The Folk Forecast: 25–31 Jan 2021
Burns Night concerts, Celtic Connections, Nancy Kerr, Sam Lee and a special video inspired by India from Show of Hands.
Hello, and welcome back to The Folk Forecast! It’s been another busy week in the world of folk, including the fantastic news of The Longest Johns entering the UK Top 40 Singles Chart with their rendition of the shanty of the moment, Wellerman!
With Burns Night coming up and Celtic Connections still in full flow, this week’s issue has a Scottish flavour, with concerts galore and even a new arrangement of Robert Burns’ Ae Fond Kiss by The Magpie Arc. This week is also Independent Venue Week, so why not see if there’s anything you can do to support your favourite venues?
This week, we’ve ventured onto YouTube with our very first Folk Forecast interview, featuring our good friends Alex and Ian from alternative folk duo Of Stone and Earth. Take a look to learn more about their musical journey and their new album, Strangely Beautiful, and subscribe to the channel to keep updated with future interviews.
MONDAY 25 JANUARY
Michael Chapman: Ancient & Modern — available to view all week from 25–31 January
The Crescent York
To mark his 80th birthday at the end of January, Michael Chapman is broadcasting this special concert, recorded during the November lockdown in York’s stunning Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. It will be available to view during Independent Venues Week, 25-31 Jan 2021. The concert looks back through Michael’s career, and also features support from Katie Spencer.
Tickets £5
Celtic Connections — from 5pm GMT
Celtic Connections
Celtic Connections continues, with events on every day this week.
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage
7.30pm - James Grant & Hallelujah String Quartet | Declan O'Rourke | Siobhan Wilson | Zoë Bestel
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
Janey Godley’s Big Burns Supper — 7pm GMT
Big Burns Supper on YouTube
Enjoy a Big Burns Supper from home, with Janey Godley, KT Tunstall, Donovan, Skerryvore, Manran, Dervish, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Dougie MacLean and lots more!
Free to view
Burns Night: Online — 8pm GMT
The Nest Collective on YouTube
Tune in for a unique Scottish celebration from the comfort of your own home, hosted by Sam Lee. Dance along at home to a live ceilidh band (with Covid-safe demonstration dancers!), listen to contributions from special guest musicians, and enjoy the Burns ceremony itself.
Free to view
Burns Night with Band of Burns — 8pm GMT
Band of Burns on Facebook
Celebrate Burns Night with this unique collaboration of twelve artists, including groups such as The Langan Band and The Breath. Pour yourself a whiskey and enjoy an evening of spectacular music.
Free to view
Jackie Oates and Megan Henwood at Nettlebed Folk Club (Virtually) — 8pm GMT
Nettlebed Folk Club via a private YouTube link
Multi award-winning contemporary folk duo Jackie Oates and Megan Henwood met at Nettlebed Folk Club, and since then they’ve been working together on new material and experimenting with arranging traditional and contemporary songs to fit their musical vision. Tonight they’ll be playing a virtual concert for the club, followed by a meet and greet on Zoom.
Tickets £14 plus booking fee, with the option to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
Claire Hastings: Burns Night Concert — 8pm GMT
Claire Hastings on Facebook
Join Scottish folk singer and songwriter Claire Hastings for a cosy evening of live music in celebration of Robert Burns.
Free to view
TUESDAY 26 JANUARY
Celtic Connections — from 1pm GMT
Celtic Connections
1pm - Dementia-Friendly Concert: Robbie Greig and Hamish MacLeod
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage
7.30pm - Fara | Rachel Walker | Assynt | Chloë Bryce | Amy Papiransky
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
WEDNESDAY 27 JANUARY
Celtic Connections — from 5pm GMT
Celtic Connections
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage
7pm - Home on the Sea
8pm - Cherish the Ladies | Westward the Light
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
Piers Cawley — 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
Doncaster-based singer Piers Cawley recorded his debut album The Isolation Sessions on three afternoons during lockdown. As debut albums go, he’s gone all out, with not one but three volumes of unaccompanied folk songs. Join him for an evening of song-sharing over Zoom hosted by the brilliant Live to Your Living Room.
Tickets £14, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances. Gig is streamed via Zoom.
