Black Country news and blogs Monday 15 February 2016
Folk All
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SHOW OF HANDS 
Folk All 12 Feb 16
First of all I would like to apologise to everyone for the gap in posts and delay in writing reviews.
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KELLY OLIVER
Folk All 13 Jan 16
CD Review Bedlam The most obvious things which hits you about Kelly Oliver ‘s second album is how both her maturity and confidence have come on in leaps and bounds.
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MARINA FLORANCE
Folk All 31 Dec 15
CD Review This, That The Other Marina Florance is just one of the coolest women on the folk circuit at the moment.
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KYRRE SLIND
Folk All 17 Dec 15
CD Review Open Airs Right from the first note this album from Kyrre Slind produces such evocative gentle music that it’s almost like listening to something spiritual.
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DAIMH
Folk All 11 Dec 15
CD Review The Hebridean Sessions There are occasions when you could accuse Scottish traditional music and particularly bagpipe music of being too harsh, loud and aesthetically tooth grating but none of that applies to Daimh and their new album.
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SUNJAY
Folk All 30 Nov 15
CD Review Black Blues Sunjay , he now prefers just his first name, is an excellent bluesman and for such a young musician he plays his guitar like he had it in the cradle instead of a rattle or cuddly toy.
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COMING YOUR WAY & NEWS
Folk All 29 Nov 15
Coming Your Way December One of the last big events of the folk year is The Great British Folk Festival at Butlin’s, Skegness which is now in its fifth year.
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MAIREARAD & ANNA
Folk All 27 Nov 15
CD Review Best Day If you could make a mink coat out of music then this selection from Scottish duo Mairearad Green and Anna Massie would fit the bill.
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SAM KELLY
Folk All 24 Nov 15
CD Review Lost Boys This is a superb album not just because of Sam Kelly ‘s fantastic voice and ability to fill the songs he sings with life but also it reeks of folk, it drips tradition and is the antithesis of so many albums which are trying to …
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DAMIEN O’KANE
Folk All 8 Nov 15
CD Review Areas of High Traffic Fans of Damien O’Kane must be drooling by now as it’s been five years since the talented honorary Yorkshire man produced a solo album.
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BABAJACK
Folk All 4 Nov 15
Live Review Robin2 , Wolverhampton When you see Babajack on stage, the way they make music and the energy they put into the performance at the Bilston venue you realise how they became the British Blues Award winners for this year.
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SETH LAKEMAN
Folk All 1 Nov 15
Live Review The Robin2 , Bilston Seth Lakeman walked into a seriously warm welcome from the fans packed into Robin2.
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COMING YOUR WAY AND NEWS
Folk All 30 Oct 15
Coming Your Way November The newest festival in the second city is the Birmingham Tradfest which will be four days of traditional Irish music running from November 26 to 29.
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ANGE HARDY
Folk All 30 Oct 15
INTERVIEW We are all guilty of missing the history on our own doorstep, so often it’s other people who point out what’s interesting or historic about the places we see and visit every day.
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FATE THE JUGGLER / OKA VANGA
Folk All 23 Oct 15
CD Reviews Set in Stone The intriguingly named Fate the Juggler are one of the bands who is on the fringe of folk music and who occasionally put both feet in the camp, sometimes just one foot and at the odd time just dip a toe into the genre.
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
Folk All 22 Oct 15
CD Review Downtown Downtown is the latest offering from the Folkstock label which like the indie labels of the 80s and 90s is finding a niche by giving up-and-coming and semi-established artists a great deal of welcome exposure.
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KIM LOWINGS & THE GREENWOOD
Folk All 19 Oct 15
CD Review Historia This is Kim Lowings The Greenwood ‘s second album and it has been pretty much self-produced and financed which if nothing else tells you of the band’s determination to be heard.
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RAB NOAKES
Folk All 18 Oct 15
CD Review I’m Walking Here Scots musician Rab Noakes doesn’t do things by halves, when he was putting this double album together he wanted to create a collection no one else could make.
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FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS
Folk All 13 Oct 15
Live Review Town Hall, Birmingham There are no six packs in this group, with the Fisherman’s Friends you get the full barrel.
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KIM LOWINGS & THE GREENWOOD
Folk All 6 Oct 15
Live Review Scary Canary, Stourbridge It was a slightly chaotic start to the launch of Kim Lowings and the Greenwood ‘s new album, Historia in Stourbridge town centre in the Black Country .
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THE PORTRAITS
Folk All 4 Oct 15
CD Review Lions and Butterflies Going by the blurb The Portraits consider themselves an “alternative” folk band whose aim is, ” To stand up for the common man, speak out against the wrongs of the world and to somehow make it a better place for us all.
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LUCY WARD
Folk All 29 Sep 15
CD Review I Dreamt I Was A Bird A saying is attributed to St Jerome which is “Sometimes the truth causes offence, better the offence be caused than the truth suppressed.
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COMING YOUR WAY AND NEWS
Folk All 28 Sep 15
COMING YOUR WAY October With the folk festival season coming to an end and Autumn coming in the folk musicians and bands are heading back indoors to continue to bring the music of the people to the people.
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PHILLIP HENRY & HANNAH MARTIN
Folk All 25 Sep 15
CD Review Watershed When you have put out an album as memorable as Live At Calstock then coming up with something which is equal if not better is no mean feat.
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BRIDGET MARSDEN & LEIF OTTOSSON
Folk All 24 Sep 15
CD Review Mountain Meeting If you are going to open your album with a track which is more than eight minutes long then it better be good, ear-catching, intriguing and spot on with the music, in fact pretty much like Newborough Sands/Through The Eyes …
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SIMPSON,CUTTING & KERR
Folk All 22 Sep 15
Live Review MAC Birmingham What’s not to like? Individually Andy Cutting , Nancy Kerr and Martin Simpson have proved themselves to be brilliant folk musicians, songwriters and performers.
