Folk on Foot

Fairport Convention founder member Simon Nicol joins Matthew Bannister on stage at the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House to review a musical career lasting over 60 years. Simon talks about teaming up with Ashley Hutchings and Richard Thompson to start Fairport, tells how the band got its name from his family home and gives an emotional account of the motorway crash that killed drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklin. Then he recounts the making of the legendary album Liege and Lief and explains how the band still survives and thrives despite countless line up changes. It’s an intimate and revealing conversation with a key player in the creation of English folk rock. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about Simon and Fairport Convention at https://www.fairportconvention.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly eight years after they first appeared on Folk on Foot, that irrepressible trio The Young’Uns are back – with Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes performing songs new and old as we climb the Tesside landmark Roseberry Topping. The conversation ranges from learning to laughs – especially given David’s impeccable comic timing. We discuss the challenges of writing songs about living people, hear about the music inspired by the industrial transformation of the area and find out how David used an accordion to contact his Dad in the early hours of the morning. Join us for an uplifting day out. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about The Young'uns at https://www.theyounguns.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Re-live the musical highlights from the spectacular Folk Album of the Year Award Gala at Rochdale Town Hall, with performances from Barry Kerr, Cynefin, Edith WeUtonga, Grace Stewart-Skinner, The Gigspanner Big Band, Joshua Burnside, Peggy Seeger, Poor Creature and Spafford Campbell. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine Priddy is Matthew’s guest on this month’s show, telling the personal stories behind the songs on her beautiful new album “These Frightening Machines”. There’s also music from Mumford and Sons, Hen Ogledd, Catrin Finch, Lucy Kitchen, Hedera and Georgia Shackleton. Lucy Shields previews forthcoming album releases and gigs and Matthew reveals the next episode of Folk on Foot. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Subscribe to the Folk Forecast to explore all the gigs and album news we ran through in the show: https://thefolkforecast.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enjoy this classic episode from September 2021. Olivia Chaney wrote many of the songs for her critically acclaimed second solo album whilst living alone without electricity or mains water at her family’s remote and crumbling farmhouse on Hawnby Moor in North Yorkshire. On a hot summer’s day, she takes Matthew Bannister back across the Moor, singing and playing along the way, circled by curlews and lapwings, to share the atmospheric isolation that brought her inspiration. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about Olivia at https://www.oliviachaney.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve been trying to get Lady Maisery to walk with us on Folk on Foot for ages, so when Matthew heard they were playing a gig in the town of Petworth near where he lives in West Sussex, he invited them to join him in the spacious grounds of Petworth House. With the stately home and the Capability Brown designed landscape in the background, Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans brought harp, accordion, fiddle and banjo and added their soaring vocal harmonies. A fascinating insight into the talented musicians who make up one of our finest folk trios. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about Lady Maisery at https://www.ladymaisery.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month’s show features music from Madra Salach, Ye Vagabonds, Tessa Rose Jackson, Rant, Eliza Marshall, Seth Lakeman and Miniseries. Lucy Shields has the album and gig news and Matthew announces the next episode of Folk on Foot. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Subscribe to the Folk Forecast to explore all the gigs and album news we ran through in the show: https://thefolkforecast.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enjoy this classic episode from January 2024. The beloved baggy cloth cat Bagpuss is fifty years old in 2024. We celebrate his birthday by visiting Sandra Kerr at her home in the Northumberland village of Warkworth. Sandra co-wrote and arranged the music for the series and provided some of the voices. In her cosy music room she shows us her Bagpuss souvenirs, reflects on the show’s enduring appeal and sings one of the songs. Then, on a walk along the River Coquet, Sandra looks back to the folk revival of the 1960s, recalling working as a nanny for Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in exchange for music lessons. Finally, she’s joined by her daughter Nancy Kerr to play traditional Northumbrian dance tunes. A warm, fascinating and entertaining meeting with one of the enduring stars of the folk world. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about Sandra at https://www.sandrakerr.net/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the Brothers Gillespie and their devoted fans on a walk across the sands from the Northumberland coast to Holy Island. As we follow in the footsteps of centuries of pilgrims, the Brothers' beautiful harmonies ring out across the waves and we hear stories of Saints Cuthbert and Aiden and King Oswald’s miraculous silver encased arm. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about the Brothers Gillespie at https://thebrothersgillespie.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month’s show features music from Eliza Marshall, Quinie, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver, James Yorkston and Johanna Soderberg, Nina Nesbitt, Martyn Joseph, The New Eves and Nathan Evans and SAINT PHNX. Matthew announces the winners of tickets to the Folk Album of the Year Award Gala and Lucy Shields previews forthcoming gigs and album releases. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Subscribe to the Folk Forecast to explore all the gigs and album news we ran through in the show: https://thefolkforecast.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us on a walk around the unassuming village of Pathhead, Midlothian, just south of Edinburgh, which is home to a whole galaxy of Scottish musicians. We start with singer songwriter Karine Polwart, who takes us to meet pianist Dave Milligan and his partner the harpist Corrina Hewat. Then it’s round the corner to see singer and multi-instrumentalist Inge Thomson, her partner Martin Green (of Lau) and their son Ewen, who plays mandolin. They hand us on to bass player Tom Lyne who also creates music using the sounds of the natural world. After a walk with Tom (spotting three mad March hares along the way) we go to his home to meet his wife, the jazz singer Sophie Bancroft. A knock on the door heralds the arrival of fiddle player Amy Geddes who invites us all back to her place for a feast. Joined in Amy’s sitting room by drummer Tom Bancroft and fiddle player Jenny Gardner, the assembled group pay an emotional musical tribute to local pipe maker Nigel Richard who died last year. You will hear beautiful performances, meet some extraordinary talents and gain an insight into the true meaning of community spirit when you listen to our longest episode yet. