Spring’s upon us, so WHO’S IN THE MOOD FOR SOME DANCING?

Have at ye!

And have at ye some more!

And while, we’re about it… have at ye from a backstage angle!

And now… breathe.

Parish news

We missed this last week because we were too busy with our monthly #fRootsLive thingumyjig, but we’ve checked and you’re not too late to accept Richard Thompson‘s invite to his 70th birthday party. Go on, go on, go on, go on…

Have you seen that Fishermen’s Friends movie yet? Can’t get enough of folkies on the big screen? You won’t want to miss out on this, then…

Speaking of people making films, there’s a lovely new video from John Smith, all shiny, polished and eager to promote his gorgeous album, Hummingbird. You’ve heard the album, right? If you haven’t, you really ought to go and sit back under your rock and have a long hard think about what you’ve not done.

Still in the mood for dancing? Topette will see you shortly…

Still in the mood for watching? Billy Bragg will see you now.

Who’s releasin’ 

Bella Hardy, Ben Walker and Sam Carter?! All in one studio at the same time? Something’s definitely brewing…

That new Stick in the Wheel album of field recordings is so close we can almost touch it (it’s out on Friday). Great pics continue to emerge on their Instagram channel, including this one of Rachel Unthank getting stuck into ‘The Sandgate Dandling Song’.

If you’re interested in keeping up with the snippets dropping from that SITW compilation, there’s a rapidly growing playlist on their Youtube page. Have a look right here.

There’s also exciting news from Will Pound, who is definitely not making a Brexit album, but is very definitely making an album that celebrates the folk music of the EU. If his Morris album of recent years is anything to go by, he’s not a man who does things by halves. Expect a fascinating collection.

7 days on the road 

Catching the ears and the attention this week, Josie & Pablo still have a few gigs left on their Spring tour for you to catch, including Suffolk (tonight; Sunday), Stockton-on-Tees (Monday), Montrose (Thursday), Inverewe (Friday) and Isle of Lewis (Saturday).

You’ll find The Drystones this week in Burnham-On-Sea (Thursday), Black Dog (Friday), Abergavenny (Saturday) and Bude (Sunday; a week today).

If you’re at a loose end in Swansea this coming Friday night, you might bump into Martin Carthy. Why not go to his gig, too, seeing as you’re in the area?

Jim Moray is out for a few gigs this week with his trio. Try them out for size in London (Wednesday) and Liverpool (Friday).

Sam Carter is on in Sheffield on Wednesday night. Grab your chance if you can… he’ll not be on the road again until May.

The Askew Sisters continue their tour this week in Fareham (Tuesday), South Molton (Wednesday), Calstock (Thursday) and Bristol (Friday). Their album is released on the 24th at Cecil Sharp House… just a heads-up incase you want to snatch up remaining tickets.

The Askew Sisters gig on Friday in Bristol looks especially good as it’ll include an outing for Nick Hart, whose new album has been creeping out early over the last week. It’s a corker. He’ll be doing more gigs in the coming months.

Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar are at Ellesmere Port‘s Easter Boat Gathering on Friday. They’ll be gigging rather than sailing, but we’re sure they’ll have a lovely time nonetheless.

Moore Moss Rutter step back into the fray this week, taking in Jersey (Saturday) and Watchet (Sunday; a week today), and other lucky towns the following week. We’ll be sure to follow them again next week.

You can grab yourself a ticket to see Gilmore & Roberts this week, as they’ll be playing Hitchin (tonight; Sunday), Colchester (Monday), Kirkham (Wednesday) and Birmingham (Sunday; a week today).

Fare thee well 

This week we mark the passing on Miles Wootton, who lived and taught in Brighton. Our condolences to his friends and family.

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.