The Folk Forecast: December 2022
The Folk Forecast: December 2022
Featuring Karine Polwart, The Furrow Collective, John Kirkpatrick, Martin Carthy, Jackie Oates & John Spiers and more gigs and new releases this month.
Hello, and welcome to a Christmassy edition of The Folk Forecast! In the coming weeks, there are heaps of festive shows heading out on tour, as well as plenty of online gigs (if the weather outside is frightful!). Highlights include The Furrow Collective and Karine Polwart, among others, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more artists doing spontaneous livestreams as we get closer to Christmas.
It’s been a year in which we’ve continued to see so many challenges for live music (and for the wider world of course), but we’ve also seen some glimmers of hope such as the Bellowhead tour, which 2 years ago seemed unthinkable. As we look ahead to 2023, it seems likely we’ll need the joy of live music more than ever, so here’s hoping for a better year ahead. See you in January, when I’ll be getting your vote for The Folk Forecast Record of the Year!
This month’s playlist
With Christmas approaching, it’s time to dig out the festive playlist again, filled with plenty of Awake Arise, Bella Hardy, Kate Rusby and more. If you have any favourites, don’t forget to buy a copy to support the artists, or look out for them on tour!
If you enjoy this issue and fancy saying thanks, you can make a small donation on Ko-Fi to help support my freelance work on the folk scene. Thank you!
TOP PICKS: ONLINE
John Kirkpatrick: Carolling & Crumpets* — Monday 5 December, 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
John Kirkpatrick presents his popular festive show, Carolling & Crumpets. Taking its title from John’s unforgettable song telling the Nativity story from the point of view of the animals in the stable, this show is a heart-warming look at the timeless rituals found in the folklore and folk music of England at Midwinter.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
The Official Folk Albums Chart Show* — Tuesday 6 December, 7pm GMT
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. I’ll also be on the show to talk about the latest folk news.
Free to access, but you can support the podcast by becoming a patron.
Will Finn and Rosie Calvert — Wednesday 7 December, 8pm GMT
With their Christmas tour unfortunately cancelled for various reasons, Will Finn and Rosie Calvert will instead be doing a Facebook Live concert this Wednesday. They’ll be playing a mix of their usual repertoire and seasonal treats, and they’re also open to requests if you have any favourites!
Pay as you feel
Martin Carthy — Thursday 8 December, 7.30pm GMT
Rosslyn Court
Folk legend Martin Carthy will be playing at Rosslyn Court in Margate on 8th December, and the gig is being livestreamed on YouTube so you can watch it from wherever you are. You can also catch up afterwards if you can’t make it.
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.
The Furrow Collective* — Saturday 10 December, 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room / Live At Sam’s
The Furrow Collective is an Anglo-Scottish band comprised of four of the folk scene’s finest talents - Lucy Farrell (viola, voice & saw), Rachel Newton (harp, fiddle, voice), Emily Portman (banjo, concertina, voice) and Alasdair Roberts (guitars, voice). The group were drawn together by a shared love of traditional song and balladry of England, Scotland and beyond, and an open, intuitive approach to collaboration. They are due to record a new album this midwinter, which will be released in midsummer 2023, but in the meantime they’ve released a seasonal EP - see the ‘New Releases’ section below for more info!
This is a hybrid gig in collaboration with Live At Sam’s in Sheffield - it’s sold out in person, but you can still watch online.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Fabian Holland — Sunday 11 December, 8pm GMT
Fabian Holland / YouTube
Fabian Holland is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter based in Berlin. With a stripped back and unfussy style, he focuses on acutely observed songs that reveal the nature of what makes us human. This livestream is being shared with his online community as well as via YouTube.
Free to view
GreenMatthews: Midwinter Revels* — Monday 12 December, 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
Following on from A Christmas Carol: In Concert and A Brief History of Christmas, GreenMatthews present their new festive show. Spanning several centuries, GreenMatthews’ Midwinter Revels is a celebration of Yuletide Past guaranteed to warm the cockles of even the most Scrooge-like heart. Featuring Christmas carols, winter folk songs, toe-tapping tunes and a plethora of weird and wonderful instruments, the show is brought to life with GreenMatthews’ trademark wit and humour.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Jackie Oates & John Spiers + Cooper & Toller* — Friday 16 December, 7.45pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room / Downend Folk & Roots
Multi award-winning contemporary folk artists Jackie Oates and John Spiers meld together their shared love of English traditional folk tunes and songs with their fine voices and expertly played acoustic instruments. Though both well known on the folk scene, the pair first began playing as a duo for fun during guest spots at Nettlebed Folk Club. Recognising the potential, they began working together on material from their native county of Oxfordshire, and the rest is history!
