Folk on Foot

The Young’Uns at Roseberry Topping

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Nearly eight years after they first appeared on Folk on Foot, that irrepressible trio The Young’Uns are back – with Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes performing songs new and old as we climb the Teesside landmark Roseberry Topping. The conversation ranges from learning to laughs – especially given David’s impeccable comic timing. We discuss the challenges of writing songs about living people, hear about the music inspired by the industrial transformation of the area and find out how David used an accordion to contact his Dad in the early hours of the morning. Join us for an uplifting day out.

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Find out more about The Young'uns at https://www.theyounguns.co.uk/

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Folk Album of the Year Award Gala: Highlights

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Re-live the musical highlights from the spectacular Folk Album of the Year Award Gala at Rochdale Town Hall, with performances from Barry Kerr, Cynefin, Edith WeUtonga, Grace Stewart-Skinner, The Gigspanner Big Band, Joshua Burnside, Peggy Seeger, Poor Creature and Spafford Campbell.

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Official Folk Albums Chart Show—7th April 2026

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Katherine Priddy is Matthew’s guest on this month’s show, telling the personal stories behind the songs on her beautiful new album “These Frightening Machines”. There’s also music from Mumford and Sons, Hen Ogledd, Catrin Finch, Lucy Kitchen, Hedera and Georgia Shackleton. Lucy Shields previews forthcoming album releases and gigs and Matthew reveals the next episode of Folk on Foot.

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Subscribe to the Folk Forecast to explore all the gigs and album news we ran through in the show: https://thefolkforecast.substack.com/

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Folk on Foot Classic: Olivia Chaney at the House on Hawnby Moor

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Enjoy this classic episode from September 2021.

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 and lapwings, to share the atmospheric isolation that brought her inspiration.

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Find out more about Olivia at https://www.oliviachaney.com/

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Lady Maisery in Petworth Park

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

We’ve been trying to get Lady Maisery to walk with us on Folk on Foot for ages, so when Matthew heard they were playing a gig in the town of Petworth near where he lives in West Sussex, he invited them to join him in the spacious grounds of Petworth House. With the stately home and the Capability Brown designed landscape in the background, Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans brought harp, accordion, fiddle and banjo and added their soaring vocal harmonies. A fascinating insight into the talented musicians who make up one of our finest folk trios.

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Find out more about Lady Maisery at https://www.ladymaisery.com/

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The Brothers Gillespie walking to Holy Island

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Join the Brothers Gillespie and their devoted fans on a walk across the sands from the Northumberland coast to Holy Island. As we follow in the footsteps of centuries of pilgrims, the Brothers' beautiful harmonies ring out across the waves and we hear stories of Saints Cuthbert and Aiden and King Oswald’s miraculous silver encased arm.

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Find out more about the Brothers Gillespie at https://thebrothersgillespie.com/

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The Ffern Folk Guild in Devon with Alex Merry, Ben Edge, Charlie Cooper, Sam Lee and Zakia Sewell

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

When Alex Merry of Boss Morris, artist Ben Edge, actor Charlie Cooper, singer and naturalist Sam Lee and broadcaster and author Zakia Sewell met in the spectacular Devon countryside to decide which folk projects should receive a share of a £50,000 grant from the organic perfume company Ffern, we couldn’t resist going along. We gathered these amazing talents around a campfire for a song from Sam. Then began a wide ranging discussion about why young people are increasingly fascinated by this country’s folk music and customs and why this connection matters. (Includes vivid descriptions of The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, The Padstow 'Obby 'Oss and the Flaming Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary).

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Find out more about the Ffern Folk Guild at https://ffern.co/folk-foundation

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Winterfolk in West Yorkshire with O’Hooley and Tidow, Katie Spencer and Maddie Morris

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Throw another log on the fire, pour yourself a cup of something hot and cheering and come with us in search of Winterfolk in West Yorkshire. With Santa hat firmly in place, we walk with Katie Spencer in Golcar, meet up with Maddie Morris on their way to a Lefty Christmas gig and end up at a gorgeous Christmas homecoming concert with O’Hooley and Tidow in “The Cathedral of the Colne Valley” - St Bartholomew’s Church, Marsden. On the way we reflect on the meaning of Christmas, spare a thought for those without family and friends at this time of year and hear seasonal songs old and new. A warm glow is guaranteed.

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Find out more about Katie at https://www.katiespencer.net/, Maddie at https://www.maddiemorrismusic.co.uk/ and O'Hooley & Tidow at https://ohooleyandtidow.com/

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Gigspanner Big Band on “Turnstone”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

The Turnstone is an inquisitive bird that, as it name suggests, likes to overturn stones and seaweed in its search for food. That’s how the members of the Gigspanner Big Band see their hunt for the finest traditional songs to re-arrange, burnish and present for our delight. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister, the band’s Peter Knight, Hannah Martin and John Spiers share the stores behind the songs on their Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Turnstone”- and revel in the musical chemistry which allows the band to improvise much of their free flowing music.

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Poor Creature on “All Smiles Tonight”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

“Our first gig together was a benefit for a greyhound” The dog loving trio who make up Irish band Poor Creature are husband and wife Ruth Clinton (of Landless) and Cormac Macdiarmada (of Lankum) - plus Cormac’s brother, Lankum’s live drummer John Dermody. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister they reveal a passion for unusual vintage synthesisers, tell how Cormac breaking his back during the pandemic lockdown inspired the sound of one of the tracks on the album and share insights into working with legendary Dublin producer John “Spud” Murphy.

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Edith WeUtonga on “Varipasi”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Born in Zimbabwe - but now resident in the UK - Edith WeUtonga is known as Mama Bass - because that’s the instrument she has made her own. She’s also an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and campaigner for musicians' rights. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister, she tells how the death of her beloved grandmother inspired her to write the songs that make up her Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Varipasi”.

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Peggy Seeger on “Teleology”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

"My first kiss with Irene was behind some wheelie bins in Penge." As she celebrates her ninetieth birthday, the legendary Peggy Seeger unpacks her current feelings about “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - written for her by her late husband Ewan MacColl, but now also embracing her other passionate loving relationship. She revisits the song on her final album “Teleology”, nominated as one of the Folk Albums of 2025. In this special episode Peggy and her son, producer and musician Calum MacColl, tell the story behind the album as she reflects on a musical career lasting over seven decades.

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Grace Stewart-Skinner on “Auchies Spikkin' Auchie”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

An old recording of her grandfather reciting a poem in the Scots dialect of the little Black Isle fishing village where he lived inspired the clarsach (Scottish harp) player Grace Stewart-Skinner to create her Folk Album of the Year nominee “Auchies Spikking Auchie”. She mixed recordings of the dialect with her own music to create the evocative album. In this episode, she tells Matthew Bannister the story behind the album and also reflects on living with cerebral palsy - and her mixed feelings about being called “an inspiration”.

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Joshua Burnside on “Teeth of Time”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Recorded in a former office space in Belfast City Centre, Joshua Burnside’s Folk Album of the Year Nominee “Teeth of Time” was inspired by his experience of becoming a father for the first time. He tells the story behind the album and plays tracks from it in this conversation with Matthew Bannister.

