England - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

I had forgotten to make a stop in Leeds, where 1970's folk rock band Mr. Fox started out from.  Initially they were billed as the new Fairport Convention, but after a few mediocre live performances and some personal differences, they only lasted 2 years until 1972, producing just 2 albums during that time.  The two albums were later re-released together as Join Us in Our Game.  Here are a couple of tracks from this album.  First Leaving the Dales with some photos I took a few years ago hiking around the Yorkshire Dales:

The next one is them singing about a different part of the country, Salisbury Plain:

Even earlier family band The Watersons burst onto the scene in Hull (East Riding of Yorkshire) in the mid 1960's.  They performed on and off until 2009 covering mostly traditional material in a capello.  Most of their most popular songs were published on their 2004 album For Pence and Spicy Ale.  This song, The Good Old Way, features on that album:

Moving on to Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire, where Folk singer, guitarist and banjo player Martin Simpson hails from although he has since absconded to the USA.  In his long and prolific career he has been nominated for and won numerous awards including best folk album of the year in 2008 for his album Prodigal Son.  This is a song from this album called Never Any Good:

Apart from many solo albums Martin Simpson has also participated in many collaborations including with his long-term wife Jessica Radcliffe, originally from Los Angeles, and Lisa Ekstrom.  They recorded 2 albums for the summer and winter solstices.  Whilst we are closer now to the summer solstice, this is a track from their 2000 winter solstice Album Beautiful Darkness.  It's called Give Me the Moon:

Another collaboration was with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr, both great folk musicians in their own right, with whom he recorded the 2015 album Murmurs. This is an instrumental track from that album called Seven Years:

That's it for today.  Next up we explore the Midlands of England.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.

England - West and South Yorkshire

Moving onto the Holme Valley, where traditional Folk singer and bouzouki player Jack Rutter grew up.  He's relatively new on the scene, but is already making waves with his beautiful interpretations of traditional material rooted in his native Yorkshire.  Here's a song from his 2019 album Gold of Scar & Shale called The Lancashire Liar:

Folk singer Kate Rusby is sometimes known as the nightingale of Barnsley. This is the title track from her 2016 album Life in a Paper Boat:

Ian King is a dry-stone waller from Barnsley who describes himself as a punk at heart.  As far as I know he has only released the one album, Panic Grass and Feverfew, in 2010.  It's a blend of folk, rock, reggae and blues and works really well.  Since it is St. George's Day, England's national saint, here is his song By George plus other extracts from his album and an interview with him:

Moving onto Sheffield, where Fay Hield is a university lecturer for music.  She has both recorded solo as well as bringing to life exciting folk music projects such as The Full English.  This is from her 2010 album Looking Glass called The Shepherd's Daughter, showing off her beautiful voice:

Fay's project, The Full English brings together some big luminaries of the folk scene including Seth Lakeman, Martin Simpson and Nancy Kerr.  This is a song from their one album so far from 2013, called Arthur O'Bradley:

Also proudly from Sheffield are folk group The Melrose Quartet, who are very much rooted in the traditions of Yorkshire.  Staying on the St. George's Day theme, the opening track from their 2014 album Fifty Verses is called Santa Georgia:

Still in Sheffield, we meet singer-songwriter Nat Johnson.  Here's a song from her 2014 album Neighbour of the Year called I Can't See You:

Finally I can't leave Sheffield without visiting my friends Laura Stewart and Conor Nott who form the duo Salt Pinchers.  They came to stay with us in Portaferry about 3 years ago and we had a great few days together playing music, drinking wine and having fun.  They left a CD with us of their album Songs to Save a Beard.  This is a track from it called Stardust and Energy:

That's it for today.  Happy St. George's Day, even though the English don't really celebrate their patron saint, I tend to mark the day by making dandelion flower wine.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on my tripline map.

England - Lancashire & North Yorkshire

Moving on south we arrive in Lancashire.  Legendary folk singer, indeed royalty in the folk scene, Maddy Prior was born in Blackpool, before moving south and forming a duo together with Tim Hart before becoming the lead singer of Steeleye Span in 1969.  Here is a song after my own heart (Bring Us in Good Ale) from her 1971 album Summer Solstice with Tim Hart, Which was re-released in 2006:

Moving onto a completely different style of music, but staying in Blackpool, where virtuoso percussive guitarist Jon Gomm was born.  I saw him live a couple of years ago at the annual Newtownards Guitar Festival and was blown away by what that guy can do with an acoustic guitar, playing a tune and simultaneously using the body of the instrument as percussion.  He very much shuns the mainstream music industry, instead publishes his own material and tours independent venues.  In 2012 he did score a hit when his video of Passionflower went viral.  It can be found on his album Secrets Nobody Keeps:

The first half of folk duo Laura Smyth and Ted Kemp comes from the Pendle District of Lancashire (the other half is from East Anglia) and they sing songs inspired by their respective regions.  They have attracted praise by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame, himself a Lancashire man:

“Good straight ahead, proper job folk duo like what they made in the 1970s - sound and look like an escapee from Trailer. No silly folkist mannerisms, and not twee… worth investigating.” Ian Anderson

Here's a Lancashire song from their 2017 debut album The Poacher's Fate called There's a Tavern:

Yorkshire is almost a country by itself consisting of the counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire.  We begin our journey in York in North Yorkshire, where folk rock band Blackbeard's Tea Party hail from.  Here is a live tune from their 2011 album Tomorrow We Will Be Sober called Moonshiner:

That' it for today.  Next up we explore the rest of Yorkshire.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.