Happy day to all you folk mothers/muthas out there! We hope you have a lovely one. In honour, we took down our copy of The English Year, by St Steven of Roud, and flicked it open to page 81 wherein we discovered that people in this country were “going a-mothering” as early as 1644. Most commonly they’d do so with a simnel cake. Should you wish to get involved in the tried and tested way, here’s a folksie recipe to keep you busy. All your photos, as proof in the pudding, to our Instagram, Facebook or Twitter pages, if you please.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of “time of the year”, Squeezy John Spiers would like you to feel their pain.


Parish notices 

Now then. Who’s out and about and doing stuff? A brief scan of the folk Twitterati suggests that Benji Kirkpatrick is… OK? Confused? Vaguely lost? Delete as appropriate.

Those wild folks down Bampton way are the subject of a BBC inquest: “What can save the male Morris dancer from extinction?” We shared a clip on our Facebook channel earlier this week (see below), but it’s already available in full on BBC iPlayer. Click here to watch the whole thing.

There’s some great footage from this week’s Africa Express, the Damon Albarn-driven extravaganza that brings the next generation of African and World Music to random spots across the country. This week, Leytonstone (including a surprise performance from Albarn’s previous band, as filmed by our very own Tim Chipping).

Next week will be the first Sunday of the month, so please remember to join in our monthly #FrootsLive event. Stick it in your calendar, and check below for how it works.


Who’s releasin’

Yer man, Thom Ashworth, one of our favourite new folk blokes, is the proud father of a lovely new album. We gave it five stars in the latest edition of the magazine. You can get your ears around it now.

Also out this week, this piece of loveliness from Marry Waterson and Emily Barker. Also featuring the wonderful talents of Lukas DrinkwaterAdem and Rob Pemberton. All yours!

Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening have themselves a fine new album out this coming week, known as Hollowbone. In honour of said release, here’s a video of the band in a car wash.

Congrats to the Askew Sisters, who have succeeded in crowdfunding their new album to the full amount required. Can’t wait to hear it!

We’re been following the progress of Jim Moray‘s new album across all his socials for the last few months. If you’re on his emailing list you’ll know now that pre-orders are about to start, and that the album is titled The Outlander. In the meantime, this mystical little video has recently started to appear…


7 days on the road

…which brings us rather neatly to this week’s list of gigs.

Mr Moray himself will be out and about, as suggested in the above Instagram post. You’ll catch him in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Friday, followed by Gateshead on Sunday (a week today), with more gigs to follow later in April.

Jimmy & Sid (AKA Aldridge & Goldsmith) will be on the road this week, and you can have a peak at them in Cambridge (Tuesday), London (Wednesday), Evesham (Thursday), Northwich (Friday), Huddersfield (Saturday) and elsewhere and beyond.

Mairearad Green & Anna Massie are out on the road this week, taking in Inverness (Thursday), Strathdon (Friday), and New Galloway (Sunday; a week today). There are plenty more gigs where they came from, too, stretching throughout April.

Continuing their spring tour this week, you’ll find The Askew Sisters in Dartford (Tuesday), Bedford (Thursday), Durham (Friday)York (Saturday) and Bury (Sunday; a week today).

O’Hooley & Tidow are in Guildford (Friday), Deal (Saturday) and Hitchin (Sunday; a week today), as well as plenty of other spots throughout April. And while we’re on the subject of these two, congrats from us for the news on becoming three!

You’ll find Jackie Oates in Preston this week. Keep an eye open for her on Wednesday. She’ll be about!

You’ll also find Greg Russell having a bit of a one-off in Goole this Thursday, all down the Tom Pudding. Lovely stuff.


Fare thee well 

It’s with great sadness that we said a fond farewell this week to Issa Cissokho of Orchestra Baobab. Click ‘see more’ to read details on his life written by Jenny Cathcart.


Remember, if you like what we’re doing and you want to support our ongoing dedication to all of this fine music, please consider taking out an fRoots subscription, or perhaps even making a donation. You can also click whenever it says “pre-order here” and we’ll get a little kickback from Amazon. It really does make a difference. We thank you.