The Folk Forecast: 17–23 May 2021
Including Lady Maisery, The Askew Sisters, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, Martin Simpson, Show of Hands and more!
Hello, and welcome back! Hope you’ve had a good week.
Firstly, I’d like to say a really big thank you to everyone who donated and left really kind comments of support about the newsletter over on Ko-Fi. It was very much appreciated and really heartwarming to know that it’s doing some good. Thanks for being such a lovely bunch!
There’s lots to choose from this week, including three gigs from English Folk Expo which are being livestreamed from The Corn Hall in Diss (or if you’re local, you could go in person!) — The Shackleton Trio on Thursday, Lady Maisery on Friday and Ezio on Saturday. Also in store in the next few days are Martin Simpson, Show of Hands, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, The Askew Sisters and more.
As always, you can get a taste of the artists featured in this issue over on this week’s playlist - happy listening, and see you again next week!
TUESDAY 18 MAY
The Whispering Bobcast Episode 3: Featuring Emily Barker, Todd Snider & Lukas Nelson — 8pm BST
Bob Harris / Roots Live
Bob Harris presents Episode 3 of The Whispering Bobcast, an online TV series and podcast featuring live performances, interviews and deep dives into Bob’s own archive of playlists. This time, his guests include Emily Barker, Todd Snider and Lukas Nelson.
Free to view, with donations encouraged.
Tuesday Folk People: The Brothers Gillespie and Taiwo Adegoke — 9.30pm BST
Home Stage on YouTube and Facebook
Every fortnight, Home Stage are hosting ‘Tuesday Folk People’, where they invite two artists from the folk scene to showcase their music and tell us their story. This week, tune in for music and chat with The Brothers Gillespie and Taiwo Adegoke, as they explore their musical journeys so far and perform live over Facebook and YouTube.
Free to view
WEDNESDAY 19 MAY
Sophie Janna with Kaspar Laval — 7.15pm BST
Sophie Janna on Facebook
Join Sophie Janna of Netherlands-based folk duo The Lasses, as she plays a set of folk classics and original songs with bouzouki player Kaspar Laval (who you might know from his work with Flemish balfolk group Hot Griselda). Sophie just released a new single called Wide World, which they’ll be performing a brand-new version of.
Free to view
The Askew Sisters* — 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Emily and Hazel Askew have become known as two of the foremost performers and interpreters of English folk music. The sisters have been immersed in folk music all their lives, which shines through in their musicianship and their approach to reimagining traditional music in new ways.
Tickets £15, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
THURSDAY 20 MAY
The Shackleton Trio* — 8pm BST
English Folk Expo
The Shackleton Trio have made quite an impression in recent years, being featured on Mark Radcliffe’s Radio 2 Folk Show and BBC Radio 4, receiving five star reviews and appearing on Cambridge Folk Festival main stage alongside a host of UK and European festivals and international tours. Their self-penned material blends seamlessly with their imaginative, yet authentic, re-workings of traditional folk standards, influenced by British, American and Scandinavian folk traditions, with a regional twist from their native East Anglia.
Tickets £12 plus booking fee, or £25 for a May bundle ticket which also includes Lady Maisery and Ezio. You can also get a 10% discount on tickets by joining EFEx Digital.
FRIDAY 21 MAY
Lady Maisery* — 8pm BST
English Folk Expo
Multi-instrumentalists and singers Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans are skilful explorers of the power, beauty and vitality of song. Described by The Guardian as creating “the most exquisite, thrilling vocal harmony work in the English folk scene”, they’re one of my all-time favourite bands and I can’t recommend them enough!
Tickets £12 plus booking fee, or £25 for a May bundle ticket which also includes The Shackleton Trio and Ezio. You can also get a 10% discount on tickets by joining EFEx Digital.
Nancy Kerr & James Fagan — 8pm BST
Folk at the Barlow
Acclaimed duo Nancy Kerr and James Fagan will be paying a virtual visit to Folk at the Barlow this week, with a gig held over Zoom. One of the best known and most experienced folk duos on the British circuit today, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan are outstanding musicians with a lifelong grounding in traditional singing and instrumental playing, as well as an astounding ability to create original material that stops you in your tracks.
Tickets £8 per person - email folkatthebarlow@gmail.com for details on booking.
The Canny Band — 8pm BST
Furness Tradition
A collaboration born from a love of traditional music and fuelled by student poverty, The Canny Band are an eclectic trad trio based in Glasgow. Sam Mabbett (button accordion) and Michael Biggins (piano) formed the band in 2016 and since then have been crowned finalists of the Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections and supported bands such as Väsen. With the recent addition of Callum Convoy (bodhran), the trio are arranging new and exciting music together.
