The Folk Forecast: June 2022
Featuring Queer Folk, Ruth Notman, RANT, Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones, Sam Lee, Spiers & Boden and lots more news from across the folk scene.
Hello, and welcome back! After a busy week with work, the bank holidays, a wedding and lots more, I’m here with this month’s folk happenings. There are some great gigs coming up that I’m really looking forward to this month, including Queer Folk (an online duo gig and an in-person tour with lots of my favourite musicians!), an online gig with Ruth Notman (an artist I love but have never seen play live) and The Lost Words Spell Songs (with the rescheduled gig going ahead in Gateshead at last!). There are also heaps of festivals on their way, and before you know it I’ll be spending most of my weekends in a tent.
You can find out more about everything that’s in store below. Thanks for reading - have a good month and I’ll see you again next time!
This month’s playlist
Head over to this month’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. Remember to support artists by buying their music and booking gigs too!
TOP PICKS: ONLINE
The Official Folk Albums Chart Show* — Tuesday 7 June, 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. 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.
Song for the Trees with Sam Lee and Jonathan Drori — Tuesday 7 June, 7.30pm BST
JW3
Blending songs with stories and folklore, this special concert celebrates our relationship with the trees. With the roots in the ground and the branches stretching to the skies, trees have provided poetic and spiritual inspiration, connecting heaven to earth and reminders of deep time. Singer-songwriter and folk archivist Sam Lee, together with writer Jon Drori, will lead us through musical forests and orchards, spinning stories and providing a sonically beautiful celebration.
Tickets £5 to watch online.
Freedom to Roam: The Rhythms of Migration — Tuesday 7 June, 7.30pm BST
Freedom to Roam
Flautist and producer Eliza Marshall is sharing the Freedom to Roam project online for audiences to enjoy wherever they are in the world. The streamed event includes a video of the launch gig for the critically acclaimed album The Rhythms of Migration, filmed at Cecil Sharp House, as well as a screening of the accompanying documentary Connected, co-produced by Eliza with director Nicholas Jones. This is a project focusing on important issues such as climate change, migration, animal rights, biodiversity, rewilding, mental health and our relationship to the land and each other. Freedom to Roam have synchronised the event to also celebrate Virginia McKenna’s 91st birthday, with 50% of all profits going directly to The Born Free Foundation.
Tickets £11, including entry into a prize draw. Tickets can be purchased until 14th June, and the show can be watched on demand for two weeks.
George Sansome & Sophie Crawford: Queer Folk* — Tuesday 7 June, 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
George Sansome (of Granny’s Attic*) and Sophie Crawford created Queer Folk – an organisation that researches queer music and champions LGBTQIA+ musicians. Using traditional material they’ve found in the archives, they are now performing queer folk music as a duo. With support from the Alan Surtees Trust, George and Sophie have spent a few months exploring potential material, including carrying out residencies with Sage Gateshead, the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) and Britten Pears Arts. Now they’re ready to share what they’ve been working on with audiences, and I can’t wait to hear what’s in store!
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Ruth Notman* — Thursday 16 June, 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
I first came across Ruth Notman when I stumbled upon her version of Dougie MacLean’s Caledonia many moons ago, and it was love at first listen. She first came to prominence as a finalist in the BBC Young Folk Awards aged 17, and her debut album Threads was acclaimed by the likes of The Independent, The Guardian and Mojo. She went on to release a second album, The Life of Lilly, to similar acclaim, before taking time off from music to go to university, finally returning with Changeable Heart, a collaboration with Sam Kelly and Damien O’Kane, in 2019. Despite enjoying all three albums, I’ve still never seen Ruth play live, and there aren’t many chances to see her play these days so I’m really looking forward to this one.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Intarsia* — Tuesday 21 June, 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Intarsia is an emerging duo of performers from diverse backgrounds. Jo May and Sarah Matthews have worked together since 2018, combining voice, violin, viola, octave fiddle, tenor guitar, balafon and a whole range of other percussion instruments. The sounds of these wooden instruments blend as they explore original and traditional material inspired by English songs, European dance tunes, West African rhythms and more. Intarsia’s debut album Sistere was released in October 2020, and this gig is part of their belated album launch tour!
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
RANT* — Friday 24 June, 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
RANT is something of a supergroup, bringing together four of Scotland’s finest fiddle players. Bethany Reid from Shetland, Anna Massie and Lauren MacColl from the Highland peninsula of the Black Isle, and Gillian Frame from Arran join forces to showcase the combined resonance of their instruments with repertoire unearthed from both old collections and their own contemporary writing.
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones* — Thursday 30 June, 8pm BST
Live to Your Living Room
Bryony Griffith and Alice Jones are both well-known faces on the folk scene. Now, these two pioneers of English traditional music have joined forces in a powerful new duo. Blending a deep respect and understanding of the tradition with their own modern brand of folk performance, they present a unique repertoire of harmony, history and Northern banter featuring fiddle, harmonium, tenor guitar, body percussion and close harmony vocals. They will be performing traditional Yorkshire songs from their debut album A Year Too Late & A Month Too Soon, which was Record of the Month in May!
