Newsletter No 227 - May 2021
Hello all, I hope you're all keeping well, as always. And a happy May Day to you all!
As usual I'll list all the regular streaming stuff at the end: I keep an eye on most of it, but it's possible that some online performances have been discontinued for whatever reason, but there's plenty going on out there: more and more as time goes on.
REVIEWS.
CD Review Jon Boden - Last Mile Home (Hudson Records)
Jon has an impeccable track record over the last couple of decades, as a solo artist, in a duo with John Spiers, with Bellowhead and his own band the Remnant Kings.
His latest album is the final part of a trilogy of post-climate change albums and contains 12 self-penned songs. Describing a journey from moor to coast, the album has a strong acoustic feel with most of the instruments played by Jon himself.
Production is excellent, as would be expected from from Andy Bell, and overall the high standard of Jon’s recent albums is maintained and indeed, some may say, surpassed.
Standout tracks include Dream of the Ocean, Lay My Body Down and Come Out Wherever You Are; but all 12 tracks fit comfortably into the general feel and theme of the album.
Well worth a listen - Last Mile Home is available to stream and download through the usual channels and the CD can be purchased from Jon’s website - jonboden.com or Hudson Records
Neil Etherington
Duncan McFarlane's Tune a Day marathon
Duncan's ‘Tune a Day’ series on Facebook which has been going since March 20th 2020, three days before the first UK lockdown is still worth checking out. It's an amazing achievement. Whilst it was initially aimed at being short term, he’s now well past 300+ songs (currently there’s 100+ Trad songs, 100+ Contemporary songs and almost 100 of his own compositions) ...mostly Folk, but with some surprises! The series can be found at https://www.facebook.com/duncan.mcfarlane.79 and the entire series is now also on YouTube as a Playlist. Subscribing is free and that gives easier navigable access to the whole lot at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi2SK01Utl3JSlUzufJNSa6flCwcTostB
Tim Moon is running the following folk programmes:
Folk Us on Mondays 9 – 10 pm 106.6 FM and net etc
Coast and County Radio on Tuesdays 8pm – 10 pm 96.7FM and net etc
THE TOPIC IN CYBERSPACE
There are two Topic Facebook concerts this month:
Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne Thursday 13th May 8 pm
Mockingbirds Thursday 27th May 8 pm
See the attachments for details.
TOPIC YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Here is the link if you wish to access the channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1S_4ASeMXzo2RnYqGn4jw
A reminder about Roger Sutcliffe's Zoom singers and Musicians Nights from his part of the world for anyone who would like to join in. They take place on a Tuesday:
Here is the link: info@cuttywrenfolkclub.com. and the website is https://www.cuttywrenfolkclub.com/.
OTHER ONLINE STUFF
Dougie McLean does a series of online concerts, some free, some longer ones for which you have to book and pay to watch. He has lots of website/contact pages which you can find by googling him, but this one seems to give most of the info about these concerts: https://www.facebook.com/ButterstoneTV
Pete Coe's club - Ryburn Folk Club, https://www.ryburn3step.org.uk/. Not sure what's coming up, but bound to be something good. To find out email ryburn3step@gmail.com. or phone 01422 823099.
There's the usual regular stuff going on online: NB some artists may be taking a rest from regular streaming, but by following the links you can usually watch past sessions.
Kath Reade, singer songwriter, has been using lockdown as an opportunity to broadcast her songs live on Facebook and they have been getting thousands of views.
Kath has a facebook page, Kath Reade's Songs, so all her songs can be found in one place.
Skinner & T'witch, a Leeds-based duo who have been to the Topic on a singers and musicians night, have a facebook page which is well worth visiting, they have different stuff going on regularly, eg "Pick & Mix" sessions with some well-known performers, and what they call "Garden Sessions", plus lots of other stuff.
The Grove Folk Club is running sessions every Friday on their group Facebook page at folkatthegrove. The club has contacted me to say anybody is welcome to send in a video to take part, see the fb page for details.
Karen Pfeiffer & Paul Walker continue to do a regular afternoon spot on Fridays at 4pm.
https://www.paulwalkermusic.co.uk/
Honey & The Bear bring their excellent music every Sunday evening at 7.30 pm https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/
Winter Wilson's "Live from the Lounge" every Thursday, 8.15 pm, see their facebook page.
Check out The Live Room Saltaire - https://theliveroom.info/ who have had to suspend their live concerts but are continuing to stream some excellent shows. Lots going on there. Big news is that in May and June they will be starting to present socially distanced live concerts, so check them out on their website.
HEART (Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre) in Leeds has been closed for the duration of the latest restrictions, but keep an eye on their website https://www.heartcentre.org.uk/, there's sure to be something as soon as circumstances permit.
Phil Snell, a frequent visitor to the Topic over past years, has made a selection of lockdown videos: tunes and songs "in an attempt to cheer folk up". You can check them out on:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcNdcfcxVq8-9b6aF0aAYsG8KmBqBeBbn
Other News:
The Folk Forecast advertises all sorts of folky stuff going on (with some big names) which you might find very useful, self explanatory of you follow this link:
https://thefolkforecast.substack.com/people/17173534-the-folk-forecast. Thanks to Graham Smout for the info.
It covers the current week, if you subscribe they will send you details each Monday.
Take care and best wishes to everybody.
Tony Charnock
Topic Folk Club
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