CATRIN FINCH & SECKOU KEITA: Acapela Studio, Pentyrch, April 28, 2017 They have toured in Wales, the United Kingdom, Europe and all the world over, clinching the fRoots Album Of The Year award for Clychau Dibon and being nominated as Best Duo and Best Traditional Track in the Radio 2 Folk Awards; international harpist Catrin…
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Live Reviews, News
Nancy’s special style has the fans calling for more
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NANCY KERR & THE SWEET VISITOR BAND: Roots Unearthed, Lefel 3, St David’s Hall, April 25, 2017 Nancy Kerr is a visionary songwriter and an exciting, effervescent fiddle musician, who is the proud possessor of a mesmerising voice. She is the daughter of London-born singer-songwriter Sandra Kerr and Northumbrian piper Ron Elliott, and she inherited…
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Welsh shanties will cross the Atlantic once again, thanks to £63,000 Arts and Humanities Research Council grant
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A new project to incorporate a pivotal collection – which includes 50 shanties and forebitters of the South Wales tall-ship sailors, thought to be long-lost for 50 years – into the world’s largest online searchable database of folk songs and music has been announced. The digitised collection of James Madison Carpenter, which has previously only…
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Máire and Chris serve up sheer gold of the highest quality
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MÁIRE NÍ CHATHASAIGH & CHRIS NEWMAN: Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club, March 15, 2017 One of my greatest regrets was that I missed a rare appearance of the The Casey Sisters at this year’s The Gathering Irish traditional festival in Killarney; circumstances conspired against us, and we remained in South Wales while Máire,…
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Gigspanner: an amazing unique concert to relish and remember
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PETER KNIGHT’S GIGSPANNER: Rumney Folk Club, March 17, 2017 Peter Knight is an absolutely phenomenal player on the violin. For all these years, Peter and the successful, storming Steeleye Span were inseparably linked; but since he left Steeleye six years ago, Peter has dreamed of leading a compact trio which could explore and experiment with…
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Porthcawl celebration is just sheer Celtic magic
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CWLWM CELTAIDD: Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl, March 9-12, 2017: The good folk of Porthcawl didn’t know what had hit them; packed away in the Grand Pavilion, a flood of wonderful Celtic Magic bubbled, steamed and roared, and dancers and musicians from Wales, Cornwall, The Isle Of Man, Ireland and Scotland played, partied and delivered such jaw-dropping,…
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Jim and his box squeeze out a canny proud tradition
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JIM BAINBRIDGE: Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club, March 8, 2017 Jim has been travelling all through his long life, far and wide; from the Marsden Folk Club in the Tyneside town of South Shields, where he was a member of The Marsden Rattlers ceilidh band, to Kent, West Cork in Ireland (where he…
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Tornish: beautiful scenery, wonderful gig
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TORNISH: Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun, February 22, 2017 Tornish are Yorkshire-born flute and whistle player Tim Orrell and Gwen Màiri Yorke, who plays the clàrsach and pedal harp; she was bought up in Scotland by a Welsh mother and a Scottish father and now lives in Glasgow, making her living by playing for classical orchestras.…
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Celtic magicians steal the show by fiddling up a storm
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THE CELTIC FIDDLE FESTIVAL: Roots Unearthed, Lefel 3 Lounge, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, February 21, 2017 The Celtic Fiddle Festival were celebrating 25 years of performing together with a special tour, and the Lefel 3 Lounge was crowded out with eager punters all hoping to see and hear the latest fireworks – and they were…
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Connla: Irish whiz-kids are building a giant reputation
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CONNLA: Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl, February 16, 2017 Connla, according to Northern Irish mythology, was a giant warrior, the son of the Ulster champion Cú Chulainn and the Scottish warrior woman Aife. On his return to Ulster, Cú Chulainn put three geasa on his little boy, and in order to fulfil these he must not turn back,…