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ROSS AINSLIE
Folk All 18 Sep 15
CD Review Remembering Ross Ainslie comes with an impressive musical pedigree as a founding member of the Treacherous Orchestra , a brace of nominations in the Radio2 Folk Awards and has made a big impression working with Jarlath Henderson among many …
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SCOTT WOOD BAND
Folk All 30 Aug 15
CD Review Upsurge Scottish music generally and bagpipe music particularly seems to be having a resurgence and making an assault on the world scene which is not an easy thing to do.
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COMING YOUR WAY AND NEWS
Folk All 30 Aug 15
COMING YOUR WAY September As the dust settles on Shrewsbury Folk Festival the next big Midlands gathering is Moseley Folk Festival which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
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ANGE HARDY
Folk All 20 Aug 15
CD Review Esteesee Before you start listening to this album, take the time to look at the artwork and the extensive sleeve notes, there has been a lot of thought, understanding, work and passion put into this disc.
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GARY O’DEA
Folk All 18 Aug 15
CD Review Fly This is a pretty laid back album which has that quality of being able to enjoy the songs no matter what mood you are in, which is testament to the art of songwriting and music making Gary O’Dea possesses.
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MEGAN HENWOOD
Folk All 12 Aug 15
CD Review Head Heart Hand This is a seriously cool album from a seriously cool artist.
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SVER
Folk All 4 Aug 15
CD Review Fryd They say music is a universal language and you get a strong hint of that when you realise the similarities between Norwegian band Sver ‘s style of music and a great deal of highland, Celtic and indeed general folk music.
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MA POLAINE’S GREAT DECLINE
Folk All 2 Aug 15
CD Review Got Me Out Of Hell Be warned, do not listen to this album in the dark, on your own or if you are of a nervous disposition.
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COMING YOUR WAY & NEWS
Folk All 29 Jul 15
COMING YOUR WAY AUGUST August is traditionally a quiet month for folk venues mainly due to the fact everyone is at festivals and one of the biggest events in the Midlands this month is the Shrewsbury Folk Festival .
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FLOSSIE MALAVIALLE
Folk All 23 Jul 15
CD Review If I Have To Go Not quite what you would call a concept album but Flossie Malavialle has put this collection of covers under the theme of the impact we can have on others and what we leave behind as we travel on our own journeys through …
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BETHAN AND THE MORGANS
Folk All 21 Jul 15
CD Review Oddity The West Midlands have produced some fantastic and original musicians and they are well listed elsewhere so don’t need to be repeated here, but there is one thing you should do and that’s add Bethan and the Morgans .
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CLYPE
Folk All 17 Jul 15
CD Review Clype If you didn’t know, Clype is a Scottish word for being a telltale or if you like telling tales which is pretty appropriate, after all that’s what folk groups and singers are supposed to do.
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BOYS OF THE LOUGH
Folk All 14 Jul 15
CD Review The New Line If you come from Ireland, grew up in an Irish community or have Celtic roots this album will make you feel both nostalgic and homesick for Erin and the highlands.
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SKERRYVORE
Folk All 7 Jul 15
CD Review Decade With an album called Decade it’s a safe bet it’s going to do what it says on the cover and celebrate 10 years of Skerryvore leaving the remote island of Tiree and machine gunning Scottish music into audiences psyches.
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THE CHANGING ROOM
Folk All 1 Jul 15
CD Review Behind The Lace There is so much to enjoy about this album it’s hard to know where to start.
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COMING YOUR WAY & NEWS
Folk All 25 Jun 15
COMING YOUR WAY July Festival season is well under way and among the first is the 36th Warwick Folk Festival which is being held over July 23-26 with Billy Bragg headlining.
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THE MATHER ROBINSON BAND
Folk All 24 Jun 15
CD Review A Carousel For Fools Be warned The Mather Robinson Band get in your face right from the very first note.
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EDDY MORTON
Folk All 21 Jun 15
CD Review Rainbow Man It’s worth buying this album from prolific Midlands artist Eddy Morton purely for the fantastic artwork from the wonderfully named Tawdry Piffle .
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KESTON COBBLERS CLUB
Folk All 19 Jun 15
CD Review Wildfire You have to listen to this album from the five-piece Keston Cobblers Club , it’s a real classy CD.
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ROSEANNA BALL
Folk All 16 Jun 15
CD Review Geography Roseanna Ball has come through several incarnations, not least of which is Roholio, to where she has put together her first solo album and it’s testimony to her talent she has written and performed every single track.
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PETE SHIRLEY
Folk All 9 Jun 15
CD Review Sunset Katy and Other Stories There is something reassuringly and wonderfully organic about Pete Shirley ‘s new album.
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ROBYN STAPLETON
Folk All 7 Jun 15
CD Review Fickle Fortune The first thing which strikes you from the opening track of Robyn Stapleton ‘s debut album is how exquisitely pure her voice is.
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PEATBOG FAERIES
Folk All 3 Jun 15
CD Review Blackhouse You have to give it to them, Peatbog Faeries are seriously pushing the boundaries of what could be called folk music, fusing traditional Scottish/Celtic sounds with ambient, electro, dance and rock strands – a lot of which are …
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COMING YOUR WAY & NEWS
Folk All 28 May 15
Coming your way June There is a purl-er of a festival about to get under way in Warwickshire at the beginning of this month.