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.

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.  

Scotland,The Southeast

Before leaving Edinburgh we hook up with fiddler Aly Bain and accordion player Phil Cunningham.  Aly is actually from Lerwick on the Shetland islands.  The duo recorded some 8 albums between 1995 and 2012, but the highlights are captured on their 2004 Best of album.  Here's a good tune by them including a lengthy and hilarious introduction.  

Just south of Edinburgh we stop in the small village of Penicuick in Midlothian, where folk singer Siobhan Miller was born.  This is the song that goes with the title of this blog, The Rambling Rover from her 2017 album Strata:

Moving south we enter the Scottish Borders region where Dr. Lori Watson hails from.  She actually has a doctorate in Artistic Research in Scottish Music, which I think is mighty impressive!  She has also recorded numerous albums as well as lecturing at Edinburgh university. She is considered an authority on contemporary traditional music practices in Scotland.  I think this song from her latest album Yarrow Acoustic Sessions demonstrates that point.  The song is called Yarrow (A Charm) and here's me showing off some yarrow, a magical healing plant:

Finally before we leave Scotland we encounter Songs of Separation, a collaboration of 10 female musicians from both Scotland and England including some we have already met such as Karine Polwart and others we are yet to meet in England such as Eliza Carthy and Rowan Rheingans amongst others.  They actually met up on the Isle of Eigg in 2015 to explore the similarities and differences between the folk traditions of Scotland and England.  This is their story:

And this is the opening track of the resulting album, Echo Mocks the Corncrake:

That concludes our tour of Scotland, next up we'll be exploring the music of England.  As usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.

Scotland, Edinburgh

Before we head into the bright lights of Edinburgh we take a wee detour to the small Stirlingshire village of Banknock, where singer-songwriter Karine Polwart is from.  Many of her songs deal with social and political issues, from alcoholism and modern parenthood to genocide and Donald Trump's corporate megalomania.  Here's a set from the npr tiny desk series.  Two of the songs she plays here are featured on her 2018 Laws of Motion album:

And another little detour takes us to Buckhaven in Fife, where Janet Russell was born.  She was active on the Scottish folk scene during the 1980's.  She recorded just one beautiful album together with Christine Kydd in 1988, from which this following song is from.  It's a Robert Burns song called The Deil's Awa wi' th'exciseman, The devil is away with the excise man.  Of course famously the great bard himself was an excise man sniffing out illegal whisky stills in the wild Scottish countryside.

Karine Polwart was also a founding member of Edinburgh based band Malinky, but she left them in 2005. Here's a live performance of their song The Broomfield Hill, which features on their 2008 album Flower and Iron:

Edinburgh band Silly Wizard were active from 1970 onward.  Sadly key members of the group have died since then, including lead singer Andy Stewart.  Here they are in action with the song Donald McGillavry, which features on their 2002 Live Again album:

Alison Kinnaird is not only an excellent glass sculptor, she also is an accomplished player of the small Scottish harp known as the clarsach.  Here's a tune from her 2008 album The Harp Key called The Kid on the Mountain:

Finally we meet the legendary Waterboys.  Although the members hail from all over the UK and Ireland, they launched in Edinburgh and Mike Scott, the only constant member of the band since their inception in 1983, was born and bred here.  This is a live version of their classic Fisherman's Blues from the 1988 album of the same name.

As usual, you can follow my virtual trip on this link.