England, Durham & Cumbria

Before we leave Northumberland we pop into the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to meet the Andy May Trio.  They formed in 2015 as a colloboration of 3 accomplished musicians, Northumbrian piper Andy May, guitarist Ian Stephenson and fiddler Sophie Ball.  They only have one album to their name so far called About Time (I reckon it's about time they record another...), which is a collection of traditional tunes.  This tune, Cuckold Came Out of the Amrey, features on that album:

The Northeast of England is of course historically famous for its coal mines and it is from this tradition that The Pitman Poets come from.   This is a collaboration of 4 musicians from Northumberland and Durham who get together whenever their individual busy schedules allow in Newcastle.  Their albums are only available in CD form directly from their website.  This song, Black Leg Mining Man, features on their Live album:

One of the quartet above, Jez Lowe, was practically born in a coal mine in the village of Easington Colliery in County Durham.  He is one of the busiest folk musicians in the country and has a huge back catalogue of recordings.  Many of his songs have been covered by the likes of Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Unthanks and others.  Apart from collaborating with the Pitman Poets he has his own band The Bad Pennies featuring amongst others Andy May.  He also wrote a song which gave the above collaboration its name, The Pitman Poets, which features on his 2014 album The Ballad Beyond: 

The young, mostly accapello trio appropriately named The Young'Uns hail from Stockton-on-Tees.  This is a song from their 2015 album Another Man's Ground called You Won't Find Me on Benefit Street:

Next we are heading west to the Lake District in the County Cumbria.  Here we meet singer-songwriter Maz O'Connor for something a bit more contemporary. From her latest album, Chosen Daughter, a tribute to the feminine, this song is called Cordelia: 

So much for today.  Stay safe in your homes.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on tripline.  

England, Northumberland

Leaving Scotland the first county in England we encounter in the far northeast is Northumberland.  Kathryn Tickell was actually born in Walsall in the Midlands, but her parents were from Northumberland and the family moved back there when she was 7.  This is what the Guardian writes about her:

" No one has evoked the landscape and traditions of Northumbria more affectingly than Kathryn Tickell; a champion of the Northumbrian pipes, she is steeped in the songs and mythology of the north-east."

With a huge back catalogue of recordings, including many collaborations, amongst others with Sting and the Penguin Café Orchestra, it is difficult to choose just one song.  This traditional tune, Lads of Alnwick, features on her 1999 album The Gathering:

And talking about Alnwick, The High Level Ranters combined their name from the location of the Bridge Folk Club at the north end of High Level Bridge in Newcastle Where they all played and the Cheviot Ranters, a famous Northumberland dance band from the Alnwick area.  They've been going since 1964 and this song, Byker Hill, from their 1968 album Northumberland Forever has nothing to do with a popular 90's children's TV show I believe. 

At the heart of The Unthanks are sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, who were born in Ryton, Northumberland.  They were previously known as Rachel Unset and the Winterset, and their first album under their new name in 2009, Here's The Tender Coming, won the Guardian Folk album of the year award.  This is a song from this album, The Testimony of Patience Kershaw:

Another family affair is the Brothers Gillespie, consisting of James and Sam Gillespie, who grew up in the village of Wall near Hexham.  They combine beautiful harmonic singing with multi-instrumentalism, performing both traditional songs as well as their own material.  At times they have something of Simon & Garfunkel feel to them.  This song, The Twa Corbies, is from their 2015 album Songs from the Outlands:

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting from Wallsend in Northumberland wasn't only the lead singer of New Wave band The Police, but later dabbled with a number of musical styles during his solo career including folk.  As a general rule I'm not a massive fan of his music, but I do like the 2013 album The Last Ship, which was inspired by a play about the demise of the British shipbuilding industry.  This song from said album is The Ballad of the Great Eastern:

So much from Northumberland.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on tripline.