“Modest people, playing gorgeous music, speaking articulately about areas they love. Fabulously calming” – one listener’s description of this multi-award-winning podcast in which Matthew Bannister goes walking with top folk musicians in the landscapes that have inspired them. “A restorative breathing space in sound” – The Telegraph. “Immaculately produced” – The Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Information presents Modest Conversations hosted by Sam Lessin, who writes the site's regular 'Modest Conversations' column. Modest Conversations are short conversations with interesting people about technology, culture, politics, and whatever else strikes our fancy.
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Welcome to Every Quarter: The Voice of Andover, the official podcast of Phillips Academy. EQ is the place to meet thinkers, leaders, doers and makers who are grappling, changing, forging and upending. Since 1778, campus has been a haven for dialogue between interesting and influential students, faculty, alumni and visitors. And now EQ brings those conversations to you every month. Think of EQ as short reflections to inform the curious who believe -- to borrow the words of Andover’s founder, ...
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The Anglo-Irish band Ranagri take us for a walk on the farm that gave them their name. The family of guitarist and singer Dónal Rogers have worked this land in County Carlow since the 1600s. His Mum, Lena, still lives there and tells stories of growing up in the three room thatched farm house she shared with her mother and ten siblings. There was n…
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Official Folk Albums Chart Show—6th August 2024
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This month’s show features music from Rachel Sermanni, Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds, Sam Lee, Kinghfishr, Linda Thompson and Fink. Lucy Shields has all the latest festival, gig and album news. --- 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: pa…
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Melissa Harrison & Laura Cannell in Suffolk
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On a beautiful day in May the novelist, nature writer and podcaster Melissa Harrison and the composer and multi instrumentalist Laura Cannell take us for a walk in the glorious Suffolk countryside. Laura plays a recorder duet with a nightingale, Melissa reads from her acclaimed novel “All Among The Barley” - appropriately enough in a field of ripen…
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Frankie Archer in Consett (and other parts of County Durham)
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Frankie Archer brings traditional folk tunes rushing into the 21st Century. The singer, fiddle player and electronics wizard made an acclaimed appearance on Later With Jools Holland, who described her music as “astonishing”. In this episode, Frankie takes Matthew for a walk in Consett and the surrounding countryside, pausing to set up her loop peda…
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Our wettest episode ever features the wonderful duo Megson (Stu and Debs Hanna) walking, talking and playing along the River Tees between Stockton and Middlesborough. This is where Stu and Debs grew up, began making music and fell in love. Their powerful songs tell vivid stories about the industrial heritage of the area through the eyes of the peop…
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Jackie Oates with John Spiers on the Thames Path at Wallingford
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The singer and fiddle player Jackie Oates is joined by the squeezebox maestro John Spiers for a walk along the mighty River Thames in Oxfordshire. Between a song or two from the lace making industry, and a gorgeous “Lament To The Moon” Jackie talks about her passion for folk song and her recent training as a music therapist which took her into a ho…
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Bonus Episode: The Outdoors Fix with Matthew Bannister
37:36
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A chance to hear one of our favourite podcasts: The Outdoors Fix, presented by hiker and journalist Liv Bolton and featuring an interview with Matthew Bannister. Liv’s aim is to inspire you to get outside and make the outdoors a bigger part of your life. An idea which – as you know – we’re very much in favour of. Normally the Outdoors Fix is record…
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The trans pipe and fiddle player Malin Lewis grew up on a magical island off the West coast of Scotland. There were no roads or cars and their family were the only permanent residents. Home schooled till the age of seven, Malin had an idyllic childhood roaming the forests, building dens and splashing in the shallows on the white sand beaches. In th…
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Bonus Episode: Joe Boyd and John Wood in conversation at Cecil Sharp House
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53:16
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Joe Boyd and John Wood were the producer and sound engineer behind some of the greatest folk rock albums of the 1960s and 70s. They worked with Pink Floyd on their first single Arnold Layne, with Fairport Convention on Unhalfbricking and Liege and Lief and with Nick Drake on Five Leaves Left, Bryter Later and Pink Moon. John produced John Martyn’s …
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Come with us to the glorious Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland to meet the band TRÚ. Taking their name from a mythological trio of poet-musicians from ancient Ulster, Zach Trouton, Dónal Kearney and Michael Mormecha combine Irish nationalist, Ulster-Scots and British-Ukrainian heritages, crossing boundaries which have often divided Northern I…
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Sandra Kerr (and Nancy Kerr) in Warkworth
59:36
59:36
