Two years ago, I drove to the Borough Theatre in Abergavenny to review a Finnish four-fiddle band who rejoice in the name of Frigg. The seven musicians trooped on stage, seriously stepped on the gas and totally blew me away with their fantastic, singing sound that only a quartet of violins can claw at the…
EMILY BARKER BAND / LUKAS DRINKWATER: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, November 4, 2017 Memphis has Beale Street, New Orleans has Bourbon Street, thoroughfares known the world over for their vibrant music scene. If you’re in Cardiff and fancy sampling live music in the Welsh capital, then head to Womanby Street; it’s a medieval street lined with…
Question: What do you get if you mix magnetic Welsh storyteller Michael Harvey, the wonderful and simply stunning voices, harp and accordion of Stacey Blythe and Lynne Denman and production company Adverse Camber? Answer: Dreaming The Night Field, the fourth branch of the centuries-old Welsh-language literary masterpiece, The Mabinogion – and Michael, Lynne and Stacey…
BELLA HARDY: Roots Unearthed, L3 Lounge, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, October 31, 2017 Bella Hardy is a giggling, chatty bundle of energy, a great fiddler and a spellbinding songwriter; She was on tour – sadly, her only date in Wales – showcasing Hey Sammy, her new album and her ninth, which will be released on…
Tim Jones is totally over the moon at the critics praising his latest album, Blossom And Fruit. Even the ultra-hip major player in the folk-roots world, the mighty fRoots Magazine, awarded the traditional singer, guitarist and prolific songwriter and his band The Dark Lanterns a massive five stars and placed Blossom And Fruit in their…
BELINDA O’HOOLEY & HEIDI TIDOW: Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club, October 18, 2017 Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow are a breath of fresh air in today’s innovative music scene, which encompasses all sorts of genres including the wonderful world of folk-roots, the indie rock movement and high-art classical. Their latest album, Winter Folk,…
MARTIN SIMPSON: Roots Unearthed, L3 Lounge, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, September 19, 2017 There’s one thing better than a Martin Simpson long-awaited album, and that is seeing him performing live – in the flesh, alone, with no safety net. The L3 Lounge was packed out in the first of the Roots Unearthed autumn, winter and…
JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER, THE MAVRON QUARTET: Folk Prom, Roots Unearthed, L3 Lounge, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, July 24, 2017 It was the annual Summer Proms at St David’s Hall, and the Roots Unearthed series staged a very special and unique Monday night concert: the mesmerising voice and songwriting of Josienne Clarke and Ben…
ELFEN: Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun Athletic Club, July 26, 2017 It’s Summer and the folk scene’s Silly Season, and most clubs go on their extended holidays and don’t start again until September – which makes it all the more remarkable that spectacular trio Elfen played to a crowded room, and Llantrisant Folk Club organisers had…
Mary Ann Kennedy is a Scottish Gaelic musician, singer, choral director, composer, radio and television presenter and music producer; she also trains and conducts Còisir Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis, the Inverness Gaelic Choir, and she used to be a founder member with the Gaelic ‘super-group’ Cliar. Both she and her musician husband Nick Turner produced her solo…