dancing with Lisa Heywood - Regular chances to get together and learn about folk dances from the UK and further afield.
Honey and the Bear - Concerts are held on Sundays at 7pm on Facebook.
The Isolation Pub Sessions - John Spiers hosts monthly sessions on his Facebook page, and you can submit recordings of you playing if you’d like to join in!
‘Folk from the Boat’ - a YouTube series exploring traditional songs and tunes with Anna Tam, as she travels through Britain’s waterways on her canal boat.
A Folk Song for Lincolnshire
The Lincolnshire folk song competition is at the heart of the folk community where I come from, and it was previously broadcast on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. The BBC has decided to cut it from their programming, and the local folk community are running a crowdfunder to allow this year’s competition to still go ahead. To find out more and support the appeal, click the link below.
New Folk on Foot episode*
A new episode of the Folk on Foot podcast will be available from Friday, featuring singer, fiddler and guitar player Germa Adan, who takes Matthew and the team for a walk in the Sandwell Valley. Born in Haiti, growing up in Florida and now living in Birmingham, Germa explains how her international travels have influenced the songs she arranges and composes.
This week’s playlist
Head over to this week’s playlist to hear a selection of tracks from artists featured in this issue. Listen to something new, and see which gigs you might fancy going to!
Record of the week
Record of the Week is First Farewell by Peggy Seeger, which was released on Friday. It’s her 24th solo album, but the first to be written entirely with her immediate family members — her sons Calum and Neill MacColl and daughter-in-law Kate St John, all of whom are brilliant musicians in their own right. Our standout track is Invisible Woman, a song co-written with her son Neill which highlights how society marginalises women as they get older.
The album is likely to be Peggy’s final original solo album, but you never know, perhaps there’ll be a second farewell one day! If you’re a fan of Peggy, you should also check out her chat with Jackie Oates this week at Folk Weekend Oxford.
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The Folk Forecast is created for artists, for audiences and for the UK folk scene. All information is correct to the best of our knowledge. If you have queries about the events listed, please contact the artists or promoters. If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future newsletters, please email TheFolkForecast@gmail.com. We may not be able to include absolutely everything, but we’re interested in UK folk events with a broad appeal, and would particularly welcome suggestions from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Folk Forecast is compiled by one person, so please bear with me if I can’t get back to you right away.
* Alongside The Folk Forecast, I’m associated with other organisations on the folk scene, including Folk on Foot, Fancourt Music, Live to Your Living Room and English Folk Expo. Events where I have some involvement with the promoter or agency are marked with a star. Although I have other affiliations, I strive to be fair and inclusive and tell you about anything I find that I think you’ll enjoy!