So, a couple of weeks ago, I attended my first-ever folk festival (which sounds like a Fisher-Price toy). It’s also a bit unfair because I have attended my local “Exile Festival” for the last couple of years – but I guess this felt like a first because it was miles away from home and had some big names (to me) of the folk world (George Boomasa, Katherine Priddy, Kris Dreaver, Jim Moray, Angeline Morrison, Christina Alden & Alex Patterson, Maddie Morris, Marlin Lewis and Eliza Carthy). So it was great value for money as I’d easily pay as much to see these musicians individually. I also took part in my first (gulp) “sing around”. I sang two songs, one by Eric Pickford, “I could hew” which I first Jim Gheid sing in Sheffield – and then a song by Ian McNabb called “Up here in the North of England”. Ian’s song is not really a folk song – but its opening lines now make me think of one: “Travelling overseas I was accosted by student…” sounds a lot like “as I went a walking…”
Anyway, in this post, I want to focus on some of the musicians I heard who were “new to me” and really bowled me over.
Hedera
https://linktr.ee/hedera.folk and https://cuculirecords.com/artists/hedera/
They are a Bristol-based quintet leaning into very varied backgrounds, with each member bringing their own unique contribution to the overall sound. As you would expect with this “collective”, each member has their own solo projects, too. I was so impressed with them – such excellent musicianship. They have a winter tour coming up, and I’m pleased to see that they will be in Sheffield, which isn’t so far away from me, in Feb 2025.
Sarah Smout
Link: https://www.sarahsmoutmusic.co.uk/
Sarah is a cellist, but with a big difference – she layers down the cello and vocals using a loop, singing and playing along with herself. Yes, I know “looping” is not new, but it’s interesting being heard in a folk context – and it put me in mind of people like Frankie Archer – where solo performers use technology to build a much larger and layered sound that would normally require a full band. Given how expensive and logistically challenging touring as a band is – I can see more performers innovating in this way. To be clear, though, this is the creative use of technology to create a new sound.
Fay Hield Trio
Link: https://www.fayhield.com/
I have a distinct feeling that being a folk noob – Fay Hield is someone I *should* know already. I was impressed with her stage humour & wit. Especially as she is a Professor of Music at the University of Sheffield, where she leads research on folk singing. I know many younger (younger than me!) folk musicians I follow have an academic tinge on their lives – having done MAs in folk music at various places around the UK. From what I can gather, Newcastle University and Sheffield have a good reputation around this. I managed this sample of her 2020 album “Wrackline”, which gives a good sample of her style.
Goblin Band
Link: https://linktr.ee/goblin.band
This is my weekend’s last band on the Trad Folk stage, seen by Jon Wilks. I’d spotted the singer from Singaround the evening before, where he sang a sea shanty. They are highly entertaining group – Rowan Gatherer announced he wasn’t feeling very well, and I’m sure if his antics were down to not feeling well or if he was part of the act. Probably a combo of both. Anyway, they were great fun, and attacked their set with gusto. The fiddle play was phenomenal. Above I think this is what is drawing me to folks music – the quality of the musicianship is on another level, plus its all new to my ears.