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The beloved baggy cloth cat Bagpuss is fifty years old in 2024. We celebrate his birthday by visiting Sandra Kerr at her home in the Northumberland village of Warkworth. Sandra co-wrote and arranged the music for the series and provided some of the voices. In her cosy music room she shows us her Bagpuss souvenirs, reflects on the show’s enduring ap…
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The Plygain Carols with Gwilym Bowen Rhys, Owen Shiers and the singers of Mallwyd
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This year’s seasonal episode takes us to the village of Mallwyd in mid Wales to join the ancient tradition of the plygain carols. On a dark, cold night, local people gather in the warm and welcoming St Tydecho’s Church to sing Welsh language carols which have been handed down through successive generations of their families. They’re joined by Gwily…
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Come to “The Edge of the Land” with the wonderful singer, songwriter and guitarist Katie Spencer. She was born and brought up in East Yorkshire. In this episode she takes us to one of her favourite places: Spurn Point, a narrow spit of land that stretches three miles out into the sea. As we head for the lighthouse at the end, she sings some of her …
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Jon Wilks is singlehandedly bringing folk music to a wider audience, through his excellent TradFolk website and Old Songs Podcast and of course by singing and playing the music itself. In this episode, he takes us for a walk around the stomping grounds of his youth in the centre of Birmingham, sharing his fascinating insights into the history of mu…
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When the Scottish Burmese sound artist Fiona Soe Paing discovered that one of her ancestors was a traditional singer, she resolved to make a contemporary electronic album reflecting the music and folk tales of her home county of Aberdeenshire. On this walk up Bennachie and then along the coast, she sings some of the songs on the very spot where the…
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On August 4th 2023, Folk on Foot host Matthew Bannister set off on his biggest walk yet. Over two weeks, he covered 186 miles from Wickham Festival in Hampshire to Folk East in Suffolk, raising thousands of pounds for the charity Help Musicians. Every evening he was met (in a pub, of course), by some of the folk world’s finest musicians. This bonus…
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On 4th August 2023, Folk on Foot host Matthew Bannister set off on his biggest walk yet: from Wickham Festival in Hampshire to Folk East in Suffolk. Over two weeks, he covered 186 miles, took 465,137 steps and raised thousands of pounds for the charity Help Musicians. Each evening, he was joined in the pub by some of the folk world’s finest musicia…
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Johnny Campbell & Mikey Kenney on Whernside
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This is our highest ever episode. We climbed to the top of Yorkshire’s tallest peak - Whernside - with the singer/songwriter Johnny Campbell and the fiddle player Mikey Kenney to help Johnny record a track for his forthcoming album “True North”. He’s recording each track at the summit of one of the highest peaks in the North of England. Along the w…
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Angeline Morrison in North Cornwall
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Angeline Morrison’s “The Sorrow Songs - Folk Songs of Black British Experience” was one of the most significant albums of recent times. On this walk near her home in North Cornwall, Angeline talks about her deep love for traditional music and her determination to chronicle in song the experiences of black Britons through history. By the grave of th…
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James Yorkston and Nina Persson in Tentsmuir Forest
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The Fife based singer/songwriter James Yorkston and the Cardigans lead singer Nina Persson teamed up with the Swedish Second Hand Orchestra to make the gorgeous album “The Great White Sea Eagle”. On this atmospheric walk through Tentsmuir Forest on the Scottish coast just north of St Andrews, James explains why he comes to the forest to find calm a…
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Katherine Priddy at Alvechurch & Tanworth in Arden
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Katherine Priddy grew up in the village of Alvechurch in the West Midlands, writing songs as a teenager which eventually ended up on her beautiful debut album “The Eternal Rocks Beneath”. On a walk in the nearby countryside, she sings two of them before we move on to Tanworth in Arden where Nick Drake is buried. Katherine is part of a stellar line …
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Amy-Jane Beer and Cynefin along the River Clettwr
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Why do rivers play such a vital role in our lives, culture and folklore? In this glorious episode, the nature writer Amy-Jane Beer, author of “The Flow”, joins the Welsh singer and songwriter Owen Shiers (also known as Cynefin) on a walk up the beautiful River Clettwr in Ceredigion. There are songs and stories aplenty and even a game of Pooh sticks…
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Freedom To Roam is a music and multi-media project dreamed up by the flautist Eliza Marshall as a response to many of the pressing issues facing us right now. On this walk climbing the glorious Malvern Hills she is joined by Catrin Finch (harp), Andrew Morgan (percussion) Donal Rogers (piano, guitar and more) and Jackie Shave (violin) to share the …
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Maddy Prior and Rose-Ellen Kemp at Stones Barn in Cumbria
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“The snow it is lying on Bewcastle Fell And the wind strips the skin from my face. The bare bones of a tree give some shelter to me But still it’s a draughty old place.” Come to “the least populated area of the least populated county in England” and take shelter from the elements in the warm welcome of Stones Barn where Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span…
