Folk on Foot

Matthew’s guest this month is the great Martin Simpson who is celebrating 50 years since the release of his first album with a brilliant new one called “Some Kind of Jubilee”. There’s also music from Richard Thompson, Stornoway, The Wran, Lady Nade, Izzie Walsh, Sairie and Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith. Lucy Shields has the album release and gig news and Matthew reveals the legendary performer who will be joining him on Folk on Foot’s 100th walk. ---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/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot

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.---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/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at folkonfoot.comFollow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot

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.---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: https://www.patreon.com/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: https://www.ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at https://www.folkonfoot.com/Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot

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.---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: https://www.patreon.com/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: https://www.ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at https://www.folkonfoot.com/Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Stornoway at https://www.stornowayband.com/

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.---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: https://www.patreon.com/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: https://www.ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at https://www.folkonfoot.com/Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Jenn at https://www.jennbutterworth.co.uk/

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.---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/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Rob at https://robcowen.net/Find out more about Johnny at https://johnny-flynn.com/

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.---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/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Joshua at https://joshuaburnside.bandcamp.com/

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.---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/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Guy at https://guyhayward.com/

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/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Simon and Fairport Convention at https://www.fairportconvention.comCover photo by Alan Blundell