MorningBird’s Echoes In The Meadow drinks from the unassuming northern Minnesota Lake Itasca trickle, which, once given momentum, pulses into the Mississippi River Americana mythical artery.  Years ago, while on a necessary pilgrimage to these Big Muddy headwaters, I found myself smack dab in the middle of nowhere. There was a small tourist hut with … The post MORNINGBIRD – Echoes In The Meadow (own label) appeared first on Folking.com. MORNINGBIRD – Echoes In The Meadow (own label) was first posted on July 26, 2024 at 1:08 pm. ©2020 "Folking.com". Use of this feed is for personal non-com ..read more

To start with the conclusion: Humber Fest is a rather splendid new festival, located in Barton on Humber and is the kind of thing that would be great to see repeated in many more places across the country. Let’s do the basics next: The festival is held predominantly in the Ropewalk area of Barton on Humber. I say predominantly because, although two of the venues were Ropery Hall and the Estuary Room in this regional arts centre, a couple of outbuildings were used as well – the Viking Café Bar (at the start of the Viking way) on the west side of where the Barton Haven waterway joins the River ..read more

Recorded in Abbey Road Studio 2 on Earth Day 2024, Earth Day Blue is the 14th studio album release from Nick Harper, the wildly talented and much loved UK singer-songwriter. With John Leckie in the producer’s chair (Stone Roses, Radiohead, Muse etc.) and Tchad Blake mixing (Tom Waits, Crowded House, Peter Gabriel etc.), the album is a flash mob of high calibre talent assembled for a few hours’ collaboration in a very special space. But, this was not the first time Nick and John had been in session together in Studio 2. It was way back in 1973, in the very same room, that Nick was given his ‘b ..read more

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings announce Woodland, their 10th studio album, out August 23rd via Acony records and share new song ‘Empty Trainload Of Sky’. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, whom the New York Times has hailed as “American folk masters,” announce the release of their 10th studio album, Woodland, via their own Acony Records label on August 23rd. The new 10-song collection mingles full band tracks with intricate duet performances all tied together with the duo’s signature sound and lyricism and cements the pair’s iconoclastic position at the forefront of acoustic music. Woodlan ..read more

Our very own Paul Johnson reviews, via a mini podcast, this years fabulous New Forest Folk Festival that was held from 4th – 7th July 2024. Well I’ve been to this lovely little festival three times now .. so ok… on the first two occasions I liked it a lot. I was taken aback by its friendliness and is delightful size, being smaller than many other festivals. I loved the nice ‘Barn like’ stage and the intimacy of it. So laid back, friendly relaxing and safe – but I was thinking did I just get lucky on those occasions of being there? Did the festival just get lucky those two years I was there? Bu ..read more

For a journey into the darker elements of Americana music, Amsterdam might seem a surprising place to start. And yet it’s the Dutch capital from which this determinedly authentic voice of Gothic Americana hails. Silas J. Dirge is the pseudonym of singer and songwriter Jan Kooiker, and Swan Songs is his uncompromising fourth album. I say uncompromising because everything about it – the artist’s pseudonym, the simple cover design, the track titles – all point to it being an album of deep, dark intensity. And that is exactly what it is – you’ve been warned! Americana is a broad term, and Silas’ m ..read more

Argentina is not, perhaps, a country you might readily associate with Irish balladry. So, its title referring to the South American low grasslands, Killarney ex-pat Charlie O’Brien has put together an album to revise that thinking. Extracting lyrics from a 19th century Argentine newspaper, El Monitor de la Campaña, printed weekly in Capilla del Señor, a town in Buenos Aires, between 1872 and 73, some tied to clear Irish melodies (and where not borrowed by O’Brien), this is a collection of traditional-flavoured songs from an unusual angle, some anonymous, others ascribed to a writer calling him ..read more

“Do you want a pass to Stevie Nicks, VIP area?” “Sounds good.” “July 12th.” “I can’t I’m already booked – Ely Folk Festival.” Ah well … I gather it was a good do. However, I feel in no way short changed. Here’s why. Ely Folk Festival has been running since 1985, but this was my first time. Currently, the Festival is held just outside the city, has three main stages and a variety of dance, food, bar, other temporary sales emporia etc. It’s big enough to have variety and small enough for a chilled atmosphere As ever, first impressions count. I arrived in the car park to be greeted by a steward ..read more

Respectively from Milton Keynes and Texas, busker David Fisher and barber Evan Ritchie are now based in the Birmingham suburb from which they take their duo name, bonding over a shared love of Celtic and transatlantic folk, shanties and ballads. And that’s what fuels their debut album, Old Tall Stories, a hearty collection of both familiar and obscure traditional numbers as well as originals and covers that kicks off in their adopted backyard with ‘Lovett and Collins’, Fisher on lead, banjo, bouzouki and harmonica, a broadside that was distributed around Birmingham on the 25th July 1840 to mar ..read more

Mark Neal is a singer/songwriter/musician/producer and all-round clever chap from the banks of the Clyde near Loch Lomond. He works in a duo with Eilidh Steel and with folk-rock band, Teannaich but his new solo album, Cool Waters, is exactly that with Mark writing, playing and singing every note, producing, recording and mixing. The songwriting mostly stems from the landscape around his home and is built around Mark’s acoustic guitar but is neither traditional folk nor full blown folk-rock, although it comes close here and there. The album opens with the title track and a delightful acoustic g ..read more