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Cynefin on “Shimli”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Delve into the heritage of Welsh poetry, agriculture, fishing, milk processing and, of course, music as Cynefin shares the story behind his beautiful Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Shimli”.

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Spafford Campbell on “Tomorrow Held”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

“We first met in the National Youth Folk Ensemble. I was 14 and Louis was 16.” From these beginnings, fiddle player Owen Spafford and guitarist Louis Campbell have formed an inspiring, innovative musical partnership, drawing on wide ranging influences to create the acclaimed mostly instrumental album “Tomorrow Held”. Hear tracks from the album and the story behind it as they chat to Matthew Bannister in this special episode of Folk on Foot.

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Barry Kerr on “Curlew’s Cry”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:30:00 GMT

The multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and painter Barry Kerr grew up on the shores of Lough Neagh in the heart of Northern Ireland. His experiences there left an indelible mark on his music. In this special episode, he tells his story to Matthew Bannister and they play tracks from “Curlew’s Cry”, which is nominated for Folk Album of the Year 2025.

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Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominations

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT

Matthew Bannister is joined by chair of the jury Kellie While and the nominated artists as they unveil the nine albums which have made the shortlist for the Folk Album of the Year Award. The artists give their reaction before we hear a track from each of the albums on this inspiring and diverse list of the finest folk music in Britain and Ireland today.

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Boss Morris on Rodborough Common

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Dressed in costumes fashioned from vintage tea towels, the dancers of Boss Morris take us to Rodborough Common near their base in Stroud to walk and dance, accompanied by musicians Rob Harbron, Miranda Rutter and Sam Sweeney. This is where Boss go to mark the different seasons of the year. They introduce us to their own increasingly popular ritual “Finger In The Spring”, reflect on their distinctive aesthetic, explain their love of the ancient dances and tell how they are taking Morris to previously unimaginable places and audiences.

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Rob, Miranda and Sam have recorded an album of Boss Morris tunes. Find out more here: https://www.bossmorris.com/new-page-1

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The Wilderness Yet on Iping Common

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 23:00:00 GMT

Celebrate the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness as The Wilderness Yet take us for an Autumnal musical walk across Iping Common near Midhurst in West Sussex. Singer Rosie Hodgson grew up near here and played on the Common as a child. She’s joined by fiddle player Rowan Piggott and guitarist Philippe Barnes to perform contemporary and traditional songs inspired by Autumn. Along the way we admire the spectacular colours of this glorious landscape, hear how folk music threaded its way through the band members’ childhoods and how their music is inspired by a deep love of nature.

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Find out more about The Wilderness Yet at https://www.thewildernessyet.com/

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Cerys Hafana at Corris Uchaf

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:00:00 GMT

The latest album from Welsh triple harpist Cerys Hafana is called “Angel”. It’s inspired by the story of an old man who goes for a walk in the forest and hears an angel singing so beautifully it makes him fall asleep for three hundred and fifty years. That’s almost what happened to me on our glorious summer walk with Cerys near Corris Uchaf in mid Wales. We stumbled across a strange concrete replica of an Italian village, found the remains of disused mines and sat by tumbling streams to experience the subtle beauty of their singing and playing.

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Find out more about Cerys at https://ceryshafana.com

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Alex Rex and Lavinia Blackwall in Govan and Carbeth

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 23:00:00 GMT

Former Trembling Bells bandmates Alex Rex and Lavinia Blackwall take us first to Govan Old Church in Glasgow to see ancient Viking burial stones - and sing in unaccompanied harmony in the glorious acoustic. Then its off to the hutting community at Carbeth in the countryside outside the city where residents lovingly decorate their wooden homes. Alex shows us the hut he’s curating in memory of his younger brother Alastair who sadly died, while Lavinia introduces us to her partner in life and music Marco Rea as they perform songs from her new album in her hut. A fascinating and poignant insight into the lives and inspiration of two creative spirits.

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Find out more about Alex at https://alexrex.bandcamp.com/ and Lavinia at https://laviniablackwall.bandcamp.com/

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Chris Packham & Martin Simpson in the New Forest

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 23:00:00 GMT

Where does Chris Packham want his ashes scattered after he dies? Find out as he takes Martin Simpson and host Matthew Bannister for an enlightening walk in sun-dappled woodland near his home in the New Forest. He points out a goshawk on her nest and other glorious flora and fauna and is delighted when Martin sings his songs “Ken Small” and “Skydancers”. The most emotional moment comes when Martin sings “Ridgeway” under the special tree where Chris wants his ashes scattered (along with those of his dogs Itchy and Scratchy). Listen for beautiful music and spellbinding stories of nature, history and the indomitable human spirit.

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Find out more about Chris at https://www.chrispackham.co.uk/ and Martin at https://martinsimpsonmusic.com/

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Simon Armitage and LYR on Cuckoo Day in Marsden

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 23:00:00 GMT

The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and his band LYR perform poems and music inspired by the stories told by the people of the West Yorkshire Village of Marsden, where Simon grew up. It’s all part of the annual “Cuckoo Day” festival in the village, celebrating the myth that local people thought they could keep the spring going all year round if they could only capture a cuckoo. Amongst the poetry there are outbreaks of morris dancing, organ playing and the emotional story of a mangle.

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Find out more about LYR https://www.lyrband.com/

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Goblin Band in the City of London

Thu, 15 May 2025 23:00:00 GMT

Come with us on a fascinating walk in the historic City of London with rising stars of the folk world Goblin Band. From an ancient church ringing to the Castleton Carol, via an underground car park where the remains of the Roman Wall form the backdrop to “The Twa Corbies” and onto the banks of the River Thames for some mudlarking and a beautiful “Grey Funnel Line”, these talented young performers share their passion for passing on traditional music to a new generation of listeners.

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Find out more about Goblin Band at https://goblinbanduk.bandcamp.com/

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Georgia Shackleton on the Norfolk Coast

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 23:00:00 GMT

A violin made from the floorboards of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s home - a climb to the top of the Happisburgh lighthouse - and a song about whales stranded on the shore - just three of the highlights of this glorious sunny seaside walk with the Norfolk singer and fiddle player Georgia Shackleton. So kick off your shoes, roll up your trousers or hitch up your skirts and paddle along the beach with us.

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Find out more about Georgia Shackleton at https://georgiashackleton.co.uk/

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Bonus Episode: Ashley Hutchings in conversation at Cecil Sharp House

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Bob Dylan described Ashley Hutchings as “The Godfather of English Folk Rock -he gave us a genre we couldn’t refuse”. Bass player Ashley was behind the formation of three great bands: Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band. As he celebrates his 80th birthday, Ashley joins Matthew Bannister on stage at Cecil Sharp House to look back on his life. He recalls the heady days of the 1960s, supporting Pink Floyd, being joined on stage by Jimi Hendrix, seeing Paul Simon play in a Soho folk club and inviting Sandy Denny and Dave Swarbrick to join Fairport. Then - following the road accident that killed Fairport’s drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklin - retiring to the country to come up with the first British folk rock album “Liege and Lief”. He also tells how he fell in love with the great singer Shirley Collins, but then was unfaithful and broke up their marriage. It’s a fascinating insight into the career of one of the great pioneers of British music.

