To mark today’s important centenary, we’ll begin this week’s post by removing our flat caps and taking a listen to this incredibly moving recording of ‘Home Lad, Home’, performed by Belshazzar’s Feast. No words extra required. We’ll see you in a few moments.
While we’re on the subject of the Armistice, BBC 2 Radio 2 will be broadcasting a very special programme this evening at 8pm. ‘Ballads of the Great War’ will feature John McCusker, Billy Bragg, John Tams and many others from the folk community.
Ballads of the Great War is on @BBCRadio2 at 8 tonight – Michael Morpurgo & The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with Greg Lawson – Myself &@ShawDonald play with @BarbaraDickson & @billybragg https://t.co/yNG6we2RjD
— John McCusker (@johnmccusker) November 9, 2018
Parish Notices
Looking now to the future, pray silence, please. The irrepressible Ms Carthy has a summertastic announcement to make…
Right then! #Normafest news! There will be no Winter festival this year. However the good folks at @MusicportFest & ourselves have banded together to create this beauty here, celebrating the fabulous occasion of Mam’s 80th birthday. Whoa Nellie! Get the date in your diaries! 🐘🏰 pic.twitter.com/AC8ZEPiO91
— Eliza Carthy MBE (@elizacarthy) November 8, 2018
And there are more of those festival notices popping up elsewhere, too…
After a successful event this week London Folk Festival returns again on Saturday 7th September 2019 with a very full line up of music, workshops, singarounds and more – tickets now available along with details on our website https://t.co/dUTKRcEluA pic.twitter.com/Pnaf3crgDY
— London Folk Festival (@Ldnfolkfestival) September 3, 2018
Meanwhile, apparently unsatisfied with Ye Olde Americana, His Royal Bobness has been taking on the Godfather of Soul. Clicking on the big black box and striving forth until at least the first chorus will be well worth your time.
Imagine if Bob Dylan had decided to end his gig last night with a James Brown cover. And imagine if he'd absolutely nailed it.
What a guy. https://t.co/sFOuRXDfBl
— Tim Chipping (@timchipping) November 8, 2018
Just in case you missed this (originally posted late last Sunday), here’s the latest edition of fRoots Radio. Have a read about it by following this link here. Alternatively, strap on your ear goggles and get to listening below.
There’s always something worth watchin’ when Dust-to-Digital comes a-Tweetin’. Here are “two sisters in love with music”, Dueto Dos Rosas.
Dueto Dos Rosas describes themselves as “Two sisters in love with music. Proudly indigenous Oaxaca, born in California.” pic.twitter.com/TCq6KgTyX5
— Dust-to-Digital (@dusttodigital) November 11, 2018
Over on Instagram, there are Topic Records 2019 calendars on sale. These are being published, in part, to mark the 80th anniversary of the world’s oldest independent record label. For anyone hoping and praying that they might find a 1960s Watersons wig in their stocking this Christmas morning, this is surely the next best thing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp9ZZ6qFPLM/
Christmas can be a tough time on the wallet, what with all those fRoots subscriptions to buy for your friends and family. So it’s a jolly good thing when two wonderful groups get together for a combined tour. One to watch out for this Chrimble: Lady Maisery are hitting the road with Jimmy & Sid, bringing the Christmas spirit to all corners of the country, including Ashby De-La-Zouch.
*Christmas Tour!* We'll be back on the road before the year is out for 9 special shows in collaboration with the wonderful @JimmyASidG. A whole new repotoire of old songs and new songs to galvanise the spirit in the darkest season. Tickets from our website! Jolly jolly. 🎄🎄🎄 pic.twitter.com/UD9tLy3dxw
— Lady Maisery (@LadyMaisery) October 14, 2018
For a full on carolathon, click through to Youtube and clock the full list of tour dates for Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. They’ll be taking Christmas to new (but also quite early) levels from December 2nd.
Finally, at 1.18am this morning, John Spiers took to Twitter to share this unquestionably important tidbit of information. We think your life would be better off knowing this, rather than stumbling forward, fumbling about in the darkness of ignorance. You’re welcome.
I've just learned that one of the earliest recorded English working class surnames was "Golden-Bollocks" … Humphrey Golden-Bollocks no less! You should all listen to https://t.co/6uro0KlU5q if you want to be similarly informed about things as important as this!
— John Spiers (@squeezyjohn) November 11, 2018
Who’s releasin’?
FATHOMS is out today!! 🎉🍾 order your copy and come see us on the road https://t.co/X70LaEwjEy pic.twitter.com/faWPV6rwep
— Furrow Collective (@TheFurrowC) November 9, 2018
Out in the last couple of days was Fathoms by The Furrow Collective. You can order a copy by clicking here.
A week in Cromarty and @brichaimbeul’s album is recorded. With @Raydeepeet, Rona Lightfoot and @glowormrec @RiverLeaRecords pic.twitter.com/jhY8HghaXS
— Aidan O'Rourke (@obanfiddle) October 4, 2018
Skye piper, Brìghde Chaimbeul, was in the studio last month. This week she announced that her album, The Reeling, will be out on River Lea Records on January 18th, 2019. You can stream or download one of her previous recordings by clicking here.
7 days on the road
Who’s out on tour this week? Wander along to any one of these gigs for a right rollickin’ folksome time.
Chris Wood is out and about in the very near future. You can catch him in Glasgow tonight, Edinburgh (Monday), Middlesborough (Tuesday), Lancaster (Wednesday), Bury (Friday) and Leeds (Saturday).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqCKLIpF6OQ/
Faustus (photographed this morning, remembering the unremembered) are in Kendal (Friday) and Stratford-Upon-Avon (Saturday). Their tour runs right up until the 30th.
The Furrow Collective continue their Fathoms tour in Lincoln (tonight) and London (Monday), before taking a break until the weekend, when they pick things up again on Saturday in South Petherton.
Martin Carthy gets back in the saddle this week, heading to Sutton House in London on Thursday, before picking things up again on Sunday in Nottingham. He’ll then be touring fairly solidly into mid-December.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9gs–nfQP/
Hard-working Rosie Hood continues her late-autumn jaunt with gigs in Coventry (tonight) and Topsham (Sunday). The tour runs right through until November 30th.
Fare thee well
This week, our thoughts were with the friends and family of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, who left us all too soon at the age of 67.
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.