The Folk Forecast: Burns Night Special
This year's Burns Night events, Rowan Rheingans: Dispatches on the Red Dress, a new EP from Sam Sweeney and the Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show.
Hello, and welcome to The Folk Forecast Burns Night special! You can celebrate Burns Night from the comfort of home again this year, with a few special events in store over the next couple of days.
Other treats in the next week or so include a film premiere of Rowan Rheingans’ Dispatches on the Red Dress, a singing day from Lady Maisery and a livestream from Sophie Crawford, who was one of my favourite new musical discoveries of 2021. On 1st February, it’s also time for the Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show, with lots of special guests along the way!
There’s lots to look forward to, but in the meantime, enjoy this week’s Burns Night playlist!
TUESDAY 25 JANUARY
Eddi Reader’s Big Burns Supper — 7pm GMT
Big Burns Supper
Hosted by Eddi Reader, this event spans music, comedy, poetry, performance and prose, bringing artists and audiences together from around the world. This year’s guests include KT Tunstall and Dervish.
Free to view.
Burns Night: Online — 8pm GMT
The Nest Collective
Join the Nest Collective online for a night bedecked in tartan and tam o’ shanters, with whisky flowing and floorboards shaking, all in celebration of Scotland’s favourite son, Robert Burns. Dance along at home to a live ceilidh band (with demonstration dancers!), listen to contributions from celebrated musicians & invited guests, and enjoy the Burns ceremony itself.
Free to view.
Tuesday Folk People: Bird in the Belly — 8pm GMT
Home Stage on YouTube and Facebook
Join Home Stage for an hour of music and chat with Bird in the Belly. This Brighton-based group consists of folk-duo Hickory Signals (Laura Ward and Adam Ronchetti), alt-folk singer-songwriter Ben Webb (Jinnwoo, Green Ribbons), and multi-instrumentalist and producer Tom Pryor. Together they collect little known and forgotten lyrics, poems and stories from around the UK and set them to their own “hypnotically original compositions” (fRoots).
Free to view
WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY
Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer’s Burns Celebration* — 8pm GMT
Live to your Living Room
Join Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer as they celebrate the birthday of the immortal Robert Burns. Expect an evening of Burns songs, pipe tunes, poems, a story and some of Vicki & Jonny’s usual folk fare. Vicki will address the haggis – so bring your own comestible of choice ready to be piped in and addressed and clear a space in your lounge for a dance too! Find out more about what’s in store in this interview with Vicki & Jonny.
Tickets £15, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
THURSDAY 27 JANUARY
Joe Solo — 7.30pm GMT
Rosslyn Court
Joe Solo is an award-winning musician, writer, poet, activist, broadcaster and washing machine engineer (handy) from Scarborough. He’ll be playing a gig for Rosslyn Court in Margate, in aid of the charity “We Shall Overcome”.
Hybrid gig. The first hour of the performance will be livestreamed free of charge (donations encouraged). The second half will be exclusively for the in-person audience.
FRIDAY 28 JANUARY
Rowan Rheingans: Dispatches on the Red Dress — 7.30pm GMT
OnJam
Join Rowan Rheingans for the film premiere of Dispatches on the Red Dress. Unravelling the joy and pain from a story of her grandmother’s youth in 1940s Germany, this is a heartfelt, deeply personal and thought-provoking show which is so good that I’ve seen it multiple times (in fact, I was there when this was filmed!). It’s all been beautifully crafted by Rowan, and the fact that the whole show is performed solo is a real testament to her talents. Rowan will also be doing a post-show talk, as you’re sure to want to find out more.
You can also catch it on 29th January (see below) and the show can be rewatched for 14 days, although you’ll need to tune in live for the post-show talk.
Tickets £12 standard with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
SATURDAY 29 JANUARY
Rowan Rheingans: Dispatches on the Red Dress — 4pm GMT
OnJam
A second chance to catch the film premiere of this incredible show from Rowan Rheingans - see above for full details.
Tickets £12 standard with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
SUNDAY 30 JANUARY
Lady Maisery Online Singing Day — 10.30am to 8.45pm GMT
Lady Maisery
Join Lady Maisery to blow away the cobwebs with a January sing! The day will include lots of harmony singing, plus an informal session to share songs in the evening. I’ve been to a couple of these days and they’re lots of fun!
Tickets £55 standard, with options to pay a bit more or less depending on your circumstances.
MONDAY 31 JANUARY
EFDSS: The Young Folk Club — 5.30pm GMT
English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS)
The Young Folk Club is run for young people aged 14-21 to meet online, learn some new music and meet new friends. They’re kicking off this year with a collaborative online tunes session led by the EFDSS Youth Forum. The session will be relaxed, informal, social, and most importantly fun!
Free to attend, but you need to pre-book your place.
TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY
The Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show 2021 — 7pm GMT
Folk on Foot on YouTube. Commissioned by English Folk Expo, compiled by the Official Charts Company and held at Cecil Sharp House!
Join Folk on Foot for a very special show streamed live from Cecil Sharp House. The show looks back at the highlights of 2021, the very first full year of The Official Folk Albums Chart. Hosted by Matthew Bannister with guest co-host Lady Nade, the show features live performances and interviews with artists that have featured in the chart over the past year.