Tickets £10 / £16.50 / £25 - one ticket per household; choose the price that suits you best.
Also coming up online…
7 June - Soundpost - Covid Sings Singaround*, 8pm - this month’s theme is nature in all its glory. Don’t worry if you don’t know any songs that quite fit though - all songs are welcome!
7 June - Tuesday Folk People: Johnny Campbell, 8pm
19 June - Fabian Holland, 8pm - Singer-songwriter and guitarist Fabian Holland is doing a free livestreamed gig from his website - join his online community to access this and more exclusive content each month.
21 June - Tuesday Folk People: Ben & Dom, 8pm
24 June - Afternoon Tea Special #11 with Paul Walker & Karen Pfeiffer
Regular bits to look out for:
The Folk Room on Clubhouse is on Wednesdays at 7pm, and The Ballad Room is on Thursdays at 8pm.
Tim Edey often holds online concerts on his Facebook page at weekends - keep an eye on his page for details.
Piers Cawley hosts regular Song Swaps with special guests - check out his YouTube channel for the latest additions.
Rosslyn Court in Margate run small, intimate gigs which are often livestreamed - take a look at everything that’s coming up.
All times are in BST.
TOP PICKS: IN PERSON
Tuesday Folk People on tour
Home Stage started up Tuesday Folk People online to keep us entertained during lockdown, and now they’re branching out with a tour. Artists taking part include Bob Fox, The Shackleton Trio, Good Habits and The Brothers Gillespie. The tour heads to Stoller Hall in Manchester on 23rd June, The Assembly in Leamington Spa on the 24th and Cecil Sharp House in London on the 25th. It’s fantastic to see how this project has developed over the last couple of years, and the intoduction of a tour is a brilliant idea.
Queer Folk: The Pride Tour
As mentioned above, Queer Folk is an organisation set up by George Sansome* and Sophie Crawford to uncover queer narratives in traditional folk songs, champion LGBTQIA+ artists and generally help make the folk scene a more inclusive space. After their online gig with Live to Your Living Room, George and Sophie are off on tour, with artists including Hannah James, Burd Ellen, Maddie Morris, Amy Thatcher and Holly Clarke. They’ll be calling at venues including Cecil Sharp House on 23rd June, Sheffield University Drama Studio on the 24th and Sage Gateshead on the 25th. So many of my favourite artists are involved with this, and I’m really looking forward to it!
Spiers & Boden on tour, plus FREE Colourchord workshops
Spiers & Boden are currently out on tour with their latest album, Fallow Ground, and there are plenty of dates coming up, including Leicester, London, Bury St Edmunds, Milton Keynes and lots more.
Jon Boden is also offering free Colourchord workshops before some of the shows. Colourchord is a harmony singing system developed by Jon with support from Awards For All. It allows any group of singers to sight-sing in four-part harmony regardless of their level of experience, using colour-coded lyric sheets rather than musical notation. Venues offering the free workshop include Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Kings Place, Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells, The Apex in Bury St Edmunds and Pontardawe Arts Centre. Take a look at venue websites for full details.
The Nest Collective
I’m a big fan of everything they do over at The Nest Collective. This month, they’re busy with all sorts of events, including nature walks, ceilidhs, Campfire Club concerts and the Magpie’s Nest festivals. Over the next few weeks, they’ll be holding Campfire Club events in London, Brighton, Sheffield, Manchester and Bristol, with artists including The Trials of Cato, Rachel Sermanni, Mishra, Cahalen Morrison, Bird in the Belly, Rachel Newton, Calan and more. Meanwhile, the Magpie’s Nest festivals will be held in London on 11th June and Bristol on 12th June. These one-day festivals feature a wide range of folk and roots artists, so they’re a great opportunity to discover new music.
Chris Salisbury and Sam Lee: Songdreaming 2022
Join Chris Salisbury and Sam Lee for a 5-day retreat in Dartmoor. This is a chance to reconnect with nature, relax and explore the world around us through music and creativity.
Moonrakers: The Vaughan Williams Festival 2022
Moonrakers have been commissioned by The Vaughan Williams Festival to develop an exciting cross-over show that features folk songs interwoven with some of Vaughan Williams’s well-known works. The band will be joined by string quartet OXUS, as they perform new arrangements of songs such as The Leaves They Do Grow High, The Turtle Dove, Bitter Withy and other traditional songs drawn from the Vaughan Williams collection. The ensemble will also play an arrangement of The Unquiet Grave alongside Vaughan Williams’ arrangement of Dives and Lazarus, as well as sharing some new music. Brief introductions on the source of the materials will form part of the show and will take the audience on a journey from traditional to contemporary interpretations of ‘living tradition’ material.
Dates include Saturday 11th June at Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford, Sunday 19th June at Benslow Music in Hitchin and Friday 14th October at All Saints Church in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire a bit later in the year.