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The Wexford Carols with Caitriona O’Leary
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58:04
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A festive episode featuring the Wexford Carols sung by the beautiful voice of Caitriona O’Leary. The carols came out of the persecution of Catholics in Wexford in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge and Father William Devereux. Caitriona takes Matthew Bannister to the Franciscan church where Bishop Wadd…
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Come for a wild, wet and windy walk on the beach at Aberdaron on the Llyn peninsula in Wales with the singer and songwriter Gwilym Bowen Rhys. Then join us in the local church where Gwilym demonstrates his musical versatility, accompanying himself on the guitar, fiddle, harmonica and organ and throwing in a whistling solo for good measure. He sings…
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What is the multi-award-winning Folk on Foot all about? The Telegraph calls it “a restorative breathing space in sound”. In this sampler, host Matthew Bannister shares beautiful extracts from episodes featuring Karine Polwart on Fala Moor, Eliza Carthy and family at Robin Hood’s Bay, Jenny Sturgeon in Shetland, Richard Thompson in Muswell Hill, Dun…
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The Dance of the Commons at the Englefield Estate
52:11
52:11
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On a hot August day, scores of walkers in weird, wacky and wonderful costumes inspired by old English traditions, accompanied by morris dancers and musicians, set off to stage a peaceful and joyful mass trespass. Led by Herne the Hunter (Book of Trespass author Nick Hayes) and singer Sam Lee, they targeted the Englefield Estate near Reading, thousa…
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Bonus Episode: Maddy Prior and Peter Knight in conversation at Cecil Sharp House
48:57
48:57
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Singer Maddy Prior and violinist Peter Knight were at the heart of the success of folk rock pioneers Steeleye Span. In this candid interview with Matthew Bannister on stage at the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House, they recall the heady days of rock n roll excess during the 1970s and movingly describe the role of music in their lives. Pe…
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Fay Hield at the Soundpost Weekend in Dungworth
1:07:23
1:07:23
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The singer, songwriter and academic Fay Hield invites us to a Soundpost Singing Weekend in the village of Dungworth on the outskirts of Sheffield. Guests include Sean Cooney of the Young’uns and Rowan Rheingans who wrote special songs for the event. But mostly we walk in the surrounding countryside with Fay and her dog, hearing her sing, learning a…
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The Musical Village of Pathhead, Midlothian
1:30:46
1:30:46
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Join us on a walk around the unassuming village of Pathhead, Midlothian, just south of Edinburgh, which is home to a whole galaxy of Scottish musicians. We start with singer songwriter Karine Polwart, who takes us to meet pianist Dave Milligan and his partner the harpist Corrina Hewat. Then it’s round the corner to see singer and multi-instrumental…
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“My city, my people, my heart” – Jamie Webster loves his home city of Liverpool – and Liverpool loves Jamie Webster. The young singer and songwriter started out performing chants for fans of Liverpool FC, which led to a gig in front of 60,000 at the Champions League Final and a meeting with manager Jurgen Klopp. Now his songs of working-class life …
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Raynor Winn and the Gigspanner Big Band on the South West Coast Path
1:06:00
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Raynor Winn’s best-selling book “The Salt Path” tells how she and her husband Moth became homeless just as he was diagnosed with a terminal neuro-degenerative disease. Despite this, they set off to walk the 630 challenging miles of the South West Coast Path. The redemptive story of their dogged determination, loving relationship and close connectio…
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Grace Petrie sometimes introduces herself on stage as “a socialist, feminist, lesbian protest singer”. Her acutely observed songs range from political and passionate to personal and profound. She’s also been known to turn her hand to comedy. In this walk through her home city of Leicester she tells Matthew Bannister about her childhood and musical …
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The drummer Johnny Kalsi (The Dhol Foundation, Transglobal Underground, Afro Celt Sound System, Imagined Village) takes us for a walk round Southall - an area of West London known as “Little India”. We visit a Sikh temple, marvel at the sumptuous fabrics and glittering jewellery in the bridal shops on the High Street and drop in to his favourite re…
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Maurice Henderson & Ewen Thomson on Shetland
55:37
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We’re back on the glorious Shetland Isles for this episode and who better to show us around than the renowned local fiddle player Maurice Henderson (of Fiddlers Bid) and his friend the luthier and guitarist from Fair Isle Ewen Thomson? After Ewen demonstrates how to make a great violin, they take us to the beach where they tell folk tales, play tra…
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Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show 2021
1:34:29
1:34:29
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Join us for a very special show streamed live from Cecil Sharp House. The show looks back at the highlights of 2021, the very first full year of The Official Folk Albums Chart. Hosted by Matthew Bannister with guest co-host Kitty Macfarlane, the show features live performances and interviews with artists that have featured in the chart over the pas…
