Tracing Robb Johnson’s roots back to picket line agit-prop and shouty slogans over a seemingly shredded guitar, this four-CD set starts early in the third term of Thatcherism and charts the political downfall of one woman alongside the growth in both songwriting and singing ability of one man.

I am sure you know by now [...]

Legendary Manchester music venue Band on the Wall has reaffirmed itself as a major platform for folk music as it announces its opening season.

Rising star Jim Moray, Mercury Prize nominees The Unthanks and Pentangle legends’, John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee, all appear on the new lineup.

The venue – in the city’s Northern Quarter – closed [...]

“Argh nooo, not ANOTHER female singer-songwriter moaning about men!” I hear you cry. But fear not, shush your grumbles and give Kate Walsh a go. You’ll soon realise that she’s far superior to any of the girlies presently taking over the UK charts.

Kate Walsh is bloody good and the proof is in the listening. [...]

Here’s a real test of your kook tolerance levels. Beth Jeans Houghton (pronounced Howton if you believe the BBC: Radios 2 and 6 are giving her the big hype) could have jumped out of a Noel Fielding daydream – quirky, asymmetric, sequinned and Hoxton-fresh. In her biography she claims to have been raised by albino [...]

OOF. I love this. I love it! I love Love LOVE it! I’m winded by my love for it! OOF!

I seem to be one of the few people who hadn’t heard Mumford & Sons before: oops. Ah well, I don’t care. I reckon this was the best way to discover them. A [...]