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Find out more about Ashley Hutchings at http://ashleyhutchings.co.uk/

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Cole Stacey on Dartmoor

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Cole Stacey’s album “Postcards from Lost Places” was recorded in atmospheric locations around Dartmoor. In this episode Cole retraces his steps - taking us back to some of those places and performing the songs inspired by them. We hear about his journey into folk music, his partnership with Joseph O’Keefe in India Electric Co - and his experiences of touring with Midge Ure. But most of all we enjoy a spectacular cold and sunny day on Dartmoor.

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Find out more about Cole Stacey at https://colestacey.net

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'Stolen from God' in Bristol with Reg Meuross, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and Modou Ndiaye

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The history of the transatlantic slave trade and its legacy in Bristol are at the heart of this episode. It features West Country singer Reg Meuross, concertina player Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and kora player Modou Ndaiye performing music from Reg’s powerful “Stolen from God” song cycle as we follow the route taken by the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston which was toppled from its plinth by Black Lives Matter protesters and thrown into the harbour. We also visit the Bristol Beacon (formerly Colston Hall), the Cathedral and the MShed Museum where the statue now lies on its back, covered in graffiti and surrounded by replicas of the banners carried during that day of protest. A perfect backdrop for the song “Good Morning Mr. Colston”.

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Find out more about Reg Meuross at http://www.regmeuross.com/

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Bird in the Belly at the Tremula Festival on the South Downs Way

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The Brighton based band Bird in the Belly take us for a walk on the South Downs Way during the Tremula Festival of Outdoor Podcasting. For the very first time, we’re joined by an audience of Folk on Foot fans. The band (Laura Ward, Adam Ronchetti Tom Pryor and Jinwoo) share a song about a day out in Brighton in 1813, a love song to a Welsh Ploughboy and music inspired by the nature writer Richard Jefferies' 1885 post apocalyptic novel “After London”. Then we head into a beautiful village church for the grand finale.

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Find out more about Bird in the Belly: https://www.birdinthebelly.com

Find out more about Tremula Festival: https://tremula.network

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A Shropshire Christmas with John Kirkpatrick

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 00:00:29 GMT

Ho Ho Ho! Enjoy traditional Christmas carols, midwinter Morris dancing, a peal of bells and a recipe for Christmas pudding set to music as we head for the Three Tuns pub in Bishop’s Castle with squeezebox maestro John Kirkpatrick MBE, the Castle Carollers and the Shropshire Bedlams. Along the way we’ll discover the story behind ancient winter customs like wassailing and find out why John is so passionate about the festive season.

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Find out more about John at https://www.johnkirkpatrick.co.uk/

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Lunatraktors at the Bethlem Royal Hospital

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:26 GMT

Delve into the history of madness as we walk with the “broken folk” duo Lunatraktors in the 200 acre grounds of the Bethlem Royal Hospital in South London. Clair le Couteur and Carli Jefferson are fascinated by the story of the hospital which was founded in the 13th century by monks - and nicknamed “Bedlam”. They perform songs inspired by the place including a mash up of “Tom O’Bedlam” with “Mad Maudlin” and “Through Moorfields”. They also don their “hazard bear” costumes for s spot of improvised overtone singing.

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Find out more about Lunatraktors at https://www.lunatraktors.space/

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Dan Whitehouse in Stourbridge

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 23:00:36 GMT

For four hundred years, Stourbridge in the West Midlands was at the heart of Britain’s glass making industry. The local landscape was dotted with distinctive brick built cones, or chimneys, where the glass was made. The local singer and songwriter Dan Whitehouse made an album called “Voices From The Cones” based on recordings of the memories of glass workers. In this extraordinary episode he takes us to a former glass works - now a college teaching craft skills to neurodivergent students - and sings the songs inspired by this fascinating industry. And Matthew gets to try his hand at glass blowing!

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Find out more about Dan at https://www.dan-whitehouse.com/

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Sarah Smout Along The River Wharfe to Fleet Moss

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 23:00:51 GMT

The cellist, singer and environmental campaigner Sarah Smout takes us for a beautiful summer walk along the River Wharfe in North Yorkshire. Along the way she explains how her love of the natural world inspires her music and stops to play, sing and read one of her poems. Then we head up to Fleet Moss where a five-year-long project has been restoring the badly damaged peat bog - which is vital for carbon capture. Jenny Sharman of the Yorkshire Peat Partnership joins us to tell the fascinating story behind the work - then Sarah sings the song inspired by it.

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Find out more about Sarah at https://www.sarahsmoutmusic.co.uk/

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Ranagri at Ranagri

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 23:00:50 GMT

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 no electricity or running water and all cooking was on the open fire. Horses were used to pull the plough. Then Ranagri play the music inspired by her memories.

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Find out more about Ranagri at https://ranagri.com/

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Melissa Harrison & Laura Cannell in Suffolk

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 23:00:34 GMT

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 ripening barley - and we hunt for barn owl pellets “like dark Kinder Eggs” as Melissa has it. Then Laura takes out her fiddle and - using her distinctive “overbowing” technique - plays music inspired by ancient traditions and a deep sense of place.

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Find out more about Melissa at https://melissaharrison.co.uk/ and Laura at https://lauracannell.com/

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Frankie Archer in Consett (and other parts of County Durham)

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 23:00:53 GMT

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 pedals and perform in the lee of an abandoned crucible, the engine shed of the world’s oldest railway and in front of a spectacular view across the fields to the Newcastle skyline.

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Find out more about Frankie at https://frankiearchermusic.com/

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Megson on Teesside

Thu, 16 May 2024 23:00:25 GMT

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 people who live there. With instruments wrapped in bin bags and recording gear hidden under producer Natalie’s all-encompassing poncho, we head for the Tees Barrage - pausing under bridges and even on a bandstand for Stu and Debs to perform. Then Stu tells Matthew that if he claps his hands, a seal will arrive. He does - and, amazingly, up it pops!

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Find out more about Megson at https://www.megsonmusic.co.uk

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Jackie Oates with John Spiers on the Thames Path at Wallingford

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 23:00:52 GMT

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 hospice to help those nearing the end of their lives capture memories in song. She also recalls her folk-style wedding while John muses on the best way to make dandelion wine. It’s a fascinating walk with two of England’s finest folk musicians.

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Find out more about Jackie at https://www.jackieoates.co.uk/ and John at https://johnspiers.co.uk/

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Malin Lewis on Eilean Shona

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

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 this episode this rising star of the Scottish folk scene - with a hotly anticipated debut album about to be released - makes an emotional return to the island to play on the shore and stage a homecoming concert in the abandoned village hall.

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Find out more about Malin at https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/artist/malin-lewis

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Bonus Episode: Joe Boyd and John Wood in conversation at Cecil Sharp House

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

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 Bless The Weather and Solid Air while Joe worked with the Incredible String Band. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister on stage at the Indoor Festival of Folk, they tell the extraordinary stories behind the creation of these classic albums.

