Folk on Foot

Enjoy this classic episode from November 2018.

Seth Lakeman is the Mercury Music Prize nominated singer, fiddle player and guitarist who will forever be associated with Dartmoor. He grew up in the village of Buckland Monachorum with his two brothers Sean and Sam who are also key players on the folk scene. In this episode Seth takes Matthew to the village church to re-create his 2004 recording “Cape Clear”, to the local school to sing “An Educated Man” and to the hills above the Burrator Reservoir where he performs “Kitty Jay”, “The White Hare” and “The Courier”. Along the way he reflects on sibling rivalry, the myths and legends of Dartmoor and his experiences of touring the world with the former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant.

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Suntou Susso, the griot and kora player from Gambia, now lives in Devon. On a glorious sunny day he takes Matthew for a walk through the beautiful gardens at Dartington Hall, explaining that this place often inspires him to compose new music. Suntou talks about the griot tradition handed down from generation to generation of his family, demonstrates how to play the West African harp - the kora - and sings his uplifting songs against the backdrop of flowers, trees, birds and insects. We also hear about the extraordinary history of Dartington Hall - set up as an experimental arts and crafts centre by one of the world’s richest women.

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This month’s show features music from Spell Songs, The Mary Wallopers, Elanor Moss, Rusty Shackle, Gilroy Mere, Colin Stetson and Brighde Chaimbeul, Andy Irvine and Blind Yeo. Lucy Shields previews forthcoming album releases and live music and Matthew Bannister reveals the next episode of Folk on Foot.

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Enjoy this classic episode from October 2019.

For twelve years, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nancy Kerr lived on a narrow boat, travelling the length and breadth of England’s inland waterways. As she walks on the towpath with Matthew Bannister, she tells how the experience inspired many of her songs – and performs two of them: “Queen of Waters” and “Tiller Song”. Nancy explains that folk music was part of her upbringing, with her mother Sandra Kerr a well-known performer and her father a Northumbrian pipe player. Did she ever fall in to the canal? “Yes, about once a month!”

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Join us on a spectacular walk with the band Stornoway in the glorious Gower Peninsula. Lead singer Brian Briggs is an ornithologist who - when he’s not touring with the band - works in a nature reserve in this beautiful area of South Wales. He guides us through woodland rich in bird life to a salt marsh and then on to the beach. Along the way, Brian, Jon and Oli’s voices blend seamlessly as they perform unique acoustic versions of their nature-inspired songs.

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Come for a wild and windy walk in the Scottish borders with the brilliant guitarist Jenn Butterworth. We visit the remote farmhouse where she grew up, the pub where she worked as a teenager, the otter statue commemorating Gavin Maxwell and the ancient archaeological site which dates back to 397 AD and the founding of Scotland’s earliest Christian community. There’s time for plenty of music - both traditional and original.

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Find out more about Jenn at https://www.jennbutterworth.co.uk/

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We’re going back to Neolithic times with the award winning author Rob Cowen (“Common Ground” and “North Road”) and his friend the actor and singer Johnny Flynn. For two thousand years the Thornborough Henges in what is now Yorkshire were used as ceremonial spaces and later became Bronze Age burial grounds. As we walk through these enormous circular monuments, Rob explains why he’s fascinated by their history and Johnny sings songs of burial and deep time. The pair reflect on their approach to creativity and shared passion for music.

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Find out more about Rob at https://robcowen.net/

Find out more about Johnny at https://johnny-flynn.com/

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Folk Album of the Year nominee Joshua Burnside takes us for a walk near his home in East Belfast, singing songs from his latest album “It’s Not Going To Be OK” along the way. He talks movingly about his friend Dean Jendoubi’s death from a drugs overdose - which inspired the album - and also about growing up in a divided city. We end up admiring the dramatic statues of characters from Narnia in C.S. Lewis Square and walking down the Bloomfield Road, as Joshua sings his song “Ghost of the Bloomfield Road” - which captures his reaction to becoming a Dad.

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Find out more about Joshua at https://joshuaburnside.bandcamp.com/

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We’re in Sherwood Forest on the trail of Robin Hood in the company of Guy Hayward, founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust and former Cambridge choral scholar. As we head to the Major Oak and beyond, Guy shares many theories about the Robin Hood legends, sings ballads about his adventures and extols the joys of pilgrimage. He even dives into a river in search of Robin Hood’s cave.

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Find out more about Guy at https://guyhayward.com/

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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.

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Find out more about Simon and Fairport Convention at https://www.fairportconvention.com

Cover photo by Alan Blundell

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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 Teesside 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.

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Find out more about The Young'uns at https://www.theyounguns.co.uk/

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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.

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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.

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Find out more about Lady Maisery at https://www.ladymaisery.com/

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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.

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Find out more about the Brothers Gillespie at https://thebrothersgillespie.com/

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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).

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Find out more about the Ffern Folk Guild at https://ffern.co/folk-foundation

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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.

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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/

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Dressed in costumes fashioned from vintage tea towels, the dancers of Boss Morris take us to Rodborough Common near their base in Stroud to walk and dance, accompanied by musicians Rob Harbron, Miranda Rutter and Sam Sweeney. This is where Boss go to mark the different seasons of the year. They introduce us to their own increasingly popular ritual “Finger In The Spring”, reflect on their distinctive aesthetic, explain their love of the ancient dances and tell how they are taking Morris to previously unimaginable places and audiences.

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Rob, Miranda and Sam have recorded an album of Boss Morris tunes. Find out more here: https://www.bossmorris.com/new-page-1

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Celebrate the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness as The Wilderness Yet take us for an Autumnal musical walk across Iping Common near Midhurst in West Sussex. Singer Rosie Hodgson grew up near here and played on the Common as a child. She’s joined by fiddle player Rowan Piggott and guitarist Philippe Barnes to perform contemporary and traditional songs inspired by Autumn. Along the way we admire the spectacular colours of this glorious landscape, hear how folk music threaded its way through the band members’ childhoods and how their music is inspired by a deep love of nature.

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Find out more about The Wilderness Yet at https://www.thewildernessyet.com/

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The latest album from Welsh triple harpist Cerys Hafana is called “Angel”. It’s inspired by the story of an old man who goes for a walk in the forest and hears an angel singing so beautifully it makes him fall asleep for three hundred and fifty years. That’s almost what happened to me on our glorious summer walk with Cerys near Corris Uchaf in mid Wales. We stumbled across a strange concrete replica of an Italian village, found the remains of disused mines and sat by tumbling streams to experience the subtle beauty of their singing and playing.

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Find out more about Cerys at https://ceryshafana.com

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Former Trembling Bells bandmates Alex Rex and Lavinia Blackwall take us first to Govan Old Church in Glasgow to see ancient Viking burial stones - and sing in unaccompanied harmony in the glorious acoustic. Then its off to the hutting community at Carbeth in the countryside outside the city where residents lovingly decorate their wooden homes. Alex shows us the hut he’s curating in memory of his younger brother Alastair who sadly died, while Lavinia introduces us to her partner in life and music Marco Rea as they perform songs from her new album in her hut. A fascinating and poignant insight into the lives and inspiration of two creative spirits.

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Find out more about Alex at https://alexrex.bandcamp.com/ and Lavinia at https://laviniablackwall.bandcamp.com/

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