Traditional songs in dub, Irish keening with touches of Yoko Ono and shape-note hymns with sound-processing were among the year’s records renewing an ever elusive genre • More on the best music of 2024 • More on the best culture of 2024...
James Mangold’s biopic follows the rise of the era-defining star with Chalamet brilliantly embodying his shapeshifting allure Not Judas – Jesus. Timothée Chalamet’s hilarious and seductive portrayal of Bob Dylan makes him the smirking,...
As the Unthanks release a new collection of wintry folk, we pick out other seasonal albums full of variously warm, sparkling and sharp songcraft A brand new bumper double album of winter songs kicks off this list by the increasingly...
The American producer helped to craft a raw, immediate sound for British rock in the mid-1960s, with hits such as You Really Got Me and My Generation Shel Talmy, the music producer behind classics such as the Kinks’ You Really Got Me and...
(Stroom/Granvat) The duo are joined by a stellar cast including Bill Frisell and Laraaji, bringing innovation and playfulness to their bright, elemental music Spiralling out from a palette of Lithuanian folk forms, this album feels like...
In the 1960s Heather Wood and her co-singers in the Young Tradition showed friendliness and generosity to a boisterous group of secondary school pupils, of which I was one. We met them while taking part in a folk song festival at Cecil...
Singer describes recent meeting where Simon said he was offended by an old interview, and pair reconciled Art Garfunkel has described a recent tearful reunion with Paul Simon, in which the pair moved past old enmities. Speaking to the...
The Gardeners’ World presenter on being a sucker for spy stories, pub nights in the early 70s, and having his prejudices challenged by a gigantic floral dog Born in 1955 in West Germany and raised in Hampshire, Monty Don studied English...
New Music Players/Orchestra of Sound and Light (Métier) Inspired by the South Downs near Brighton, this selection box of new work from contemporary composers is English to its core – and yet defies tradition Musical invocations of...
Ambassadors theatre, London Relocating the F Scott Fitzgerald story to a Cornish fishing village, this is a vivacious yet touching show F Scott Fitzgerald’s tale of a man who ages in reverse suggests that time is what you make of it. And...
Actor who appeared in groundbreaking postwar stage and TV productions and was a popular singer during the 60s folk revival Nadia Cattouse, who has died aged 99, had a distinguished career as a singer and actor that began in...
Hackney church, London The singer-songwriter’s impressive showcase of her new album is bookended by solo guitar numbers that underline what a class act she is The first night of Laura Marling’s five-show residency at Hackney church on...
Queens Hall, Edinburgh Emmy award-winning puppeteers Manual Cinema occasionally pull focus from Sam Beam’s rich songwriting, but mostly enhance it with eerie and intricate staging Sam Beam, better known as his stage name Iron & Wine,...
Traditional Irish musician and the third in the lineage of pipers in an internationally renowned family Francis McPeake, who has died aged 82, was a third-generation Irish uilleann piper in the Belfast-based McPeake family, attracting...
(Claddagh) The Irish national treasure ranges from humour to rage, Ukraine and Lyra McKee and on his 25th studio album The title, borrowed from WB Yeats’s poem Easter 1916 , and the cover, a landscape with an ominous fiery glow in the...
The US singer-songwriter, who has died aged 97, encountered Louis Armstrong and more as she championed civil rights as much as music. In her final interview conducted last week, she explained why she was still angry As a...
(Self-released) Singer Rose Connolly expands the pre-Christian Irish grieving tradition with synthesisers, distortion and drone in an arresting set Rose Connolly is Róis, a startling singer from County Fermanagh, whose first release...
Raymi Saldaña Rojas, who has died aged 14, was a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, known for winning young artist awards and playing at prestigious venues and music festivals. He grew up surrounded by music and artists as his parents,...
A look at the origins and appeal of the song MEPs used to serenade the Hungarian PM in Strasbourg “This is not Eurovision,” said the speaker of the European parliament, Roberta Metsola, as she tried to silence leftwing MEPs greeting the...
Heating debate | Accordion crimes | Political uniforms | Is sport the new rock’n’roll? | Bittern song Tim Bradley ( Letters, 1 October ) and Adam Halawi ( Letters, 7 October ) are comparing apples and pears. Most heat pumps in the UK are...
Australian guitar whizz D.C Cross has shared a video for 'A Harebrained Adventure of An Amateur Shaman', directed by Steve Hanft. The results speak for themselves, an experimental and adventurous collaboration...a total gem. Source
We met Jenny Sturgeon and Boo Hewerdine to talk about their new Outliers album, a beautiful celebration of spontaneity and space, blending strong songwriting with acoustic arrangements and subtle electronics. Source
Martin Simpson announces his new album Skydancers (Topic Records) and shares a stunning video for the title track, made in collaboration with Ballet Folk and Studio Bokego. Source
Natascha Rogers' 'Onaida' is a laid-back and immensely satisfying album. She has created a personalised aural space reflecting motifs such as her Native American ancestry, spirituality, compassion, humanity, the natural world, and...
Jo Bartlett shares her new music video for 'Drawing A Line' - a Kodachrome dream of analogue moments - taken from her new album ‘Ghost Tapes 1 to 9’, out on 26 April 2024. Source
Filmed in CoisCéim, Dublin and directed by Myles O'Reilly, watch Niamh Bury performing 'Budapest', from her debut album on Claddagh Records 'Yellow Roses', which was produced by Brian Brían Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds. Source
Sive talks us through her album 'In Cloak & Womb'. Taking inspiration from the legacy of Brigid in her goddess and saint forms, she explores how her echo might resonate in the world today, particularly concerning themes of climate...
