Over the past two decades acoustic guitarist and songwriter Chris Quinn has made a great name for himself in the world of folk, blues, jazz and acoustic music. His performances have been described by fellow musicians as "a masterclass in the acoustic guitar", his songs have been critically acclaimed in publications such as Acoustic Magazine and SONGLiNES and his recordings have received airplay on countless radio stations across the world including Mark Radcliffe’s benchmark show the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show.

Tobar an Dualchais / Kist O Riches (TAD) is celebrating ten years since the launch of its oral heritage website. There were 10,000 recordings available on the site when it was officially launched in Edinburgh on 8 December 2010 and this number has now risen to almost 50,000.

The 14th Gate To Southwell Festival is now set to take place in September 2021 at a beautiful new location in the nearby village of Kirklington (just outside Southwell).  Having had to cancel the 2020 festival because of the COVID pandemic, the GTSF organisers are confident that four days of folk, roots and acoustic music from the UK and all over the world will go ahead from Thursday 2nd September to Sunday 5th September.

Liam Weldon was undoubtedly one of the finest Irish singers of any generation. He was also an outstanding songwriter and a champion of the oppressed, and of the Traveller community in particular, whose influence on his singing stretched back to his Dublin childhood. Unaccountably, his singing never really received the accolades it deserved, and he remains largely forgotten since his death, 25 years ago.

Musical Traditions Records was founded more than 20 years ago, with the aim of bringing traditional music field recordings which might never achieve a commercial publication to the small audience which values it.  As reported in LT136, Rod Stradling retired from physical records in 2020, leaving the catalogue to date available as downloads only, and with no new releases planned, the label looked set for permanent closure.

Canadian based folk and roots music magazine, Penguin Eggs, has printed for the last time after nearly two decades of publication.  The 88th and last ever issue came out in December, meaning that sadly, we have one less magazine committed to promoting folk music on the scene.  We wish Roddy Campbell well in this next period of his life.

The Wilderness Yet (Rosie Hodgson, Rowan Piggott and Philippe Barnes) has released a special festive digital album entitled Turn The Year Round. Available on Bandcamp it is a collection of secular folk carols, wassails, and yule songs both old & new!

Get your hands on it at thewildernessyet.bandcamp.com

Talking Elephant has released A Midwinter Miscellany, a collection of spoken word, poems, stories and songs that celebrate the many aspects of the festive season featuring Ashely Hutchings with Becky Mills and Blair Dunlop.  Ashley has taken excerpts from a variety of literary sources to inspire new songs.  Other writings and poems are given a new treatment with music composed by Blair and Becky.  And Becky also contributes several new songs.  The annual Albion Christmas Band tour is not able to happen this year, but this recording gives something

The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) has begun a new monthly series that connects artists with archival material to inspire new art.  Louise Mulcahy, Martin Hayes, Edwina Guckian, Mary Bergin, Tony Linnane and Brían Mac Gloinn are just some of the leading instrumentalists, singers and dancers who have been commissioned to spend time engaging with collections of their choice in ITMA and to then produce something new that can be shared with the public.

When Roy Williamson died in 1990, most of his instruments were sold at auction, with a few donated to the Falconer Museum in Forres. A notable exception, the famed combolins – priceless instruments he designed and partly built himself, the folk world’s Stradivarius, perhaps – were left in the capable hands of his friend Dave Sinton.

Ewan MacColl (1915-1989) was a giant of folk music: inspirational singer, actor, activist and writer of hundreds of songs including beloved classics Dirty Old Town, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Shoals Of Herring, The Manchester Rambler and more.

The ICC Seisiúns is a collection of 14 acoustic Irish sessions filmed at The Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith which are now being screened on ICC Digital, the new online platform of The Irish Cultural Centre.  The performances are being shown every consecutive Friday over 14 weeks, and started mid-September.

Much loved English duo, Spiers & Boden, have announced that they are back together and working on new material for a launch at summer festivals in 2021 and a comeback tour in October 2021.  John Spiers and Jon Boden rocketed onto the folk scene in 2001, and after many successful years, during which they founded and fronted the band Bellowhead, they disbanded as a duo in 2014.  News of their comeback, and of a new album, will please their many fans.

from Pete Heywood on Vimeo

Rothbury Music Festival ‘frontload’ artists’ payments

Like so many events, the Rothbury Traditional Music Festival, which was due to take place in July with performances from the likes of Martin Carthy, Cathal Hayden, Northern Company, 422 and the Newcastle Kingsmen, has been cancelled. However, unlike a lot of other events, the acts and artists who were booked to play will all be offered their fee, paid in advance of the rescheduled festival, which will take place in July 2021.

New album of Doc Watson live recordings

Over the years Doc Watson has inspired countless people to pick up the guitar and learn to flatpick the old melodies of the Appalachians.  A continuing influence on music in America and beyond, a new release of some old recordings of Doc alongside his fiddling father-in-law, Gaither Carlton, has been scheduled for the end of May by Smithsonian Folkways.