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Alex Merry of Boss Morris, artist Ben Edge, actor Charlie Cooper, singer and naturalist Sam Lee and broadcaster and author Zakia Sewell met in the spectacular Devon countryside to decide which folk projects should receive a share of a £50,000 grant from the organic perfume company Ffern, we couldn’t resist going along. We gathered these amazing talents around a campfire for a song from Sam. Then began a wide ranging discussion about why young people are increasingly fascinated by this country’s folk music and customs and why this connection matters. (Includes vivid descriptions of The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, The Padstow 'Obby 'Oss and the Flaming Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary). --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about the Ffern Folk Guild at https://ffern.co/folk-foundation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month’s show, Matthew reveals how you can win exclusive tickets to the Folk Album of the Year Award gig at Rochdale Town Hall on March 17th. There’s also music from Kate Rusby, The Magpie Arc, Laura Cannell, St. Agnes Fountain, Skinny Lister and Michael McGovern. Lucy Shields previews Celtic Connections and brings news of the latest releases. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Subscribe to the Folk Forecast to explore all the gigs and album news we ran through in the show: https://thefolkforecast.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enjoy this classic episode from December 2022. A festive episode featuring the Wexford Carols sung by the beautiful voice of Caitriona O’Leary. The carols came out of the persecution of Catholics in Wexford in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge and Father William Devereux. Caitriona takes Matthew Bannister to the Franciscan church where Bishop Waddinge is buried and to St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy where the area’s most famous carol was collected. We also meet the retired fisherman Dixie Devereux whose father sang the carols every Christmas for 62 years – and who is now passing on the tradition to his own son. A fascinating story with gorgeous music creating an atmospheric, seasonal experience. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about The Wexford Carols at https://thewexfordcarols.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throw another log on the fire, pour yourself a cup of something hot and cheering and come with us in search of Winterfolk in West Yorkshire. With Santa hat firmly in place, we walk with Katie Spencer in Golcar, meet up with Maddie Morris on their way to a Lefty Christmas gig and end up at a gorgeous Christmas homecoming concert with O’Hooley and Tidow in “The Cathedral of the Colne Valley” - St Bartholomew’s Church, Marsden. On the way we reflect on the meaning of Christmas, spare a thought for those without family and friends at this time of year and hear seasonal songs old and new. A warm glow is guaranteed. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot --- Find out more about Katie at https://www.katiespencer.net/, Maddie at https://www.maddiemorrismusic.co.uk/ and O'Hooley & Tidow at https://ohooleyandtidow.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Turnstone is an inquisitive bird that, as it name suggests, likes to overturn stones and seaweed in its search for food. That’s how the members of the Gigspanner Big Band see their hunt for the finest traditional songs to re-arrange, burnish and present for our delight. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister, the band’s Peter Knight, Hannah Martin and John Spiers share the stores behind the songs on their Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Turnstone”- and revel in the musical chemistry which allows the band to improvise much of their free flowing music. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Keep up to date with the Folk Album of the Year Award: https://www.folkonfoot.com/award Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Our first gig together was a benefit for a greyhound” The dog loving trio who make up Irish band Poor Creature are husband and wife Ruth Clinton (of Landless) and Cormac Macdiarmada (of Lankum) - plus Cormac’s brother, Lankum’s live drummer John Dermody. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister they reveal a passion for unusual vintage synthesisers, tell how Cormac breaking his back during the pandemic lockdown inspired the sound of one of the tracks on the album and share insights into working with legendary Dublin producer John “Spud” Murphy. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Keep up to date with the Folk Album of the Year Award: https://www.folkonfoot.com/award Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in Zimbabwe - but now resident in the UK - Edith WeUtonga is known as Mama Bass - because that’s the instrument she has made her own. She’s also an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and campaigner for musicians' rights. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister, she tells how the death of her beloved grandmother inspired her to write the songs that make up her Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Varipasi”. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Keep up to date with the Folk Album of the Year Award: https://www.folkonfoot.com/award Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"My first kiss with Irene was behind some wheelie bins in Penge." As she celebrates her ninetieth birthday, the legendary Peggy Seeger unpacks her current feelings about “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - written for her by her late husband Ewan MacColl, but now also embracing her other passionate loving relationship. She revisits the song on her final album “Teleology”, nominated as one of the Folk Albums of 2025. In this special episode Peggy and her son, producer and musician Calum MacColl, tell the story behind the album as she reflects on a musical career lasting over seven decades. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Keep up to date with the Folk Album of the Year Award: https://www.folkonfoot.com/award Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An old recording of her grandfather reciting a poem in the Scots dialect of the little Black Isle fishing village where he lived inspired the clarsach (Scottish harp) player Grace Stewart-Skinner to create her Folk Album of the Year nominee “Auchies Spikking Auchie”. She mixed recordings of the dialect with her own music to create the evocative album. In this episode, she tells Matthew Bannister the story behind the album and also reflects on living with cerebral palsy - and her mixed feelings about being called “an inspiration”. --- We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either... Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot --- Keep up to date with the Folk Album of the Year Award: https://www.folkonfoot.com/award Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.