Owen Spafford & Louis Campbell celebrate the end of their incredible debut album cycle with a short run of tour dates and a new EP, 102 Metres East, to be released on Real World X, an imprint label of Peter Gabriel’s Real World...
We've put together a light-hearted Anti-Valentine playlist featuring 16 Horsepower, Jonathan Richman, Rosali, Cate Le Bon, Laura Veirs, Nina Simone, Herman Düne, Tom Waits, Sibylle Baier and more. Source
French-Moroccan power quartet Bab L' Bluz share their new single/video 'Imazighen', taken from their second album 'Swaken', out on 10 May 2024 on Real World Records. Source
Jess Silber invites audiences to embrace the celebration of self-love on Valentine's Day with her award-winning music video for It Hurts to Love a Woman, which follows the queer story of two almost-lovers on a quest for self-love,...
Abigail Lapell turns to the romantic ideal of growing old together on her forthcoming album Anniversary. Watch the video for her lead single Anniversary Song, recorded live with her band in a 200-year-old church. Source
Serious Sam Barrett drops his new album, A Drop of The Morning Dew on March 1st which was recorded live at Bacca Pipes folk club. Watch his new video for the beautiful title track...ancient advice on how to stay looking young. Source
In a tale that unfolds with almost Murakmi dream-like absurdity, Jake Sheppard's 'Bird Clock' manages to balance sorrow and comedy perfectly, a highwire act that leaves you wanting more. Source
Album release date: Friday 29th November 2019 on Pure Records. National tour – 1-21st December 2019, including Royal Festival Hall, London (10 December). There’s nothing [...] The post Kate Rusby announces new Christmas album...
Broomdasher begin their busiest ever Festival Season with a performance at the country’s biggest free Folk Festival at Leigh on Sea in June – followed [...] The post Crop of Festivals for Broomdasher appeared first on Folk...
A celebration of music without borders Whitby Pavilion, West Cliff, Whitby Y21 3EN October 18th-20th https://www.musicportfestival.comhttps://www.facebook.com/musicportevents/ Marking its 20th anniversary Musicport...
Tenterden Folk Festival is pleased to announce that, thanks to grant funding from Kent Community Foundation and The Overstone Trust, Tenterden Folk Festival will be organising and [...] The post Folk song, music and dance workshops for...
Gwanwyn is the first CD from Tŷhai, an exciting collaboration between three musicians from Wales, Dylan Fowler (guitar), Pete Stacey (saxophone/ flute) and Rajesh David [...] The post Tŷhai – Debut album “Gwanwyn”...
by Linda Fahey New releases featured this week on Folk Alley include music from Kelly Willis, The Fretless, Moira Smiley, Anna & Elizabeth, Birds of Chicago, Caitlin Canty, Cahalen Morrison's new project - Western Centuries; Kim Richey's...
by Linda Fahey This week on Folk Alley, Elena See features new releases with music from Phoebe Hunt & The Gatherers, Courtney Marie Andrews, The Mammals, the supergroup of Cory Chisel, Robert Ellis, and Jonny Fritz AKA Traveller, Rosanne...
by Linda Fahey, Folk Alley You're feeling tired, maybe a little defeated and heavy. Seriously, who doesn't want a "reset button" in those situations. For The Dustbowl Revival's Zach Lupetin, a spontaneous swim in the Pacific Ocean was...
by Linda Fahey This week on Folk Alley, in hour one, an exclusive Folk Alley Session from the 2018 30A Songwriters Festival featuring Kim Richey performing songs from her new album, 'Edgeland'; new music from Birds of Chicago, The...
by Kim Ruehl, Folk Alley An artist like Mary Chapin Carpenter will perform their best songs probably hundreds of times in their life, but most fans will remember those songs for the one time they were recorded on an album. This is a...
by Linda Fahey This week on Folk Alley, in hour one, an exclusive in-studio performance with Paul Thorn, recorded at this year's 30A Songwriters Festival; new music from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Altan, Kim Richey, Vivian...
by Linda Fahey This week on Folk Alley, Elena See spotlights new music by folk icon, Joan Baez, from her latest release, 'Whistle Down the Wind;' and more new tunes from the Massachusetts-based indie-folk quintet Parsonsfield, Tommy...
Using the Folk Alley Skill for Amazon Echo Smart Speakers is easy and allows you quick access to Folk Alley content. To use the Folk Alley Skill for Echo, follow these simple steps: 1. Open your Alexa app and go to the menu. 2. Scroll...
by Linda Fahey This week on Folk Alley, we'll celebrate to coming of St. Patrick's Day with music by The Chieftains featuring Bonnie Raitt, We Banjo 3, and Doolin'; new music from John Prine, Chris Smither, Parsonsfield, Darlingside,...
Folk Alley presents two screenings of the documentary THE KING at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival. Director Eugene Jarecki travels America in Elvis' 1963 Rolls Royce talking to people along the way about the...
by Elena See, Folk Alley I read something on Twitter the other day - and I can't remember who wrote it, so apologies if it was you. It went something like this: "Sometimes it's ok to acknowledge that you're tired. Sometimes it's ok to...