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Wilson & Swarbrick - John The Gun - Lion Rampant - Shirty Records
Lisa Knapp - Hidden Seam - Hidden Seam - Navigator Records
Steeleye Span - Wintersmith - Wintersmith - Park Records
Bruce & Walker - Mary Button - born to rottenrow - Greentrax Recordings
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas - Howard Booster's Style - Abundance - Culburnie Records
Jacquelyn Hynes - The Cuckoo - Silver and Wood - Hobgoblin Records
Wilson & Swarbrick w. Martin Carthy & John Kirkpatrick - Lads-A-Bunchum Medley - Lion Rampant - Shirty Records
Lisa Knapp - Seagiver - Hidden Seam - Navigator Records
Steeleye Span - The Summer Lady - Wintersmith - Park Records
Bruce & Walker - Lucie's Song - born to rottenrow - Greentrax Recordings
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas - Hot Club d'Eccosse - Abundance - Culburnie Records
Jacquelyn Hynes - Roscommon Reel~Darby's Farewell To London - Silver and Wood - Hobgoblin Records
Lee Murdock - Eddystone Light - Between Two worlds - Depot Recordings
Elder British statesman fiddler/mandolinist Dave Swarbrick (Fairport, Whippersnapper, Carthy & Swarbrick) teams up with Canadian two-time Juno-Awards nominee and Canadian Reggae Music Award winner Dr. Jason Wilson from Downsville Ontario to explore the relationship of Scottish and Irish rebel music, which arrived in Jamaica at roughly the same time as mento and ska's slavery-borne African roots, and their under-recognized role in the evolution of reggae. The cast includes cameos from musical icons including Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Pee Wee Ellis( 60's era James Brown Band) and Gerry Donahue (Fairport Convention, Fotheringay) - magic stuff;
Lisa Knapp - Triple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards-nominee ( Best Singer, Best Album and Best Original Song categories) and subsequent winner of Best Original Song Award, former rave/hip-hop fan who accidently discovered Fairport, Steeleye Span, Shirley Collins and The Waterboys, dug out her old violin from her childhood and began attending her local folk club in Balham, south London, and then immersed herself in the London-Irish session scene before attending a residential course run by the excellent Chris Wood which rekindled her English trad roots. In 2007 she released the mainly English Trad 'Wild And Undaunted' under the guidance of her husband Irish multi-instrumentalist, co-producer and engineer Gerry Diver (Sin E) to general enthusiasm further bolstered by live performances which saw her fronting a trio and switching effortlessly from fiddle, to banjo and autoharp. Folk music that will appeal to the younger generation while satisfying the grey beards and aged former flower children is quite remarkable indeed!
Steeleye Span - another band of rightly acknowledged elder statesmen (and stateswoman!) who have taken a Terry Pratchett Tiffany Aching comic fantasy story and written a concept album (their 22nd studio album!),in collaboration with Pratchett, of fine songs and muscular playing displaying the heavier potential of the current 6 person lineup with soaring guitar soloes, speaker-vibrating bass and drum and Peter Knight's glorous fiddle ... crowned by Maddy Prior's aging-beautifully vocals, and not forgetting the excellent vocals of Julian Littman. Doubtless to attract new fans from the Sci-Fantasy world with this release, the heavier sound may send aforementioned grey-beards and aged flower children into apoplexy, which will be their sad loss as this album will endure equally well with the passage of time alongside their more acoustic benchmark albums;
Bruce & Walker - recently reformed former duo of well known Scottish singer/songwriters mark the occasion with the release of a brand new album of new songs, with contributions from each individually and 7 co-writes, and an accompanying DVD (PAL system only so be sure you have a universal player to enjoy this!)) of a concert before an invited audience of friends featuring songs from their older repertoire including Bruce's 'Blodwen's Dream' and Walker's 'Hawks And Eagles'. Accompanied by a stellar cast of session musicians on bass, electric guitar, piano, fiddle, accordion and percussion to which Bruce and Walker collectively add acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and autoharp;
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas: wonderously talented duo featuring Scotsman Fraser on wee fiddle and Juilliard trained Haas on big fiddle (Cello) who globe trot the world promoting Scottish music tradition of violin/cello dance music. With Fraser adept in various Scottish musical forms, Haas brings a vast knowledge of classical music in addition to being accomplished in a broad array of fiddle genres having spent time in Mark O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz Trio, and appeared on albums by American-Irish supergroup Solas and Canadian fiddler extraordinaire Natalie McMaster;
Jacquelyn Hynes - debut Cd from globe-trotting folk flautist, multi-instrumentalist and composer Jacquelyn Hynes, MA graduate of University of Limerick's Irish World Academy in 2010, whose CV includes time with 30 theatre companies, as actor, musician, and composer, and performances with or in support of a Who's Who of Irish musicians including Donal Lunny, Lunasa, Mary Coughlan Martin Hayes, and Michael McGoldrick. CD producers include the aforemention Gerry Diver and Brian Despard and the center-piece of the album must be the 9 minute 'She Moved Through The Fair'with its improvised one-take flute line representing the young bride flying across the lake and through the fair. Accompanied by a solid band of support musicians including J. Eoin on vocals and guitar, Eoin O'Neill on bouzouki, Gerry Diver on bodhran, Quentin Cooper on banjo, Yvonne Casey on fiddle and stringed instrument maestro Stuart Hall on Kemence, 'Ud and Dobro; brilliant!;
Lee Murdock: Illinois-based mellifluous singer/songwriter and adroit instrumentalist with a passion for songs about the Great Lakes region and the story-songs of the ships and sailors who have sailed these freshwater highways across the centuries; equally adept in ragtime, Irish trad, and blues, story-teller Lee Murdock will be in concert with Little Rock Folk Club on Sat April 5th 2014
mail: albion@kuar.org
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