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Kathryn Tickell & her Dad by the River Rede
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52:36
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“He said you could pluck songs out of the air - pluck them out of the air - and sing them bonny”. The great Northumbrian pipe player Kathryn Tickell describes the River Rede near her home as the backdrop and soundscape to her life. On its bank, she is joined by her Dad Mike to perform music, songs and stories inspired by the beautiful county where …
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The acclaimed singer and songwriter Declan O’Rourke takes us for a scenic walk near his home in the beautiful fishing village of Kinvara on the west coast of Ireland, singing songs inspired by the area as he goes. Declan’s grandfather, an artist, was born and brought up in Kinvara. On our walk, Declan reflects on his first performance at an open mi…
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The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Jessie Summerhayes in the Rosedale Valley
58:43
58:43
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In the shadow of the disused ironstone kilns of the Rosedale Valley in North Yorkshire, Ciderhouse Rebellion - fiddle player Adam Summerhayes and accordionist Murray Grainger - conjure up a soundscape of rare beauty - improvised on the spot. Then they add evocative poetry from Adam’s daughter Jessie to create, in words and music, a picture of the h…
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A Bronze Age site on Dartmoor, six musical instruments, a feather, harmonica-enhanced beatboxing, a stone that is said to increase fertility, a fast flowing river, a baby and a caring grandmother - all ingredients of a wonderful walk with the award-winning duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin). --- Access exclusive films of Edgelarks perf…
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Olivia Chaney at the House on Hawnby Moor
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Olivia Chaney wrote many of the songs for her critically acclaimed second solo album whilst living alone without electricity or mains water at her family’s remote and crumbling farmhouse on Hawnby Moor in North Yorkshire. On a hot summer’s day, she takes Matthew Bannister back across the Moor, singing and playing along the way, circled by curlews a…
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Robert Macfarlane & Johnny Flynn at Wandlebury
1:09:28
1:09:28
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Question: What do you get when you go walking with the nature writer Robert Macfarlane and the actor and musician Johnny Flynn on a scorching hot summer's day in Wandlebury? Answer: A Neolithic track, an Iron Age fort, a Roman road, a holm oak, cow pats, a mighty avenue of sun-dappled beech, a buzzard, a grasshopper orchestra, a dragonfly, the stor…
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The singer, songwriter and artist Jenny Sturgeon has made her home on Shetland, a group of wild and wonderful islands in the North Atlantic. Her latest album “The Living Mountain” was inspired by the classic book about the Cairngorms by Nan Shepherd. On our atmospheric walk, with seabirds calling and waves crashing, Jenny reflects on finding inspir…
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The wonderful English fiddle player Sam Sweeney has been a key member of Bellowhead, Leveret, Eliza Carthy’s Wayward Band and many other collaborations. He’s also made two acclaimed solo albums. He takes us up to the top of Swift’s Hill, where he plays the tune of the same name. Along the way he tells stories of his hero Dave Swarbrick, his unfinis…
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Jim Ghedi (and Friends) in Crookes and the Moss Valley
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A finger style guitarist with a uniquely impassioned vocal style, Jim Ghedi was born and brought up in the Crookes area of Sheffield. He takes Matthew Bannister to his Nan and Grandad’s terraced house where he heard a lot of Irish music as a child. Jim rejected folk music at first, but found his way back to it as a teenager. Now he’s steeped in the…
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The singer, fiddle, guitar and ukulele player Germa Adan was born in Haiti, grew up in Florida and now lives in the UK. She says the RSPB reserve in the Sandwell Valley has been her place of calm during the lockdowns – where she goes to contemplate and recharge. Germa is a rising star on the folk scene with a beguiling and original style. --- Acces…
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The multi talented musician, producer and lover of the natural world Cosmo Sheldrake takes Matthew Bannister for a walk in the wood near his home in Hampshire. As well as creating electronic music from the song of endangered bird species and the sounds of deep sea creatures, he demonstrates his skill as a beat boxer, Mongolian overtone chanter and …
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Festival of LOVE: The Original Songs
1:43:05
1:43:05
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23 amazing folk acts each performing an original love song for the Folk on Foot Festival of LOVE on Valentine’s Day 2021, featuring Heidi Talbot: Easter Snow; Seth Lakeman: The White Hare; Lady Nade: Sweet Honey Bee; Kris Drever: When We Roll In The Morning; O’Hooley and Tidow: Blanket; Chris Wood: The Sweetness Game; Nancy Kerr and James Fagan: Se…
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Festival of LOVE: The Traditional Songs
1:51:50
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23 amazing folk acts each performing a traditional love song for the Folk on Foot Festival of LOVE on Valentine’s Day 2021, featuring Nancy Kerr and James Fagan: The Streams of Lovely Nancy: Heidi Talbot: The Blackest Crow; Seth Lakeman: Portrait of My Wife; Lady Nade: Good Looking/Hank Williams; Kris Drever: Westlin’ Winds; O’Hooley and Tidow: Lul…
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