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TRÚ on the Mountains of Mourne

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

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 Irish communities in the past. In this beautiful episode they are united in creating sweet close harmonies as they sing traditional songs against the backdrop of some of the UK’s most spectacular countryside.

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Find out more about TRÚ at http://www.tru-music.com/

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Sandra Kerr (and Nancy Kerr) in Warkworth

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

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 appeal and sings one of the songs. Then, on a walk along the River Coquet, Sandra looks back to the folk revival of the 1960s, recalling working as a nanny for Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in exchange for music lessons. Finally, she’s joined by her daughter Nancy Kerr to play traditional Northumbrian dance tunes. A warm, fascinating and entertaining meeting with one of the enduring stars of the folk world.

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Find out more about Sandra at https://www.sandrakerr.net/

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The Plygain Carols with Gwilym Bowen Rhys, Owen Shiers and the singers of Mallwyd

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT

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 Gwilym Bowen Rhys who unearthed his carol in a second hand book shop and by Owen Shiers (Cynefin) whose singing group travels around several plygain services at this time of year. Asked why she joins in, one singer exclaims: “I just feel part of the ages!”

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Find out more about Gwilym at https://www.gwilymbowenrhys.com and Owen at https://cynefinmusic.wales

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Katie Spencer at Spurn Point

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

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 gorgeous songs on the beach and talks about her musical inspiration, but will we be cut off by the tide?

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Find out more about Katie at https://www.katiespencer.net/

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Jon Wilks in Birmingham

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 music making in the city and performing songs on the very spot where they were originally collected. Oh, and then there’s the sausage roll incident in Greggs!

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Find out more about Jon at https://jonwilks.online/

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Fiona Soe Paing in Aberdeenshire

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 they were inspired, including John Hosie’s Well (said to have sprung from the ground where his tears fell when he returned from a long imprisonment to find his lover was married to another) and the rock where Maggie Machlin is said to have died from exposure after being ostracised for falling pregnant out of wedlock.

Then it’s off to the fishing village of Pennan, for an atmospheric performance of The Fisher’s Lullaby on the beach and a 40th anniversary screening of the classic film Local Hero in the village hall.

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Find out more about Fiona at https://www.fionasoepaing.co.uk/

Walk with Fiona's album via the Echoes app: https://explore.echoes.xyz/collections/sov0xzgBQYdoAfFr

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The Music of the Big Walk

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 episode treats you to the musical highlights that spurred Matthew on his way. You will hear:

Day 1: Rosie Hodgson and Rowan Piggott of The Wilderness Yet: “The Bee Boy Song”

Day 2: Steve Knightley, Johnnie Kalsi and Eliza Marshall: “Dakota” (by Kelly Jones)

Day 3: Eliza Marshall: “The Rhythms of Migration”; Jon Wilks: “Greek Street”

Day 4: Martin Simpson: “Skydancers”

Day 5: Janice Burns and Jon Doran: “As I Roved Out”

Day 6: Kirsty Merryn: “The Larks They Sang Melodious (Pleasant and Delightful)”

Day 8 (breakfast!): Honey and the Bear with Toby Shaer: “Around the World”

Day 8 (evening): Megson: “And Finally”

Day 9: Sid Goldsmith and Danny Pedler of Tarren: “Sunk”

Day 10: Bird in the Belly: “Neighbours and Sisters”

Day 11: Katie Spencer:”The Edge of the Land”

Day 12: Knight and Spiers: “Halsway Schottische”

Day 13: Bella Hardy: ”Rhapsody on the Peak of Derbyshire”

Day 14: The Young Uns: “Three Dads Walking” and “John Ball”

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The Story of The Big Walk

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 musicians, who sang and played to revive his flagging spirits. This episode tells the inside story of the walk, using Matthew’s private audio diaries and highlights of the glorious music that carried him on his way.

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Johnny Campbell & Mikey Kenney on Whernside

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 way we discuss his passion for Northern folk music, his love of walking and his determination to campaign for a Right to Roam. It’s a big climb - but the view from the top is spectacular!

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Find out more about Johnny at https://johnnycampbell.co.uk/ and Mikey at https://mikeykenney.co.uk/

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Angeline Morrison in North Cornwall

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 the master and slave who are buried together she sings “Slave No More” and on the beach where she first composed it, she performs “Unknown African Boy, (died 1830)”. There’s also time for a beautiful song in the Cornish language and her unaccompanied version of “Bushes and Briars”.

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Find out more about Angeline at https://www.angelinemorrisonmusic.com/

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James Yorkston and Nina Persson in Tentsmuir Forest

Thu, 18 May 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 and space. Nina recalls her hectic time as a pop star in the 1990s and they share insights into their inspiration and creative process. Then their voices blend beautifully as they sing under the shade of the trees.

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Find out more about James and Nina at https://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk/

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Katherine Priddy at Alvechurch & Tanworth in Arden

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 23:00:00 GMT

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 up of artists who’ve been invited to re-interpret Nick’s songs for a new album. By his grave she sings his compositions “They’re Leaving Me Behind” and “Cello Song”. It’s an emotional tribute from one young artist to another.

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Find out more about Katherine at https://www.katherinepriddy.co.uk/

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Amy-Jane Beer and Cynefin along the River Clettwr

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

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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Find out more about Cynefin at https://cynefinmusic.wales/

Get hold of Amy's book at https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781472977397?gC=5a105e8b

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Freedom To Roam in the Malvern Hills

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

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 exquisite music they’ve created to tell a story of migration, liberation and care for our planet.

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You can choose your level and get great rewards, ranging from a stylish Folk on Foot badge to access to our amazing and ever expanding Folk on Foot on Film video archive of more than 150 unique performances filmed on our travels.

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Find out more about Freedom to Roam at https://www.freedomtoroam.earth/

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Maddy Prior and Rose-Ellen Kemp at Stones Barn in Cumbria

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

“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 and her daughter Rose-Ellen Kemp are hosting one of their acclaimed singing weekends. Guest tutor Martin Carthy reveals how he discovered the joys of traditional singing when he was just seventeen years old – and Maddy and Rose-Ellen take us to Bewcastle Church to see the 6th Century cross commemorating St Cuthbert and sing in its glorious acoustic.

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Find out more about Stones Barn at https://stonesbarn.co.uk/

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The Wexford Carols with Caitriona O’Leary

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

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 Waddinge is buried and to St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy where the area’s most famous carol was collected. We also meet the retired fisherman Dixie Devereux whose father sang the carols every Christmas for 62 years – and who is now passing on the tradition to his own son. A fascinating story with gorgeous music creating an atmospheric, seasonal experience.

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Find out more about The Wexford Carols at https://thewexfordcarols.com/

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Jon Boden, Seth Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Emily Portman and Jack Rutter on a tall ship

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Ahoy there! A folk supergroup – The Sea Song Sessions - playing and singing on board a tall ship in Fowey Harbour in Cornwall as the water laps the hull. A discussion of the role of seafaring music in our island history. And a tour of the good ship Anny of Charlestown from her skipper. Shiver me timbers – it’s a great listen!