This is a hybrid gig in collaboration with Downend Folk & Roots near Bristol - you can go along in person or watch online.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Time Edey — Sunday 18 December, 7.30pm GMT
Rosslyn Court
Tim Edey is no stranger to livestreams, having done many a Facebook Live concert since the pandemic began. On 18th December, he’s off to Rosslyn Court in Margate, and the gig is also being livestreamed on YouTube.
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.
Karine Polwart* — Wednesday 21 December, 8pm GMT
Live to Your Living Room
Karine Polwart is back in our living rooms for an intimate online solo gig this Midwinter. This is a rare chance to experience Karine’s warm, conversational approach to performance on the darkest of nights. She’ll be sharing songs of land and flight, curiosity and care, and a sheaf of fireside folk tales.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Also online
Soundpost are running the very last Covid Sings online singaround on Tuesday 6th December, with a theme of midwinter carols. The singaround is held on Zoom - find out more and sign up to get the logins here.
A new episode of The Old Songs Podcast is out now, featuring Debbie Armour of Burd Ellen. Find out more here.
The National Theatre at Home is making War Horse available as part of their online catalogue until 1st February. This outstanding theatre show features some fantastic folk music, and is well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it before. A subscription could be a great idea to give you lots of shows to watch over Christmas. You can also give a subscription as a gift. Find out more here.
Rachael McShane is running 2-week online fiddle courses for beginners and improvers. The improvers course starts on Monday 5th December and the beginners one starts on Wednesday 7th. Find out more.
The Wilderness Yet* are due to play on Petroc Trelawny’s show on BBC Radio 3 on Christmas Day morning. Tune in on the day, or listen later on BBC Sounds here.
TOP PICKS: IN PERSON
Tae Sup at the Queen’s
Queen’s Hall Edinburgh - 14 December, 8pm
This is an intimate, multi-act show, opening with a few songs by songwriter James Yorkston, followed by special guests including Martin & Eliza Carthy, Rónán Ó Snodaigh (of Kila) & Myles O Reilly and Iona Fyfe.
Opera North Presents: Lighting the Dark - A Christmas Concert
Howard Assembly Room, Leeds - 17 December, 5.30pm / Sage Gateshead - 22 December, 8pm
Martin Green (of Lau) was asked by Opera North to make a Christmas show, and he gathered a host of remarkable friends to join him on this journey. With Martin on accordion and electronics, he is joined by Ultan O’Brien on fiddle, plus an all-star brass trio: composer and improviser Laura Jurd (trumpet), Danielle Price (tuba) and Anoushka Nanguy (trombone). Together they draw the traditions of Christmas into a new light.
Also on tour
Awake Arise, A Winter Union, Bella Hardy, Cara Dillon, Kate Rusby, Jackie Oates & John Spiers, John Kirkpatrick: Carolling & Crumpets, Knight & Spiers, Magpie Lane, The Albion Christmas Band, The Furrow Collective.
OTHER NEWS
Tradfolk Christmas gift guide
Tradfolk have done a great round-up of Christmas gift ideas for folkies, which is well worth checking out (either to get ideas for others, or to treat yourself!)
Sing Yonder Volume 4
As some of you might know, Karl Sinfield is working his way through the Roud Folk Song Index with his Sing Yonder series of songbooks. Volume 4 (Roud 31-40) is out now, and Volume 5 (Roud 41-50) is on the way. Each issue is beautifully illustrated and comes complete with interesting titbits about each song, along with the lyrics.
Cambridge Folk Festival on sale
Tickets for Cambridge Folk Festival have just gone on sale. This was definitely one of my favourite festivals this year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what they’ve got planned for 2023.