Tickets £12 plus booking fee, with the option to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
Martha Hill — 8pm BST
The Globe Newcastle
Martha Hill left her home on the west coast of Scotland aged 17 to busk her way around Europe, before settling down in Newcastle and throwing herself into the UK music scene. With husky vocals and melodic hooks, her introspective storytelling delivers socially conscious themes over a backdrop of guitars, cellos and synths, thriving in reinvention and fusion.
Tickets £7.50, with the option to pay more to support the artists and venue. Stream is available to view for a week.
Dan Whitehouse: Rising Sun Stream — 8pm BST
Dan Whitehouse on Zoom
An award-winning English songwriter and composer signed with Reveal Records, Dan has gained a reputation across five solo albums as “a fine songwriter, a unique vocal talent and a talented multi-instrumentalist/performer” (MAVERICK). Dan will be streaming live as the sun rises behind him in Japan, joined by special guests Stephen William Hodd and Mar!k.
Tickets by donation of any amount to PayPal.
SATURDAY 22 MAY
Chris Fox — 7.30pm BST
Rosslyn Court
Award winning singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Fox joins Rosslyn Court to play a blend of Americana, folk, country and blues.
Free to attend, but donations encouraged.
Ezio* — 8pm BST
English Folk Expo
Described by The Guardian as “easily one of the UK’s best live bands”, Ezio have been touring the UK, Europe and the world for over 30 years. What sets them apart is the connection between frontman Lunedei and guitarist Booga. With a complex interplay of guitar work, they squeeze in notes that shouldn’t be possible but somehow just work!
Tickets £12 plus booking fee, or £25 for a May bundle ticket which also includes The Shackleton Trio and Lady Maisery. You can also get a 10% discount on tickets by joining EFEx Digital.
Chris Helme* — 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Rising to fame in the 90s as frontman of indie band The Seahorses, singer-songwriter Chris Helme is now producing acclaimed folk-infused tracks as a solo artist. From Britpop classics to indie-folk gems, expect an evening of beautifully crafted songs that speak to the heart.
Tickets £15, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
SUNDAY 23 MAY
Martin Simpson — 6.15pm BST
Roots Live
Acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, Martin Simpson is an artist at the top of his game. Whether interpreting material from tradition or singing his own self-penned songs, Simpson is a captivating and profoundly moving storyteller.
Tickets £12
Show of Hands: The Dark Side of the Frome — 7.30pm BST
Firebrand Music
Steve & Phil will be streaming 16 rarely played songs from Show of Hands’ back catalogue for this concert, which will be pre-recorded and then streamed via a private YouTube link. There will be a live Q&A on Facebook after the film stream. You can watch it as many times as you like until Wednesday 26th May at 10pm.
Tickets £15 — if more than one person is watching, please consider buying more than one ticket if you can afford it to support the musicians.
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 - Paul regularly plays Facebook gigs on Saturday nights at 8pm.
Tim Edey’s Sleeping Tunes - Concerts are held on Saturdays at 9pm 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.
The Folk Effect*
The Folk Effect songwriting project is back! Beginning with a traditional folk song, six musicians will each have 24 hours in turn to write a brand-new song, with each song being inspired by the last. There’s a cracking line-up taking part this year, including Jackie Oates, Kate Young, Ríoghnach Connolly, Lisa Knapp, Ellie Gowers and Gwilym Bowen Rhys. Visual artist Jo Elizabeth May has also been commissioned to create lino-cut portraits of all six artists. The project is being run by Ondervinden theatre with funding from Arts Council England.
The artists will be writing their songs from the 1st to the 6th of June, so keep an eye out on Ondervinden’s social media pages for sneak peeks of how they’re getting on. A beautiful film featuring all 6 songs will be broadcast on Wednesday 16 June at 7pm. You can watch on Ondervinden’s Facebook page and YouTube channel and it’s totally free, although donations to support Ondervinden are encouraged. I’ll be helping to get the word out, so any help telling your folky pals would be much appreciated!
Bella Hardy: What News from the Valley
Bella Hardy is going to be broadcasting a live show of songs, music and stories every month from her home in the Peak District. The show will be called What News from the Valley and the first one will be held on Thursday 3rd June at 7pm BST. To watch it, and future episodes, you’ll need to support her on Patreon. Memberships range from £5 to £30 per month and will support Bella with her new venture.
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 Journey Through the Roke by Honey and the Bear. The duo have been keeping busy during lockdown, holding weekly gigs on Facebook and challenging themselves to write new songs. Following a crowdfunding campaign, the very beautiful Journey Through the Roke was born — a collection of songs which they describe as “songs of Suffolk, and survival”. Self-produced and largely self-penned, the album is a real testament to their resilience as a duo over the last year.
Find us useful?
If you find The Folk Forecast useful and would like to say thanks, we’ve set up a Ko-Fi account where you can get us a virtual coffee (or perhaps a fancy tea) to help fund our hard work. Thanks very much for your support!
Keep up to date - find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
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, Ondervinden theatre 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 think you’ll enjoy!