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Find out more about Sea Song Sessions at https://www.topicrecords.co.uk/2022/08/sea-song-sessions/

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Gwilym Bowen Rhys in Aberdaron

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 23:00:00 GMT

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 a song about a local shipwreck and shows us the grave of the victims in the churchyard. We learn about local history, Welsh language and culture and Gwilym’s own inspiration in another fascinating episode.

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Find out more about Gwilym at https://www.gwilymbowenrhys.com/

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Folk on Foot Trailer

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 21:11:09 GMT

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, Duncan Chisholm at Sandwood Bay, The Unthanks on the Northumberland Coast, Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn at Wandlebury, Peggy Seeger in Iffley and The Young’uns in Hartlepool. Dip your toe in the water here before diving into all our glorious episodes.

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The Dance of the Commons at the Englefield Estate

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 23:00:00 GMT

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, thousands of acres owned by Lord Benyon, the government minister for rural affairs. In this episode, we hear them dance into the estate, explain why they demand the right to roam and share their ceremony celebrating nature under the shade of a mighty oak.

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Find out more about Nick Hayes and the Right to Roam movement at righttoroam.org.uk.

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Bonus Episode: Maddy Prior and Peter Knight in conversation at Cecil Sharp House

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 09:16:06 GMT

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. Peter reveals he once appeared on Top of the Pops dressed as a Womble and Maddy describes the gig where they dropped thousands of pound notes onto the heads of the audience. The band is famous for having countless different line ups and they speak about the rows that often led to one or more members departing. A fascinating conversation with two legendary names of the folk world.

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Find out more about Maddy Prior at https://stonesbarn.co.uk/

Find out more about Peter Knight at https://www.peterknight.net/

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Fay Hield at the Soundpost Weekend in Dungworth

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 23:00:00 GMT

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 about her life in music and debating the big issues like “what is folk music?” and “why does it matter?”

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Find out more about Fay Hield at https://www.fayhield.com/

Find out more about Soundpost at https://www.soundpost.org.uk/

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The Musical Village of Pathhead, Midlothian

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 05:11:30 GMT

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-instrumentalist Inge Thomson, her partner Martin Green (of Lau) and their son Ewen, who plays mandolin. They hand us on to bass player Tom Lyne who also creates music using the sounds of the natural world. After a walk with Tom (spotting three mad March hares along the way) we go to his home to meet his wife, the jazz singer Sophie Bancroft. A knock on the door heralds the arrival of fiddle player Amy Geddes who invites us all back to her place for a feast. Joined in Amy’s sitting room by drummer Tom Bancroft and fiddle player Jenny Gardner, the assembled group pay an emotional musical tribute to local pipe maker Nigel Richard who died last year.

You will hear beautiful performances, meet some extraordinary talents and gain an insight into the true meaning of community spirit when you listen to our longest episode yet.

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Jamie Webster in Liverpool

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 23:00:00 GMT

“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 have made Jamie a local hero with two hit albums under his belt.

In this episode he takes us to a community centre called “the Florrie” where he volunteers. In the centre’s food bank, he expresses his anger that so many people in a wealthy country like the UK can’t afford to feed themselves. Then it’s off to the Beatles statue, the Liver Building and the Cavern Club where Jamie has just joined the illustrious list of performers with their names written on bricks outside.

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Find out more about Jamie Webster at https://www.jamiewebstermusic.com/

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Grace Petrie in Leicester

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 23:00:00 GMT

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 journey, reflects on what it means always to be on “The Losing Side” in politics and reveals the poignant story behind a visit to IKEA.

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Find out more about Grace at https://gracepetrie.com/

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Johnny Kalsi in Southall

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT

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 restaurant for “food like you’ve never tasted before”. But above all we head to two music shops where Johnny gives a bravura demonstration of how to play his beloved dhol drums.

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Access exclusive films of Johnny along our walk, along with over 150 performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Maurice Henderson & Ewen Thomson on Shetland

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT

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 traditional dance tunes and introduce us to the sea birds.

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Access exclusive films of Maurice and Ewan performing along our walk, along with over 150 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show 2021

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 07:04:09 GMT

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 past year including Spiers and Boden, Katherine Priddy, Gwenifer Raymond, Spell Songs and The Longest Johns.

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Access over 150 performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Kathryn Tickell & her Dad by the River Rede

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

“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 he brought her up and introduced her to the folk tradition.

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Access exclusive films of Kathryn performing by the river, along with over 150 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Declan O‘Rourke in Kinvara

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT

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 mic night in Dublin where he suffered “an instant addiction” to singing live, on his fascination with the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s and 50s and on the exhibition of his grandfather’s paintings he staged in the village.

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Access exclusive films of Declan performing along our walk, along with over 150 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Jessie Summerhayes in the Rosedale Valley

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT

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 harshness of Victorian industry in the midst of the beauty of nature.

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Access exclusive films of Ciderhouse Rebellion performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Edgelarks at Scorhill Stone Circle

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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).

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Access exclusive films of Edgelarks performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Olivia Chaney at the House on Hawnby Moor

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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Access exclusive films of Olivia performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Robert Macfarlane & Johnny Flynn at Wandlebury

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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 stories of a mysterious white horse and a dread augury and countless busy, buzzing bees. Oh, and no fewer than six extraordinary songs performed along the way.

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Access exclusive films of Robert and Johnny performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Jenny Sturgeon in Shetland

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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 inspiration for her music in nature as she performs songs from “The Living Mountain” and a new composition written in lockdown.

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Access exclusive films of Jenny performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Sam Sweeney at Swift's Hill

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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 unfinished First World War violin and learning to play the bagpipes in six weeks.

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Access six exclusive films of Sam performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Jim Ghedi (and Friends) in Crookes and the Moss Valley

Thu, 13 May 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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 tradition, citing the guitar playing of Bert Jansch and the singing of Norma Waterson as influences. At a beautiful vantage point at the top of one of Sheffield’s seven hills, we are joined by his friends dbh (on fiddle) and Neil Heppleston (on double bass).

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Access four exclusive films of Jim performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Germa Adan in the Sandwell Valley

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 23:00:00 GMT

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.

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Access five exclusive films of Germa performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch

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Cosmo Sheldrake in Boulsbury Wood

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 07:54:55 GMT

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 bones player; climbs halfway up a tree to sing in the wonderful acoustic of a clearing and covers a Tom Waits song.

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We rely entirely on support from our listeners to make Folk on Foot. So please consider becoming a patron. You’ll make a small monthly contribution and get great rewards. Find out more at www.patreon.com/folkonfoot.
Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com
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Festival of LOVE: The Original Songs

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT

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: Seven Notes; Bella Hardy: Redemption; Sam Lee: Sweet Girl Macree; Rachel Newton: An Hour With Thee (words: Sir Walter Scott); Eliza CarthyNight Swimming; Beth Porter and the Bookshop Band: The 5th Knight and the Moon Princess; Gwilym Bowen Rhys: Clychau ‘r gog; Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver: Ruler of the Rest; Martin Simpson: An Englishman Abroad; Seckou Keita: Kana-sila; Peggy Seeger: Autumn Wedding; Kitty Macfarlane: Avona; The Breath: For You; Steve Knightley: You’re Mine; Karine Polwart: The Light On The Shore; Jon Boden: Honeysuckle Halo

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The Folk on Foot podcast relies entirely on contributions from its listeners to keep going, so why not become a patron – make a small monthly contribution and get great rewards? More details here: www.patreon.com/folkonfoot.