THURSDAY 28 JANUARY
Celtic Connections — from 5pm GMT
Celtic Connections
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage
6pm - Night of Wales at Celtic Connections
7.30pm - The Conundrum with Tryst and Project Smok
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny & Friends — 8pm GMT
Temple Bar Tradfest
Enjoy music from leading Irish musicians including Andy Irvine & Donal Lunny, Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Eleanor Shanley and Mike Hanrahan, Mark Redmond, Emma Langford, Aoife Scott and Andy Meaney, recorded live from the historic State Apartments in Dublin Castle.
Tickets €4.99 (approx £4.50)
FRIDAY 29 JANUARY
Celtic Connections — from 5pm GMT
Celtic Connections
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage
7.30pm - Transatlantic Sessions with Special Guests - featuring Aly Bain, Phil Cunningham, John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, James Mackintosh, Donald Shaw, Euan Burton, Julie Fowlis & Kris Drever
8.45pm - QuebecFest - featuring Le Vent du Nord, De Temps Antan & Grosse Isle
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
Bollington Folk Club presents Tom Kitching's Seasons of Change — 7.30pm
Bollington Folk Club
Bollington Folk Club welcomes Tom Kitching for a live online performance, combining brilliant fiddle playing with a narrative account of his "Busking England" adventure.
Tickets by donation
An Hour or So With… Nancy Kerr — 8pm GMT
Downend Folk Club on Facebook
Enjoy an hour or so of song-sharing and conversation with folk legend Nancy Kerr. This event is presented by Downend Folk Club, who have been doing a fantastic job of cheering us up with weekly events on Facebook during lockdown.
No ticket required, but donations gratefully received on Paypal.
Dervish & Friends — 8pm GMT
Temple Bar Tradfest
Enjoy music from leading Irish musicians including Dervish, Laoise Kelly, Karan Casey and Kate Ellis, The Mulcahy Family, Tolu Makay and Delush recorded live from the historic State Apartments in Dublin Castle.
Tickets €4.99 (approx £4.50)
Serious Sam Barrett — 8pm GMT
The Globe Newcastle
Folk and country singer-songwriter Serious Sam Barrett heads to The Globe in Newcastle for an evening of honest, heartfelt self-penned and traditional songs on 12 string guitar and banjo.
Livestream tickets £7.50, with the option to pay more to support the artists and venue. Stream is available to view for a week.
The Isolation Sessions - Song Swap with Jon Wilks — 8pm
Piers Cawley on YouTube
Piers Cawley continues his Isolation Sessions series, this time swapping songs with Jon Wilks, whose album Up the Cut was last issue’s album of the week.
Free to view
SATURDAY 30 JANUARY
Celtic Connections — from 10.30am GMT
Celtic Connections
10.30am - Mandolin with Laura-Beth Salter
1pm - Tenor (4-string) Banjo in GDAE tuning with Celine Donoghue
3.30pm - Ukulele Confident Players: Higher Up the Fingerboard with Finlay Allison
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage
7.30pm - Elephant Sessions: Lockdown Special
9pm - Roaming Roots Revue 2021: Songs for Survival - featuring Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro, Field Music, LAU, Heir of the Cursed, Rachel Sermanni and Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire.
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
John Watterson "Fake Thackray" — 7.30pm GMT
Rosslyn Court
John Watterson pays tribute to the music of Jake Thackray.
Free to attend, but donations encouraged.
Norrie MacIver — 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
Norrie “Tago” MacIver is a singer/songwriter from Carloway in the Isle of Lewis, best known for being the lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the Scottish folk and trad scene: Skipinnish. This will be the perfect chance to see Norrie performing solo, from the comfort of your front room!
Tickets £14, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances. Gig is streamed via Zoom.
Hothouse Flowers — 8pm GMT
Temple Bar Tradfest
Hothouse Flowers present their unique brand of rock that’s influenced by soul, gospel and traditional music.
Tickets €4.99 (approx £4.50)
Phil Beer with Devoran Acoustic Sessions — 8pm GMT
Firebrand Music Events/Devoran Acoustic Sessions
Phil Beer, half of the ever-popular duo Show of Hands, presents a solo gig for you to enjoy from the comfort of home.
Tickets £15 plus booking fee.
