The Folk Forecast: 8–14 Feb 2021
Featuring Karine Polwart, Sam Lee and the Folk on Foot Festival of Love, as music brings us together in lockdown.
This week, we’re celebrating love! The Folk on Foot Festival of Love is coming up on Valentine’s Day, with an incredible line-up of artists. We caught up with Matthew Bannister from Folk on Foot to find out more about what we can expect, and you can watch the interview over on our YouTube channel!
Each artist in the festival will be choosing a traditional song, an original and a cover to perform, so I quizzed Matthew on his favourites as well as picking some of my own, and have added them to a folk love songs playlist. Watch the interview to find out why we chose them! The idea is to celebrate all kinds of love, not just romantic, and it would be great to get suggestions from readers to add to the list. If you have any favourites you’d like to add, get in touch. If you’d like to dedicate them to a loved one, we can also share your messages, so we can fill our social channels up with love to brighten this dark time.
MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY
Steve Knightley Live Online with Nettlebed Folk Club — 8pm GMT
Firebrand Music Events/Nettlebed Folk Club
Join Steve live from his home for this online gig via YouTube. There will be an optional ‘meet & greet’ session post-show, via Zoom.
Tickets £16.50 plus booking fee.
Sophie Janna & Camiel Jansen + Ellen Shae — 8.45pm GMT
Muziekgebouw Eindhoven
Sophie Janna of folk duo The Lasses and double bassist Camiel Jansen play a double bill with singer and guitarist Ellen Shae, streamed from the Muziekgebouw Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Watch this video to get a taste of what to expect - we love it!
Free to view, but donations encouraged.
WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY
Hudson Records: Unearth Songwriting Online Workshops — 7.30pm GMT (12-week course)
Hudson Records
Lucy Farrell and Jenny Sturgeon are hosting a 12-week block of online songwriting workshops for women, trans and non-binary people. Join them to unearth and explore the art of songwriting in a nurturing and encouraging community. All levels of experience welcome. Workshops will last up to 90 minutes on Zoom and take place every Wednesday evening at 7.30pm GMT, starting on 10 February.
Workshops free, but donations encouraged.
Sam Sweeney + Brittany Haas + Jenn Butterworth — 8pm GMT
Green Note website, Facebook page and YouTube channel
Enjoy an evening of song-sharing with Sam Sweeney, Brittany Haas and Jenn Butterworth, as they perform virtually ‘in the round’ for London’s Green Note.
No ticket required, but donations gratefully received on Paypal.
Phil Beer Live at Sam’s — 8pm GMT
Firebrand Music Events/Live at Sam’s
Phil Beer, half of the ever-popular duo Show of Hands, presents a solo gig for you to enjoy from the comfort of home, hosted by Live at Sam’s.
Tickets £15 plus booking fee.
Polly Paulusma — 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
Polly Paulusma has toured the world supporting the likes of Bob Dylan, Jamie Cullum, The Divine Comedy and Marianne Faithfull, and playing Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival among others. Tonight, you can catch her from the comfort of your own home!
Tickets £14, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances. Gig is streamed via Zoom.
THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY
Harbottle & Jonas Live — 8pm GMT
Harwich Festival of the Arts on Facebook
Join Devon-based folk duo Harbottle & Jonas for a livestreamed concert with Harwich Festival of the Arts. Combining the richness of traditional folk with their own original and powerful songwriting, Harbottle & Jonas have developed a distinctive and compelling signature sound.
Free to view
Phil Beer Live Online with Otley Courthouse — 8pm GMT
Firebrand Music Events/Otley Courthouse Arts Centre
Phil Beer of Show of Hands presents a solo gig on YouTube with Otley Courthouse Arts Centre.
Tickets £10 plus booking fee.
FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY
A Place to Fall to Pieces (Isobel and Anna Hughes) — 7.30pm GMT, also on Saturday 13 February at the same time
The Space, London
Created and performed by folk/spoken word duo Isobel and Anna Hughes, A Place To Fall To Pieces is a search for roots — a love letter to the places we have been but never been from. With original composition, spoken word, storytelling and song, Anna and Isobel take you on a lyrical journey, through memory and magic and earth, to seek the indelible mark our country leaves on us, and where the permanence of Home truly lies.
Tickets £10, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
Jack Hogsden — 7.30pm GMT
Jack Hogsden website
After regular livestreams on Facebook, Jack Hogsden presents his first full online ticketed gig through his own platform. With percussive finger-style guitar, driving melodeons, and a wide vocal range, Jack puts his own stamp on traditional songs and tunes from Europe, America, and his home county of Sussex.
Tickets £10
An Hour or So With… Jack Rutter — 8pm GMT
Downend Folk Club on Facebook
Enjoy an hour or so of song-sharing and conversation with singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Jack Rutter. This event is presented by Downend Folk Club, who have been doing a great job hosting weekly events on Facebook to cheer us all up during lockdown!
No ticket required, but donations gratefully received on Paypal.
Blair Dunlop + Kirsty Merryn + Jack Carty — 8pm GMT
Green Note website, Facebook page and YouTube channel
Enjoy an evening of song-sharing with Blair Dunlop, Kirsty Merryn and Jack Carty, as they perform virtually ‘in the round’ for London’s Green Note.
No ticket required, but donations gratefully received on Paypal.
Assembly Lane — 8pm GMT
The Globe Newcastle
Nashville meets Northumberland, as Assembly Lane bring their rich vocal harmonies and instrumental flair to The Globe in Newcastle.
Livestream tickets £7.50, with the option to pay more to support the artists and venue. Stream is available to view for a week.