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Festival of LOVE: The Traditional Songs

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 08:38:52 GMT

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: Lullabies for Flynn; Chris Wood: A Cornish Young Man; Bella Hardy: Low Down In The Broom; Sam Lee: Blanafanen; Rachel Newton: For Love; Eliza Carthy: Bottle; Beth Porter and the Bookshop Band: Tuesday Morning; Gwilym Bowen Rhys: Gwen Iliw’r lili; Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver: Rolling In The Dew plus tunes; Martin Simpson: Donal Og; Kerry Andrew: Pleasant and Delightful / The Loyal Lover; Seckou Keita: Toubaka;Peggy Seeger: Wedding Dress Song; Kitty Macfarlane: The Snow It Melts The Soonest; The Breath: Brid Bhan; Steve Knightley: Courting is A Pleasure (arr Nic Jones); Karine Polwart: Ae Fond Kiss (Burns); Jon Boden: Live Not Where I Love

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Festival of LOVE: The Covers

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT

23 amazing folk acts each performing a cover version of a love song for the Folk on Foot Festival of LOVE on Valentine’s Day 2021, featuring Heidi Talbot: I Love You/Tom Waits and Allelujah/First of a Million Kisses/Fairground Attraction; Seth Lakeman: Beeswing/Richard Thompson; Lady Nade: I Remember Everything/John Prine; Kris Drever: Michelle/The Beatles; O’Hooley and Tidow: Teardrop/Massive Attack; Chris Wood: I Second That Emotion/Smokey Robinson; Bella Hardy: And I Love You So/Don Maclean; Sam Lee: Dream A Little Dream of Me/Mamas and Papas; Rachel Newton: I Will/The Beatles; Eliza Carthy: Colorblind/Irving Berlin; Beth Porter and the Bookshop Band: Under the Boardwalk/The Drifters; Gwilym Bowen Rhys: Pueblito Viejo/Jose Alejandro Morales; Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver: The Look of Love/Bacharach and David; Martin Simpson: Buckets of Rain/Bob Dylan; Kerry Andrew/You Are Wolf: Tender/Blur; Seckou Keita: No Woman No Cry/Bob Marley; Peggy Seeger: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face/Ewan MacColl; Kitty Macfarlane: Song To The Siren/Tim Buckley and Larry Beckett; The Breath: Lay Lady Lay/Bob Dylan; Steve Knightley: Romeo and Juliet/Dire Straits; Karine Polwart: Carey/Joni Mitchell; Jon Boden: I Want To Dance With Somebody/Whitney Houston; Nancy Kerr and James Fagan: You’ve Got A Friend/Carole King

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The Rheingans Sisters in Grindleford

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Come with us to the back garden of a house in the Peak District village of Grindleford. There, in a magical atmospheric workshop with fiddles, banjos and drying gourds hanging from the ceiling, we find the Rheingans Sisters and their Dad Helmut, who makes all their instruments. Rowan and Anna Rheingans grew up surrounded by music – and are now one of the most innovative and talented duos on the folk scene. In this episode they tell us about their creative childhood, describe how they have been influenced by French and Scandinavian music and explain their love of dancing all night.

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Richard Thompson in Muswell Hill (and other parts of London)

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

The legendary guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson takes Matthew Bannister for a walk around the areas of London where he grew up, began playing the guitar, formed Fairport Convention (inventing English folk rock) and joined the vibrant music scene of the 1960s. On the steps of his old school in Highgate Richard sings “Man With Money” by the Everly Brothers. In Highgate Woods he sings his classic lament for lost love and the travelling life: “Beeswing” as well as a new song written during lockdown: “If I Could Live My Life Again”. Outside the house called “Fairport” that gave the band its name, Richard gives us an emotional version of “Meet On The Ledge”. Then it’s on to Wardour Street in Soho, site of the famous Marquee Club, for “Walking The Long Miles Home”. Finally we are in the Lamb and Flag pub in Covent Garden where Richard describes an encounter with a drunken Irish tenor that inspired his song “Josef Locke”. Along the way Richard reflects on song writing technique, remembers playing with Jimi Hendrix and tells how his Mum and Dad never really understood his success as a musician.

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To hear about future episodes of Folk on Foot, sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com or follow @folkonfoot on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We rely entirely on listeners’ contributions to keep going, so please consider becoming a patron, making a small monthly contribution in return for great rewards: www.patreon.com/folkonfoot.

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O'Hooley & Tidow in the Colne Valley

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow have an uncanny ability to move you to tears one moment then have you roaring with laughter the next. In summer 2020 they were planning to capitalise on the new found fame caused by having their song “Gentleman Jack” as the theme tune of the hit BBC TV drama based on the life of Anne Lister. But the lockdown put paid to all the touring they’d planned. So they stayed at home in the beautiful Colne Valley, taking full advantage of the opportunity to enjoy watching their one year old son Flynn grow and learn. On our walk along the canal (with Flynn in the sling) they share the lullabies they use to soothe him to sleep. They also sing “Colne Valley Hearts” which celebrates the many characters they’ve met in the area and “The Hum” which responds to the noise of a local factory.

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Ninebarrow at Nine Barrow Down

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The multi award winning Dorset duo Ninebarrow take Matthew Bannister for a walk in the glorious countryside of the Isle of Purbeck. Their exquisite harmonies ring out across the Bronze Age burial mounds at Nine Barrow Down (which gave the band its name) as they savour the spectacular view of Poole Harbour, Swanage and the Isle of Wight. They end up in St James’s Church in the village of Kingston where Jon and Jay sing “Row On” in the wonderful acoustic of this special building.

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Johnny Flynn on the Hackney Marshes

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 22:00:00 GMT

In our first post lockdown episode, actor and musician Johnny Flynn takes Matthew Bannister for a walk on the Hackney Marshes, a huge expanse of public land which has no fewer than 88 football pitches alongside a nature reserve which has grown up in disused gravel pits. As well as singing his distinctive, haunting songs, Johnny relates his near miss with a bear on the Camino to Santiago, reflects on discovering the music of Bob Dylan as a teenager and talks about his friendship with the nature writer Robert Macfarlane.

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Bonus Episode: Folk on Foot Festival 3: TOGETHER AGAIN: Highlights

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Another extraordinary Bank Holiday Monday virtual Festival from Folk on Foot, this time re-uniting musicians who couldn’t play together during the lockdown. The Breath; Eliza Carthy and David Delarre; Johnny Flynn and his band; Julie Fowlis, Éamon Doorley and Duncan Chisholm; Karine Polwart, Steven Polwart and Inge Thomson; Kris Drever, John McCusker and Phil Cunningham; Lady Nade, Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow; Nancy Kerr, Martin Simpson and Andy Cutting; Peggy Seeger, Neill and Calum MacColl; Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl; Sam Lee and his band; Show of Hands and Spiers and Boden. We have hand-picked the glorious highlights from seven hours of beautiful music for you to enjoy.

