The Folk Forecast: 7–13 June 2021
Including Narthen, Jon Boden, Granny's Attic, The Blaxhall Sessions and the Folk on Foot Official Folk Albums Chart Show.
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Hello there! After a busy weekend of seeing people in real life, I’m back with this week’s Forecast. From Jon Boden, Narthen and Granny’s Attic to special events including The Blaxhall Sessions and The Sea Pavilion in Folkestone, there’s plenty to look forward to.
The Official Folk Albums Chart Show also goes out tomorrow, and I’ll be on the show to chat about what’s coming up in June.
Here’s this week’s playlist if you fancy something new to listen to - have a great week and see you again next time.
TUESDAY 8 JUNE
The Official Folk Albums Chart Show* — 7pm BST
Folk on Foot website, YouTube and podcast feed. Commissioned by English Folk Expo and compiled by the Official Charts Company.
See which albums have made the Official Folk Albums Chart this month, with Folk on Foot. Packed with stories, music and exclusive content, this is always a joy to watch. This month will feature an interview with Irish singer, songwriter and guitarist Declan O’Rourke, a special performance by Bobby Lee and music from Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane, Jim Ghedi, The Unthanks, Bwncath, Lauren Housley and Laura Marling. We’ll also be on the show to share our picks for gigs and new releases in the coming month.
Free to access, but you can support the podcast by becoming a patron.
The Whispering Bobcast Episode 6: Featuring Rosanne Cash, Jonny Morgan and The Wandering Hearts — 8pm BST
Bob Harris / Roots Live
Bob Harris presents Episode 6 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 Rosanne Cash, Jonny Morgan and The Wandering Hearts.
Free to view, with donations encouraged.
The Ciderhouse Rebellion - Genius Loci (Episode 1) — 9pm BST
The Ciderhouse Rebellion on YouTube and Facebook
The Ciderhouse Rebellion are starting a new video series which begins this week. Adam Summerhayes (fiddle) and Murray Grainger (accordion) set off on foot until they happen upon a spot where the spirit of place pulls upon their musical antennae. Once they have set up to record, they allow the landscape to inspire them, and the first note of an entirely new piece of music is played. This series has been filmed in the Derbyshire countryside, combining stunning drone and still-camera footage.
Free to view
Tuesday Folk People: Terry St Clair and Gemma Khawaja — 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 Terry St Clair and Gemma Khawaja, as they explore their musical journeys so far and perform live over Facebook and YouTube.
Free to view
WEDNESDAY 9 JUNE
Narthen* — 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Featuring Barry Coope of Coope Boyes and Simpson, Jo Freya of Blowzabella and Moirai, six-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominee Jim Causley, and Fi Fraser of The Old Fashioned and PolkaWorks, Narthen is a force to be reckoned with! Catch them playing live as part of Live to Your Living Room’s Pride Month season.
Tickets £15, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
THURSDAY 10 JUNE
Exploring Crossings: community and refuge — 6.30pm BST
People’s History Museum
The People’s History Museum presents an evening exploring the themes of the British Museum’s Spotlight Loan, Crossings: community and refuge. Alongside a talk from Syrian artist Issam Kourbaj, guitarist and songwriter Ewan McLennan will perform a collection of his songs. Ewan’s performance will include his song Lampedusa, the title of which comes from the Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea which has become the primary entry point for many refugees escaping countries torn apart by violence and war.
Tickets range from free to £6 depending on what you can afford.
Brown Boots — 7.30pm BST
Rosslyn Court
Will Allen (melodeon) and Martin Clarke (fiddle) head to Margate to play a livestreamed gig for Rosslyn Court.
Free to view, but donations encouraged.
