Folk to rock to psych to thrash – a journey of experience July 14, 2008
Over the years, folk artists have added many flavours to folk music and each addition of essence has gained as many fans as haters. The folk traditi... [MORE]

Folk is just another ‘F’ word June 12, 2008
Forget parliamentary debate about performing rights or how many people can sing in a pub before you need more licences than the DVLA, or comments fr... [MORE]

‘Live folk music is dead’ June 11, 2008
Well if it is then there’s a plague of zombies trundling round the UK playing at clubs and festivals, and doing great impressions of being ali... [MORE]

Morris on and on - English folk dance June 06, 2008
“It’s impossible to discuss English folk without making some reference to folk dance and if you’re going to start anywhere try the morris.” I heard ... [MORE]

More life and less cash – true probably, unfortunate definitely. May 12, 2008
Folk music has always drawn on what musicians see around them. The ‘stuff’ of life is the ‘stuff’ of folk music. Invariably, that means fo... [MORE]

Folk in the year 3000..... April 23, 2008
Today’s folk musicians fall into a greater number of writing camps than ever before. The wealth of musical influences that travel, communication and... [MORE]

Fear and argument in the pub ... April 21, 2008
A few nights ago I found myself on the edge of a discussion based on the seemingly misplaced fear the growth of ‘new folk’ is eroding the old-style o... [MORE]

Folk resurgent and revived - again. And so the wheel goes round. March 21, 2008
Folk resurgent and revived - again. And so the wheel goes round. Seemingly, now we are in the 'oughties' (what a hideous expression) ... [MORE]

Music - victim of fad and fashion March 04, 2008
Music is as much a victim of fad and fashion as almost everything else. Much of it follows the desire to create a minute of fame for no specific r... [MORE]

...'the sea shanty isn’t folk music' February 07, 2008
“No, no the sea shanty isn’t folk music. It’s a distinct music drawn from the sea. It has little or nothing to do with folk music. Any more than the... [MORE]

Tradition is good - for without it where would ‘new’ be? January 11, 2008
Despite the best efforts of the media to mock the genre there remains great power and strength in English traditional folk music. Admittedly En... [MORE]

Ethnic, roots or world - or just folk? January 10, 2008
The copy that follows is an extract from a chapter that discusses the changing face of music definition with direct reference to the 'roots' and 'wo... [MORE]

How hard is music? January 10, 2008
That’s a question worth asking. It’s also worth asking musicians with strong and clear views to contribute some answers. Not necessarily definitiv... [MORE]

Song writers and song writing - folk or not December 20, 2007
Ask a musician what makes them write and you open an interesting debate. The answers are rarely similar and often enlightening. There are those wh... [MORE]

Consider psych-folk ... November 25, 2007
Arguably (don’t start a chapter with ‘arguably’ it sets an argumentative tone), there is a need in some circles to classify bands out of folk music ... [MORE]

‘More marketing then talent’ ... November 18, 2007
‘More marketing then talent’ – now who holds that view?  I heard recently the rise of young, ‘trendy’ folk performers is the triumph of... [MORE]

The resistable rise of 'celebrity' November 15, 2007
When 'celebrity' singers and bands become the measure The age of the ‘celebrity singer’ has a lot to answer for. One accusation it has to face... [MORE]

Just a thought ... November 05, 2007
There are those who argue that traditional folk and new folk should never come together. This is despite the fact they’re different branches of the ... [MORE]

A tribe losing its head? November 01, 2007
Tribalism in music is unavoidable. Today we live in a tribalised society. Instincts that found form with Mods and Rockers, evolved into Hippies, Ski... [MORE]

Regionalised or networked? October 12, 2007
Regionalised or networked? Apparently there are two distinct roots to folk music. The first is social commentary (storytelling) on the human ... [MORE]

“It’s the definitions, it’s the definitions.” October 09, 2007
Somewhat like Victor Hugo’s hunchback driven insane by the bells, the debate about folk music definitions keeps ringing in my ears. And like the no... [MORE]

Afraid or too embarrased to speak? September 15, 2007
 Is there fear and embarrassment in the English folk tradition? Talking to songwriters, singers and bands to gain their views on where ... [MORE]

Interesting little observation from a close friend. August 22, 2007
Folk is ‘society-driven’ music but do the people who are part and parcel of it react in a society-driven way? Are they running out of step with the ... [MORE]

Folk resurgent - or not? August 06, 2007
Currently, I’m told, this country is experiencing a folk music revival. I think it’s more accurate to say that  we are experiencing a folk resu... [MORE]

‘Folk music is such a vague term’ July 18, 2007
‘Folk music is such a vague term’ - that’s an opening remark that’s bound to make you sit up and listen. That’s how several recent interviews starte... [MORE]

"Are folk songs manufactured or do they just happen?" July 05, 2007
Good question. People write songs for many complicated muddy messy reasons. Many folk songs are profound, meaningful, narrative songs, analytical, ref... [MORE]

Folk or pop - take your choice May 07, 2007
Does traditional music have any 'meaning' or is it really as vague as modern pop and is 'pop' nothing more than candyfloss?   The answer is ye... [MORE]

A view from a hill April 03, 2007
An observation from an occasional series   Discussion and definition   Ask a hundred people to define folk music and you’re likely to ... [MORE]

Finding a place in the heap March 21, 2007
The top people performing in the wider arena ‘folk music’ are the tip of an iceberg – beneath the surface is a morass of bands and singers who form ... [MORE]

‘Cool folk’ – looking for the ‘cool-factor’ in folk March 06, 2007
“Let’s face it folk music isn't cool.” Despite the temptation to shrug off that remark I decided to consider the possibility that ‘cool-folk’ may ... [MORE]

Beware the definition - or not? February 20, 2007
When people put definitions on music and become religious about those definitions they tend to lose the essence of the music and become a tribe with... [MORE]

Folk music what's it all about? February 02, 2007
How often do I hear: "It's just that finger in the earhole style with some old beardy in a flowery waistcoat droning on." Actually, no it bloody well ... [MORE]