The Nest Collective fundraiser
The Nest Collective is a fantastic organisation run by Sam Lee. The events they run are really unique and special, supporting a diverse range of artists as well as helping people connect with nature in new ways. Like many organisations right now, the organisation needs support to face financial challenges, and they’re appealing for help right now. Head to their website to support them to do more great work in the future.
NEW RELEASES
18 November - The Albion Christmas Band, All Are Safely Gathered In
This is the first new seasonal recording in 6 years from the Albion Christmas Band, a group made up of four of the biggest names in English Folk-Rock: Kellie While, Simon Care, Simon Nicol and Ashley Hutchings. On this album, they’re also joined by guests including Blair Dunlop (Hutchings’ son), Holly Brandon and Ruth Angell. Getting them all together in the studio wasn’t possible, so Dunlop recorded each member’s contribution in their own homes and they then stitched it all together (hence ‘all are safely gathered in’). Filled with songs and tunes that reflect Christmas traditions through the years, this is sure to be on many folkies’ Christmas lists.
25 November - Emily Portman & Rob Harbron, Time Was Away
This is Emily Portman & Rob Harbron’s debut duo album - something that took me by surprise, as they seem to have been a duo for far longer! Recorded and produced by the award-winning Andy Bell of Hudson Records, the album features eight English folk songs and two 20th Century poems set to music. This is music with a timeless beauty that will have you listening again and again.
1 December - Shovel Dance Collective, The Water is the Shovel of the Shore
This is the latest release from nine-piece folk group Shovel Dance Collective. The album is focused around the theme of water - including traditional songs, folk tunes and field recordings which are all woven together to create what they describe as ‘sound collages’. Such an interesting concept!
2 December - Catch the Sparrow, Winter Flowers
In 2020, Dutch singer-songwriter Suze Terwisscha van Scheltinga, known as Catch The Sparrow, moved countries in the middle of a global pandemic to pursue her love for folk and traditional music in Newcastle upon Tyne. ‘Winter Flowers’ was conceived in the last months of 2020, with Brexit approaching and another lockdown looming. Taking inspiration from North East traditions, and featuring local talents including Andy May and Ceitidh Mac, this collection of songs serves as a love letter to Newcastle - a city very close to my heart too! Watch this video for a taster…
2 December - The Furrow Collective, The Longest Night
As winter draws in, The Furrow Collective have brought together a collection of carols and winter songs to warm our spirits. These songs came together during a residency at Halsway Manor, one of my favourite places, in November last year. It was the first time The Furrow Collective had been together for over two years, which brought a special energy to the room as they reconnected through song. They recorded these four seasonal tracks at Halsway with producer Andy Bell.
2 December - Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones, Early Pearly
Bryony and Alice have released this seasonal charity single to raise money for homelessness charities in Yorkshire. Early Pearly is a traditional Yorkshire song about children going from door to door to beg for money in the winter, which is all too close to home with many families struggling this winter.
2 December - Stick in the Wheel, Endurance Soundly Caged
This new release from Stick in the Wheel features fresh arrangements of songs from the band’s previous releases, with a view to capturing the energy of their live performances. My favourite track is a version of ‘Boys of Bedlam’, a dark but irresistibly catchy song which seems to fit Stick in the Wheel’s style perfectly.
RECORD OF THE MONTH
Record of the Month is Gog Magog by The Trials of Cato. I was a big fan of The Trials of Cato in their previous line-up, so when I first heard change was afoot, I wondered whether the new iteration would be quite the same. As it turns out, it isn’t quite the same - but that’s one of the best things about it. With Polly Bolton on board, the band has taken a new direction which is bold, refreshing and distinctive. While many claim to bring a contemporary approach to folk music, few succeed as The Trials of Cato have with this album. Dare I say it, they might actually have made folk music cool.
Top tracks: Ring of Roses and Bedlam Boys.
This is the last Record of the Month for 2022, so I’ll compile all this year’s picks and send you a poll in January to vote for the Record of the Year!
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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 Live to Your Living Room, Soundpost, Folk on Foot, Fancourt Music (Granny’s Attic, Janice Burns & Jon Doran and The Wilderness Yet), and individual artists including Jo Freya and Lady Maisery. Events where I have some involvement with the promoter, agency or artist are marked with a star for transparency. Although I have various affiliations, I strive to be fair and inclusive and tell you about anything I think you’ll enjoy!