Zoom Ceilidh with Brown Boots, Will Chamberlain and Erin Mansfield — 8pm GMT
Oxfolk
Brown Boots present a fresh and inventive take on traditional tunes, perfect for you to dance to! Erin Mansfield will be calling the dances, which will be adapted for small groups to do at home.
Tickets £10, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY
Appalachian Clogging Basics Workshop — 2pm GMT
The Morris Federation/North American Morris Dance Organization
The first workshop in a two-week course introducing the basics of Appalachian dancing. Workshops will be taught by Abby Ladin and Sam Bartlett from the USA.
Free to attend
John Kirkpatrick All Request Show — 7.30pm GMT
John Kirkpatrick on Zoom
Your chance to dictate the set list! Email John before the show to let him know your favourites, be they old or new, and he’ll play as many as he can on the night.
Tickets £10
Lizzie Hardingham: Corona Concert #5 — 7.30pm GMT
Lizzie Hardingham/Watford Together on Facebook
To celebrate the release of her new single, Orpheus, Lizzie Hardingham presents a livestream of love songs followed by a live Q&A.
Free to view
Winter Wilson — 7.30pm GMT
Rosslyn Court
Kip Winter and Dave Wilson blend superb songwriting, stunning harmonies and musicianship with hilarious humour and tales of life on the road.
Free to attend, but donations encouraged.
Karine Polwart — 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
Award-winning Scottish folk singer and incredible songwriter Karine Polwart presents a rare intimate solo gig from her home to yours. This one is proving hugely popular, so don’t leave it to the last minute to get tickets, or you could miss out!
Tickets £14, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances. Gig is streamed via Zoom.
Sam Lee — 8pm GMT
Kings Place KPlayer
Sam Lee, award-winning singer, folk song collector, conservationist and founder/director of The Nest Collective, joins forces with Chris Watson (pre-eminent sound recordist and former Kings Place artist in residence) for this special online show. Performing in response to and in collaboration with Chris’ recordings, Sam - alongside pianist James Keay and percussionist Saul Eisenberg - will weave within these soundscapes a folk song and nature-inspired song journey.
Tickets £12.50
SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY
Will Pound Digital Tunebook Launch — 11.30am GMT
Will Pound on Facebook
Will Pound plays tunes from his EU album, A Day Will Come, along with compositions of his own, as he launches his new digital tunebook.
Free to view, but donations encouraged.
Folk on Foot Festival of Love — 2pm GMT
Folk on Foot
After three hugely successful Folk on Foot festivals in 2020, which raised almost a quarter of a million pounds for artists, Folk on Foot are hosting a Festival of Love to bring us all together this Valentine’s Day. The festival will feature a whopping 28 artists playing for around 6 hours, so snuggle in, get some snacks and enjoy the togetherness of music.
The line-up is jam-packed with folk luminaries, including Eliza Carthy, Jon Boden, Karine Polwart, Peggy Seeger, Chris Wood, Heidi Talbot, Martin Simpson, Seth Lakeman, Steve Knightley, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan and many (many!) more. Each artist will be playing a traditional love song, an original and a cover, so you’re sure to hear a real mix. Find out more about what’s in store, with our video interview with Matthew Bannister.
Free to view, but donations to the fundraiser encouraged. Donate in the name of love, and leave a message for a loved one if you’d like to! Money raised will be split between the festival artists and Help Musicians.
Folk on Foot merchandise
If you’d like something to remember the Folk on Foot Festival of Love by, Mudchutney are selling official festival merchandise including t-shirts and hoodies which will also help to raise money for artists. The Folk Forecast is an affiliate of Mudchutney, so if you shop via this link we’ll make a small amount for referring you, to help with the voluntary running of the newsletter.
Sunday Social Dancing with Lisa Heywood and Tom Kitching — 4pm GMT
Lisa Heywood and Tom Kitching on Zoom
Enjoy a laid-back afternoon of dancing inspired by ceilidh (UK), contra (US) and European folk dances.
Free to attend, but donations encouraged.
Bellwether — 7pm GMT
Brownington Ceilidh Club
Bellwether is an exciting new international folk trio, comprising of Alex Cumming (of The Teacups), Louise Bichan and Eric McDonald. Their sound brings a fresh perspective to traditional music, with rich three-part harmonies and dynamic musicianship.
Free to view, but donations encouraged.
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.
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.
Honey and the Bear - Concerts are held on Sundays at 7pm on Facebook.
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.
‘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 Wellerman Community Project
The Longest Johns are creating a mass community version of Wellerman! You’ve got until 12 February at 5pm GMT if you’d like to submit a video to take part. Watch their video to find out more.
Ballet Folk
Ballet Folk with be premiering a new film this week, featuring Kitty Macfarlane’s new single Half Wild, which was commissioned for the film and was last issue’s Record of the Week. The new film will be shared on Valentine’s Day, so watch Ballet Folk’s social channels for updates!
This week’s playlists
This week, we’ve got two playlists for you! One is a folk love songs playlist to tie in with the Folk on Foot Festival of Love (and we’d welcome suggestions from readers if you have any favourites to add!). The other is the usual playlist of artists featured in this issue, so you can get a taste of what’s coming up!
Record of the week
In keeping with the Valentine’s Day theme, our Record of the Week is True Love Will Find You in the End by Katherine Priddy. Despite a third national lockdown, Katherine has managed to record a beautiful new version of this much-loved Daniel Johnston song, which will be released on Spotify on 14 February. Expect Katherine’s clear-as-a-bell vocals and signature guitar style, paired with a string arrangement from Harry Fausing Smith for sweeping romance. We’ll be adding it to our Folk Love Songs playlist as soon as it’s live, and you can also pre-save it if you’d like it to appear in your library as soon as it’s released.
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.