Folk Radio

Folk Radio: Episode 70 

~ Michael Stevenson ~ Leave a comment

Featuring music from Sam Carter, Salt House, Sam Sweeney, Julie Abbé, Georgia Ruth, SIAN, Dick Gaughan, The Boys of the Lough & lots more.

Music Played

00:00 The Bonny Men – An tSean Bhean Bhocht
02:45 Sam Carter – The Forge
06:07 Sweeney’s Men – Johnson
09:35 Ye Vagabonds – The Hare’s Lament
14:29 Paddy Keenan And Tommy O’Sullivan – Reels: Collier’s / The Woman Of The House
17:57 Riley Baugus – Train On The Island
20:59 Clarence Ashley – Dark Holler Blues
25:38 Spence Moore and Roy Birns – Jimmy Sutton
28:13 The Boys of the Lough – General Guinness
30:55 The Ian Campbell Folk Group – The Unquiet Grave
32:36 Dick Gaughan – Banks of Green Willow
38:44 Julie Abbé – A Poet to His Beloved
41:09 Dana Anastasia – Cassiopeia
45:39 Sam Sweeney – Highway To Warrington
50:22 Salt House – All Shall Be Still
55:12 Georgia Ruth – Madryn
57:52 Sian – Bha Mo Leannan Ann
01:01:48 Fidil – The Fantastic Reel / Mhúineál A’ Bhardáil / The Merry Sisters
01:05:29 Martin Carthy with Dave Swarbrick – Domeama

 

This week’s Folk Show features, alongside some new and forthcoming releases, a dip into the past. We go back to the 1960s and 70s courtesy of Sweeny’s Men, Clarence Ashley, Spence Moore and Roy Birns, The Boys of the Lough, The Ian Campbell Folk Group and Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick, several recordings are from old vinyl releases. Plus some favourites from Ye Vagabonds, Dick Gaughan and the incredible Paddy Keenan & Tommy O’Sullivan. Continue reading →

Review: Ye Vagabonds: The Hare’s Lament

~ Michael Stevenson ~ Leave a comment

Ye Vagabonds – The Hare’s Lament
River Lea – 22 March 2019

River Lea – the new record label run by music writer Tim Chipping under the wing of indie giants Rough Trade – is barely six months and three albums old, and already it feels like part of the folk music furniture. The label’s first release, Lisa O’Neill’s Heard A Long Gone Song (2018) was a breath of fresh air, a raw and uncompromising blend of original and traditional songs. The second – The Reeling, by Scottish smallpipe player Brìghde Chaimbeul – is one of the most astonishing, exploratory albums to emerge so far this year in any genre. Taken together, they represent a mighty impressive start for a label that appears to have arrived fully-formed and with a mission to reinvigorate traditional forms of musical expression.

With such an impressive start, the challenge for River Lea now is to keep the momentum going. It is understandable that expectations for their next album are going to be high, both amongst critics and the record-buying public. But Rough Trade know what they are doing (they have been around for forty years after all), and they have clearly put all their trust in their new imprint. And within the first few seconds of the first song on Ye Vagabonds’ new album, The Hare’s Lament, it is obvious Continue reading →