FRIDAY 11 JUNE
The Sea Pavilion — 7.30pm BST & same time on 12 June
Creative Folkestone
The Wellerman, which has become a TikTok sensation, references the whaling ships owned by the Weller brothers, who originated from Folkestone before emigrating to Australia and New Zealand. Inspired by this connection and to celebrate Folkestone in the summer, The Sea Pavilion will bring together a specially curated celebration of live folk music with writings and readings about the sea, all to be performed at Casa Anacaona, one of the Folkestone Artworks.
Featuring Seth Lakeman, Jon Boden, Ben Nicholls and Jack Rutter, alongside best-selling writer and broadcaster Charlie Connelly, writer and novelist Madeleine Bunting and actor Evlyne Oyedokun.
Tickets £15 for a digital pass for the whole weekend, or £13.50 for members.
The Lake Poets — 8pm BST
The Globe Newcastle
The Lake Poets is an unusual band – consisting of only one permanent member, Martin Longstaff, but with a revolving door for members of other bands to pass through. Expect beautiful, thought-provoking indie folk.
Tickets £7.50, with the option to pay more to support the artists and venue. Stream is available to view for a week.
SATURDAY 12 JUNE
The Blaxhall Sessions — Various times on 12 & 13 June
FolkEast / The Blaxhall Sessions
Enjoy a weekend with some of the finest musicians on the folk scene, live from Blaxhall Village Hall in Suffolk. A small number of tickets are available in person if you live locally, or livestream the gigs from wherever you are. Timings are as follows:
SATURDAY
3.30pm - Katherine Priddy
7.30pm - Martin Simpson
SUNDAY
3.30pm - Jez Lowe
7.30pm - Eliza Carthy Trio
Livestream tickets £8 per gig; tickets in person £14 - £16.
Granny’s Attic* — 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Granny’s Attic – Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, George Sansome and Lewis Wood – play English traditional tunes and original compositions with verve, energy and their own inimitable style. Part of Live to Your Living Room’s Pride Month season.
Tickets £15, with options 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.
SUNDAY 13 JUNE
Jon Boden — 6.15pm BST
The Live Room Saltaire / Roots Live
After a couple of reschedules, The Live Room Saltaire will finally be welcoming Jon Boden (touch wood!). Described as the ‘stand out performer of his generation’ (The Guardian), Jon Boden has won no less than eleven BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Though best known as the frontman of Bellowhead, he’s since embarked on a successful solo career, and his latest album, Last Mile Home, was released in March.
Tickets £12
Minecraft Ceilidh — 7pm BST
Minecraft Ceilidh
Take your ceilidh dancing to a new dimension, or teach your Minecraft character a new skill! Charlotte Rich-Griffin will guide you through the wonders of ceilidh dancing in the virtual realm. She's figured out how to separate a two handed turn from a swing and complete a gallop from your living room without crashing into the sofa. Ali Messer will provide some wonderful music to dance to.
To dance in minecraft, you will need a copy of Minecraft: Java edition, Zoom, knowledge of the very basics of the game (jump, crouch, directions) and very basic ceilidh terminology. To spectate or follow along at home, you just need Zoom.
Tickets £8, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
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.
Festival at the Edge crowdfunder
Festival at the Edge (FatE) is the oldest storytelling festival in England, having run for 27 years. As well as featuring internationally renowned storytellers, the festival also includes top-class folk music performances. It’s run on a not-for-profit basis by a committee of dedicated volunteers and none of the organisers makes a profit from the event. 2020’s festival was cancelled, and now the team are crowdfunding for some help to fund a Covid-secure festival in 2021. Make a donation in return for some fab rewards!
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 Willing by Lady Nade, which will be released on 18 June. Exploring universal issues through Lady Nade’s own personal experiences, Willing considers everything it means to be human, from love and friendship to loneliness and grief. Nade embraced the time afforded by lockdown to further understand herself and her place in the world, and used this knowledge to create music to resonate with and empower her listeners. Like the musical equivalent of a hug, it’s an album that reaches around you and assures you that you’re not alone.
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 keep us going. Thanks very much for your support!
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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, 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!
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