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Chris Wood in Faversham

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The award winning singer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Wood has lived in Kent all his life. “If you keep moving around, how much can you trust your judgement?” he asks. “If you stop where you are, the world does eventually come to you.” Since the Brexit referendum and election of 2019, Chris has been in challenging mood. On this walk with his dog Dancer and Matthew Bannister, Chris performs his song “Take Back Control” and contrasts the commuters on the London-bound platform at 6 every morning with what he calls “the slope-shouldered, whey-faced broken people” in Faversham’s greasy spoons and declining market place. “This is my muse,” he tells us. “This darkness and this hypocrisy and these contradictions – I thrive on it”.

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Kitty Macfarlane on the Somerset Levels

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Kitty Macfarlane is known for her pure voice, poetic song writing and passion for the natural world. On this unexpectedly sunny January walk, she and Matthew Bannister climb the historic Burrow Mump Hill. Here she sings a song inspired by the view, “Man Friendship”. As they walk along the nearby river, Kitty stops to sing her song about migration: “Glass Eel”. Then it’s off to her favourite bird sanctuary where they observe many different species and she sings her song about witnessing a murmuration of starlings.

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Frank Turner on the Holloway Road

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Frank Turner is a man of contrasts: the old Etonian who became a punk; the heavy metal fan who became a folk-influenced singer songwriter. On this walk through his old haunts on the Holloway Road in North London he reveals the inspiration for his change in musical direction, calling in at the venue Nambucca where ""the scales fell from my eyes"" and he discovered the power of ""three chords and the truth". In the empty venue he plays the songs he wrote about the creative scene there, before heading down the road to The Garage, where his passion for punk was ignited. Along the way he reflects on the history of the area, his sofa-surfing experiences, his tattoos and his relationship with his mother.

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Bonus Episode: Front Room Festival 2 Highlights

Mon, 25 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

On Monday 25th May – Spring Bank Holiday in the UK – we staged the Folk on Foot Front Room Festival 2 with an astonishing line up of artists. The show lasted for eight hours – but we have distilled it down to two hours of highlights, featuring: Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman, Chris Wood, Duncan Chisholm, Eliza Carthy, Frank Turner and Jess Guise, Gwilym Bowen Rhys, John Smith, Johnny Flynn, Kate Rusby and Damien O’Kane, Kathryn Tickell, Kitty Macfarlane, O’Hooley and Tidow, Richard Thompson and Zara Phillips, Rioghnach Connolly and Ellis Davies – all playing from their front rooms (and gardens). Plus the online premiere of a behind the scenes film of the Unthanks on their recent “unaccompanied” tour. It was a remarkable and emotional day which raised loads of money for musicians who can’t work during the lockdown.

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Bonus Episode: Jarlath Henderson at the Isle of Skye Festival of Small Halls

Thu, 07 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Jarlath Henderson has been described as the “Jimi Hendrix of the uilleann pipes”. He is also a fine singer and accomplished player of the whistle. At the age of 17 he became the youngest ever winner of the Radio 2 Young Folk award. He comes from Northern Ireland but has now made his home in Scotland where he combines his musical career with working as a doctor in emergency medicine.

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Bonus Episode: Su-a Lee at the Isle of Skye Festival of Small Halls

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Su-a Lee is a classically trained cellist who loves breaking down musical barriers. With the group Mr McFall’s Chamber she’s played contemporary classical music in night clubs and she regularly collaborates with Scotland’s leading folk players. She is also a keen walker and bagger of Munros. Sitting on a rock by the river at Sligachan, she tells Matthew Bannister the poignant story of climbing Ben Nevis with her cello on her back to pay musical tribute to her late husband shortly after he died. Then she unveils her secret weapon...

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Rachel Newton at the Isle of Skye Festival of Small Halls

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The Edinburgh-born harpist, fiddle player and singer Rachel Newton sings in both English and Gaelic and is a member of The Shee, The Furrow Collective and the Lost Words Spell Songs. We walked with her on the Isle of Skye in November 2019 where she was taking part in the wonderful Festival of Small Halls, in which top Scottish musicians come together to tour the community halls of the island.

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Bonus Episode: Front Room Festival Highlights

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 08:40:28 GMT

On Easter Bank Holiday Monday, April 13th 2020, we organised the Folk on Foot Front Room Festival - seven and a half hours of wonderful folk music from 15 top artists playing in their front rooms, linked by Matthew Bannister from his. Bella Hardy, Beth Porter and the Bookshop Band, Jon Boden, Julie Fowlis and Éamon Doorley, Karine Polwart, Kerry Andrew/You are Wolf, Kris Drever, Lisa Knapp, Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Peggy Seeger, Rachel Newton, Sam Lee, Seth Lakeman and Steve Knightley all played sets of around 30 minutes. The festival raised £110,000 for musicians unable to work during the coronavirus lockdown. Here are some of the highlights of an amazing day.

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Bella Hardy in Edale

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The singer, songwriter and fiddle player Bella Hardy takes Matthew for a rain-sodden walk through the majestic countryside of the Edale Valley in the Peak District where she was brought up and has now returned to live. Undaunted by the weather, they go to the Penny Pot café, the 1811 Methodist Chapel where Bella teaches a singing group and on to her mother’s cottage where they stop for very welcome tea, biscuits and songs, including a local Castleton carol and Bella’s own compositions “Sleeping Beauty” and “Tequila Moon”.

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Peggy Seeger in Iffley

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 23:00:00 GMT

After a life on the road, folk legend Peggy Seeger has settled in the village of Iffley on the outskirts of Oxford. In this episode she talks poignantly about her mother, a talented composer who died when she was fifty-three and Peggy was just eighteen. Peggy recites a poem called “My Mother is Younger Than Me”. She sings old union songs, including “The Miner’s Prayer”, recalls her time on the Greenham Common protests, shows us a piece of the wire fence she keeps on her mantelpiece and sings a song called “A Woman on Wheels” which is about a protester in a wheelchair who she saw using bolt cutters to breach that fence. Come with us on a walk through Peggy Seeger’s life in an unforgettable episode of Folk on Foot.

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Kris Drever on Orkney

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 23:00:00 GMT

The guitarist, singer and songwriter Kris Drever was born and brought up on Orkney, the archipelago off the Northern coast of Scotland which is steeped in history. The walk starts in the main town of Kirkwall with its huge sandstone cathedral commemorating St Magnus who came to an untimely end. In the graveyard Kris sings “Winter Moon”. Then they head off to the shores of the great natural harbour at Scapa Flow where Kris performs his powerful song about the scuttling of the entire German navy there in 1919. They end up at the chapel created in a nissen hut by Italian prisoners during the Second World War – a poignant setting for Kris’s song “Ghosts”.