Sarah McQuaid - The St Buryan Sessions - The Silence Above Us — 8pm GMT
Sarah McQuaid on YouTube
Sarah McQuaid recorded the St Buryan Sessions last summer in the beautiful church of St Buryan in Cornwall. The first single from the sessions, The Silence Above Us, will be released on 29 January, and this YouTube premiere is a chance to watch it and chat virtually with Sarah in the comments. She will also be hosting a watch party of the event on her Facebook page on Sunday 31 January, also at 8pm.
Free to view
Paul McKenna - Songs of Ireland — 9pm
Paul McKenna on Facebook
Join Paul McKenna for a live concert on Facebook, themed around the songs of Ireland.
Free to view, but donations encouraged
SUNDAY 31 JANUARY
Celtic Connections — from 10am GMT
Celtic Connections
10am - Claire’s Music Club
10.30am - Ukelele Strum & Sing with Amy & Brodie
1pm - Build your Confidence on the Fiddle with Daniel Thorpe
1pm - New Voices: Steven Blake
3.30pm - ‘C’ String Club with Emma Tomlinson
5pm - Danny Kyle Open Stage - Finals
5pm - BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Music Award
8pm - Dean Owens with Joey Burns & Martin Wenk (Calexico) | Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi | Kris Drever | Cahalen Morrison
Event tickets range from free to £10, or get a festival pass for £40.
Show of Hands: Our Passage to India — 7.30pm GMT
Firebrand Music Events
In 1997, Show of Hands toured India for six weeks. In 2020, they performed with renowned Sikh percussionist Johnny Kalsi. With original footage and extensive interviews, Steve and Phil recall the tour and reveal its subsequent profound effect on their music. The film culminates with the live performance of Johnny Kalsi and Show of Hands playing in the Mughal Splendour of Sezincote Manor in the Cotswolds.
Tickets £15
Altan & Friends — 8pm GMT
Temple Bar Tradfest
Enjoy music from leading Irish musicians including Altan, Cathy Jordan, Eleanor McEvoy & Damon Butcher, Zoe Conway and John McIntyre, Robert Harvey and Shane Hennessy, recorded live from the historic State Apartments in Dublin Castle.
Tickets €4.99 (approx £4.50)
Sam Lee & Viktor Wynd - Bed Time Ballads, Stories & a Lullaby — 9pm GMT
The Last Tuesday Society & The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities (Tickets via Eventbrite)
Join Sam Lee and Viktor Wynd for a nightcap, as they share fairy tales, ballads and a lullaby to send you off to sleep.
Tickets by Donation - 50% to CRISIS - no minimum
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.
Tim Edey’s Sleeping Tunes - Concerts are held on Saturdays at 9pm on Facebook.
Will Pound’s Sunday concerts - Will Pound hosts concerts on Facebook on Sundays at 11.30am.
Cara Dillon: This Woman’s Work on BBC Radio Ulster - This radio series is being broadcast on Sundays at 4pm, and you can catch up on past episodes now.
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!
‘Strum with Steve’ Acoustic Guitar Lessons - Join Steve Knightley of Show of Hands for beginners’ acoustic guitar lessons. Past lessons are available to view on Show of Hands’ Facebook and YouTube channels.
This week’s playlist
Head over to this week’s playlist to hear a selection of tracks from artists featured in this issue.
New music of the week
Ae Fond Kiss by The Magpie Arc — a new arrangement of a Robert Burns classic, perfect for marking this most untraditional of Burns Nights.
Bernie’s recommendation of the week
Bernie has been listening to a lot of different music this week, and he passed on his recommendation of Fragment by Road Not Taken. Road Not Taken is a Bristol-based four-piece with a line-up including Anita Dobson, Claire and Joe Hamlen and Ant Miles — a well-known face on the UK folk scene who also runs Downend Folk Club and much more besides. The album is a blend of traditional songs, classics and originals, including new arrangements of The Blacksmith and A Red, Red Rose (perfect for Burns Night) and and a beautiful version of Suzanne Vega’s ever-popular The Queen and the Soldier. With contemporary twists to old favourites and gorgeous vocals, this is sure to be on Bernie’s listening list for a long time to come.
Share your views
Thanks to everyone who’s completed our survey so far — we’ve had some lovely feedback, and it’s been great to hear about your ideas! We will mull over your thoughts and note your favourite artists to make sure we’re following them. There’s still time to have your say if you’d like to tell us what you think of The Folk Forecast so far.
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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.