Free to view.
Covid Sings Singaround — 8pm GMT
Soundpost
If you’re missing your usual folk club or singaround, join Fay Hield and fellow folkies from near and far to swap songs over Zoom. Covid Sings is held on the first Tuesday of every month.
Free to attend.
Tuesday Folk People: The Chapin Sisters — 8pm GMT
Home Stage
It’s time for Tuesday Folk People again! Join Home Stage as they catch up with folk rock duo, The Chapin Sisters, to learn more about their musical journey so far.
Free to view.
THURSDAY 3 FEBRUARY
Sophie Crawford — 7.30pm GMT
Rosslyn Court
Sophie Crawford is a folk musician and theatre maker from London. Her debut album ‘Silver Pin’ was Mainly Norfolk’s 2018 album of the year. As a performer, she has worked on the West End (including my favourite play, War Horse, and Amelie the Musical) and has toured internationally (Translunar Paradise). She is also the co-founder of Queer Folk, which promotes awareness of LGBTQIA+ history in traditional culture. I discovered her music during Live to Your Living Room’s Pride Month last year and I think she’s brilliant so am really looking forward to this!
Hybrid gig. The first hour of the performance will be livestreamed free of charge (donations encouraged). The second half will be exclusively for the in-person audience.
Celtic Connections Online Festival Pass
The Celtic Connections 2022 Festival Pass is £25 and gives you access to 12 hours of exclusive filmed content from across the festival for a three-week period starting Wednesday 26th January. The line-up includes The Jeremiahs, Brian Finnegan, Dallahan and Stundom, Megan Henderson, Heal and Harrow (Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl), Ross Ainslie and Tim Edey. Pass holders can also enjoy The New Tradition: Rejuvenation show, which will showcase young emerging artists.
Highlights in person
Celtic Connections is now in full swing. Find out what’s coming up.
Love Folk Festival is on from 11-12 February, with a line-up including Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, Ranagri, Merry Hell, Lizzy Hardingham, Jack Rutter, The Last Inklings and The Meadows. Find out more.
The Lost Words Spell Songs are set to play at Celtic Connections, as well as Perth, Gateshead, Birmingham and London (plus, you can catch them at Folk by the Oak and Cambridge Folk Festival later in the year). Find out more.
Seth Lakeman is touring with Benji Kirkpatrick in February. Find out more.
The Outside Track are touring for the next couple of weeks, calling by London, Newport, Berkhamsted, Woodbridge, Jersey, Dartford, Llantrisant and Brixham. Find out more.
Jon Wilks is touring in February, including an online date with Live to Your Living Room*. Jon’s most recent album, Up the Cut, was one of my picks for Record of the Week last year and is well worth a listen. Find out more.
Other news
Jo Freya* is running a 4-week singing course to teach songs from the Coope, Boyes and Simpson catalogue. After losing her brother-in-law, Barry Coope, last November, this is Jo’s way of paying tribute to him. She’ll be kicking off with songs from Funny Old World. Find out more.
Lizzie Hardingham is fundraising for her next studio release, How Did We Get Here? The album is set to be an exploration of music and mental health, and she needs your help to make it happen! Take a look.
Jennie Higgins of Folky Union of Women and Thank Folk for Feminism is running a Kickstarter for her new a capella album, Where Are The Women? This album will tell women's stories through traditional British folk song, with comprehensive musicology behind each song. Help make it possible by pledging your support - find out more.
New releases to look out for
28 Jan - The Longest Johns - Smoke & Oakum (also check out this game on their website, which is great for procrastination!)
28 Jan - Anaïs Mitchell - Anaïs Mitchell
4 Feb - Sam Sweeney - Solo
4 Feb - Heal and Harrow (Lauren MacColl and Rachel Newton) - Heal and Harrow
4 Feb - Rura - Our Voices Echo
Record of the week
Record of the Week is Solo by Sam Sweeney. Following the success of his 2020 album Unearth Repeat, Sam will be releasing a series of EPs, each of which will highlight a different member of the band he recorded the album with. I absolutely love this idea - anyone who saw the band on tour will know just how phenomenal they all were, and this project will give them each the chance to shine.
This first EP, Solo, puts the spotlight onto Sam himself. Recorded with Andy Bell at St Martin's church in Stoney Middleton (which used to be Sam's practice room!), it feels very much like you’ve been invited into Sam’s private musical world, catching a glimpse as he plays for the sheer joy of it without an audience. The music is natural, joyful and spontaneous, and the incredible acoustics of the church amplify every note (and every tap of Sam’s feet!). Each track builds in momentum and flow, from the tentative Tweedside and somewhat deconstructed Cuckoo’s Nest to the elated finish of Booth’s Hornpipe. The connection between musician and instrument is such that it’s hard to tell where Sam ends and the fiddle begins.
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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 work with other organisations including Folk on Foot, Fancourt Music, Live to Your Living Room, Thank Folk For Feminism and Polyphony Arts, as well as individual artists including Jo Freya. Events where I have some involvement with the promoter, agency or artist are marked with a star for transparency. Although I have other affiliations, I strive to be fair and inclusive and tell you about anything I think you’ll enjoy!