Festival top picks
Beardy Folk Festival, 16-19 June - Artists including Ross Ainslie & Tim Edey, Katie Spencer, Edward II, The Young’Uns, Rachel Newton, The Trials of Cato, Martin Simpson, The Magpie Arc, Rachael McShane & The Cartographers, Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth and more.
Beverley Folk Festival, 16-19 June - Artists including The Trials of Cato, Granny’s Attic*, Iona Lane, The Brothers Gillespie and more, plus plenty of workshops and sessions.
Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, 17-19 June - Fisherman’s Friends, The Longest Johns and HEAPS more groups getting together to enjoy all things shanty-related!
Leigh Folk Festival, 23 June - Wildwood Kin, the Eliza Carthy Trio, Emily Barker, Gwenifer Raymond, M G Boulter and more.
Kimpton Folk Festival, 2 July - Fara, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, Megson, Honey & The Bear, Granny’s Attic*, Lizzy Hardingham, Jon Doran*, Maddie Morris and more.
Ely Folk Festival, 8-10 July - Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Heidi Talbot & Boo Hewerdine, Lindisfarne, Daoiri Farrell, Granny’s Attic* and more.
Stonehaven Festival, 8-10 July - Flook, Kris Drever, the Paul McKenna Band, Shooglenifty, Rura and more.
This is just a selection of festivals taking place over the next few weeks. Check out this website for details of even more folk festivals coming up in the UK.
Also out on tour in the coming weeks…
Cara Dillon, Gigspanner Big Band & Raynor Winn, Grace Petrie, Granny’s Attic*, Peggy Seeger, The Lost Words Spell Songs (rescheduled Gateshead date only), The Spooky Men’s Chorale.
This is just a pick of what I’ve come across, but do keep an eye on your local venues and favourite artists!
OTHER NEWS
Lady Maisery Kickstarter
Lady Maisery are running a Kickstarter to raise funds for their 4th studio album. It’s been 6 years since their last one, and I can’t wait to hear what they’ve been working on for this new release!
Janice Burns & Jon Doran* Kickstarter
Janice Burns & Jon Doran are currently running a Kickstarter for their debut album. It hit its initial target of £4,000 in just 6 days, and their target has now been stretched to £6,000 to help them cover more of the costs involved. I’m their agent, so I’ve had a sneaky listen to the initial mixes and can promise it’s going to be a real treat!
The Living Tradition
It’s been announced that The Living Tradition magazine will be publishing their last issue in August 2022. The magazine has made a huge contribution to the scene over the years, with a great deal of hard work from all involved. If you’d like to pick up back issues of the magazine, you can buy them from their online shop. Donations are also welcomed to help fund their last few months.
NEW RELEASES
3 June - Hannah Read and Michael Starkey - Cross the Rolling Water
Hannah and Michael met at an Appalachian old-time session in Edinburgh in late 2019, and musically they clicked straight away. This is their first album together, recorded in December 2020 between the lockdowns. It’s a mix of old-time repertoire and self-composed material.
3 June - Hannah Rarity - To Have You Near
Hannah Rarity has gone from strength to strength with this new album, which showcases the beauty of her incredible voice. She’s joined by lots of guests too, with Boo Hewerdine, Patsy Reid and Josie Duncan all making an appearance, among others!
3 June - The Often Herd - Where the Big Lamp Shines
The Often Herd write songs steeped in personal experience whilst drawing from a wide pool of influences, ranging from old-time mountain music to folk-rock, retro-pop and psychedelia. Where The Big Lamp Shines is their self-penned debut album.
3 June - M G Boulter - A Shadow Falls Over New Brighton
This EP is an extension of M G Boulter’s 2021 album Clifftown, which focused on his hometown of Southend-on-Sea. If you loved that album, this is a chance to dive back into that world with four new songs.
24 June - Lewis Wood - Footwork
This is the first solo album from Lewis Wood, known for his work with Granny’s Attic*. It’s made up of original tunes Lewis has written specifically for English step dancing, so as a clog dancer it’s definitely up my street! It features dancing by some of the finest English step dancers around, including Melanie Barber, Toby Bennett, Lynette Eldon, Jo Harmer, Simon Harmer and Lisa Sture.
RECORD OF THE MONTH
Record of the Month is Nine Waves by Ye Vagabonds. The duo were one of my favourite musical discoveries during lockdown, with their albums forming a bit of a backdrop to the strange times we found ourselves living through, so I was thrilled when I heard they were releasing something new. This latest album sees their sound augmented as they invite a number of guest musicians to join them, including members of the Irish contemporary classical group Crash Ensemble. The result is a slightly fuller version of the distinctive Ye Vagabonds sound we know and love. Filled to the brim with bittersweet beauty, this introspective and understated album is a balm for the soul.
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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 and Janice Burns & Jon Doran), and 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 various affiliations and write about the stuff I enjoy, I strive to be fair and inclusive and tell you about anything I think might be of interest.