Joy Thomas

De Montfort Hall and Gardens, Leicester

Gawd, how exciting! De Montfort Hall and Gardens will resonate this June with the sound of folky songstresses as The Big Session welcomes sweetie pie Cara Dillon, folkingcool love bunny Jackie Oates (whose latest album Hyperboreans the press release delightfully mis-spells as Hyperbeans) AND dear Kate Rusby. Oysterband [...]

One of the most original and stunning singers of traditional music, Cara Dillon, is currently touring, following the release of her beautiful fourth album, Hill of Thieves.

The album marks a return to her roots with an outstanding collection of traditional songs. Already a highly acclaimed torch-bearer of traditional music, songwriter Cara, and [...]

Hugh Wilson

If you fancy a festival with 14 stages, four mung bean burger stands and a Big Bank sponsored corporate VIP alcopops enclosure, Larmer Tree is probably not for you.

This is a friendly little festival which makes much of its cosy 4000 capacity and pretty-as-a-picture location on the Wiltshire/Dorset Border. It wins awards for “having [...]

Stephen Taylor

I’ve only been to Doncaster once and I had a Very Bad Day. As the snow melts and the green shoots peek out, I could be tempted back by the sheer loveliness of the local line-up at this year’s Doncaster Folk Festival. Part of the city’s Hothouse festival which encompasses comedy, theatre and [...]

Hugh Wilson

You’ll know Holmfirth as the location for Last of the Summer Wine, the endless BBC sitcom that featured lovable pensioner rogues Compo, Clegg, Dopey, Happy and Not At All Funny and always used to be on at your gran’s when you popped round on Sunday.

But Holmfirth has so much more to offer than guided [...]

Performances from Nanci Griffith, Dick Gaughan and The Transatlantic Sessions were among the many highlights of the 11th annual BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, which took place on Monday 1 Feb in London’s trendy The Brewery.

John Boden scooped Folk Singer Of The Year, Cara Dillon bagged Best Album for Hill Of Thieves and Show [...]

Show of Hands and fellow Devon musicians are to stage a unique gig in Exeter on Thursday 21 January to raise funds to help those affected by the devastating Haiti earthquake.

The brainchild of Devon-based Mick Burch, the gig at Exeter’s Phoenix Theatre will see Show of Hands’ Steve Knightley and Phil Beer joined by [...]

Twenty-nine-year-old Stockport man Alex Humphrey vanished on 14 August near a beauty spot in Panama. His family and friends (folkingcoolsters among them) are doing all they can to find him.

Now you too can help raise money and enjoy an eclectic folk night in the process.

Desperately Seeking Alex is all set for 15 Jan [...]

Hurrah. The nominees for the BBC Folk Awards 2010 have been named.

Folkingcool favourite Jackie Oates is up for folk singer of the year, along with Cara Dillon, Jon Boden and Martin Simpson.

The awards will be announced at The Brewery in That London on 2 February and folkingcool will be there. The highlights will [...]

Folkingcool fave and – latterly – Nashville darling Pete Molinari is returning from the States for a series of December UK dates.

Molinari has been in Nashville recording the follow-up album to A Virtual Landslide. While in the States he also hooked up with the legendary Jordanaires – the results of which are on the wonderful EP [...]