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Bonus Xmas Episode: The Sheffield Carols with Jon Boden, Bella Hardy and The Melrose Quartet

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 23:00:00 GMT

In search of the festive spirit of Christmas – and bearing gifts - we travel to the Peak District and Sheffield to hear the area’s unique local carols. Along the way we collect music from Jon Boden, Bella Hardy, The Melrose Quartet and the singers of the villages of Dungworth and Hathersage. We hear how the traditional carols written and sung by working people were thrown out of the church – and had to find a new home in the village pubs. Put on your Santa hat, reindeer antlers or Christmas jumper, get yourself a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie and join us.

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John Jones and the Reluctant Ramblers walking to the Wickham Festival

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 23:00:00 GMT

This episode has by far the largest cast of walkers we’ve ever assembled – and the most musicians. The lead singer of Oysterband John Jones started walking from gig to gig and singing on the way long before our podcast was invented. He’s done it all over the country and he’s usually accompanied by a bunch of fans who call themselves the Reluctant Ramblers. On a scorching hot summer’s day, we join them for a walk over Old Winchester Hill, along part of the South Downs Way and the Meon Valley to the Wickham Festival.

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Nancy Kerr along the Kennet and Avon Canal

Thu, 17 Oct 2019 23:01:00 GMT

For twelve years, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nancy Kerr lived on a narrow boat, travelling the length and breadth of England’s inland waterways. As she walks on the towpath with Matthew Bannister, she tells how the experience inspired many of her songs – and performs two of them: “Queen of Waters” and “Tiller Song”. Nancy explains that folk music was part of her upbringing, with her mother Sandra Kerr a well-known performer and her father a Northumbrian pipe player. Did she ever fall in to the canal? “Yes, about once a month!”

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Bonus episode: Martin Simpson at BBC Countryfile Live

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 22:01:00 GMT

Martin Simpson performs some of the songs from his new album “Rooted” and talks to Matthew Bannister on the Big Barn stage at the BBC Countryfile Live event in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

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Duncan Chisholm at Sandwood Bay

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Sandwood Bay, at the far North Western tip of Scotland near Cape Wrath, is one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK. This wild, isolated place inspired the Scottish fiddle player and composer Duncan Chisholm’s album “Sandwood”. He takes Matthew on the four-mile walk from the nearest road to experience the stark beauty of white sand, ancient rocks and rolling waves, telling stories of storms, hauntings and the remains of a Viking longship hidden under the beach. Then it’s out with the fiddle to hear some of the music inspired by Sandwood.

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Lisa Knapp in Tooting

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT

The singer and fiddle player Lisa Knapp takes Matthew to the south London borough of Tooting where she was born and brought up. She performs songs with links to the area and tells how she stumbled across the Tooting Tragedy – a story of neglect and ill treatment at a local children’s home in Victorian times that led to hundreds of deaths and caused an outcry led by Charles Dickens. Lisa uncovered a haunting ballad about the story and sings it in the graveyard where many of the children are buried.

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John Smith in Brixham

Fri, 26 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

John Smith is known for his delicate and intricate guitar work, honey-and-gravel voice and songs of lost love. He was born in Essex, but brought up in the seaside town of Brixham in Devon. Struck down by illness as a child, he took up the guitar and practiced obsessively in his attic bedroom overlooking the sea. In this episode, he takes Matthew to the harbour wall to sing “Salty and Sweet” and up onto the cliffs where he found peace and solitude as a teenager to sing his own compositions “Save My Life” and “Hummingbird” and the traditional Somerset song “Hares on the Mountain”.

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The Unthanks on the Northumberland Coast

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Every winter, Rachael and Becky Unthank and their extended families invite their fans to join them for singing weekends in their native Northumberland. Some fifty people stay together at a bunkhouse where pianist/producer Adrian McNally does the cooking, and Rachel and Becky lead singing workshops. The weekend includes a session in the atmospheric local pub, where Matthew joins the group for a singalong. Then Rachel takes him for a walk on her favourite beach at Low Newton By The Sea, where she sings “The Flower of Northumberland” and “Here’s The Tender Coming”.

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Martin Simpson in Scunthorpe

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Regularly voted one of the world’s greatest guitarists, Martin Simpson has been nominated for an astonishing 23 Radio 2 Folk Awards – and won artist of the year twice. He was brought up in the North Lincolnshire steel town of Scunthorpe and takes Matthew on an emotional journey back to his childhood home, explaining how he hid from his formidable mother in the apple tree in the garden, went on imaginary expeditions through a pile of maps he found under a work bench in the garage and was introduced to the natural world on rambles through the local woods with his father. He sings his heartfelt tribute to his Dad, “Never Any Good” as well as “Toy Soldiers” and “Creeping Jane”.

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The Lost Words Spell Songs – Jackie Morris and Beth Porter in Pembrokeshire

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

The beautiful Lost Words book by artist Jackie Morris and writer Robert Macfarlane has become a cultural phenomenon, raising awareness of the importance of nature words in our lives. It has also spawned the Spell Songs project featuring some of our top folk artists. In this special edition of Folk on Foot, Matthew walks with Jackie and the singer, cellist and ukulele player Beth Porter (The Bookshop Band) on the hill near Jackie’s cottage in Wales. Beth sings and plays as Jackie creates an otter painting in her studio. We also hear music from Julie Fowlis and Kerry Andrew/You Are Wolf.

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Julie Fowlis on the Shores of Loch Ness

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 23:01:00 GMT

The Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis takes Matthew Bannister for a snowy walk on the dramatic shores of Loch Ness near her home in the Scottish Highlands. Accompanied by her husband Eamon Doorley, we hear Julie’s beautiful clear voice singing a song linked to the area and a love song that brought the couple together for the first time. As they head to the spectacular Foyers Falls, Julie explains that understanding the Gaelic language is the best way to form a true connection with the landscape.

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Stick in the Wheel on the Road to Epping Forest

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 23:01:00 GMT

Stick in the Wheel’s music has been described as “precision folk with anger, lust and blood.” The band’s founders Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter take Matthew Bannister for a walk through their East London stomping grounds, starting in a Victorian weaver’s house in Spitalfields, taking in Walthamstow Market and ending up in Epping Forest where they’re joined by fiddle player Ellie Wilson. Along the way they sing songs that reflect the chequered history of the East End of London.

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Fisherman‘s Friends in Port Isaac

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 23:01:00 GMT

Jon Cleave and Billy Hawkins of Fisherman’s Friends take Matthew Bannister for a walk around their beautiful home village of Port Isaac in Cornwall, telling tales and singing songs inspired by the seafaring history of the area. They invite us to fall in love with “The Maid of Madeira”, marvel at two ‘doubloons’ picked up in the harbour by Jon’s Uncle Andy, pay tribute to the fallen Cornish lads of the First World War in “First and Last” and shed a tear with “The Last Widow”, as she bemoans a tragedy that struck the Port Quin herring fleet.

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Kerry Andrew/You Are Wolf at the Brockwell Lido

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 23:01:00 GMT

Kerry Andrew has been described by Robert Macfarlane as “a writer and musician of frankly alarming talent”. She is a composer, novelist and vocalist who performs alt folk under the name You Are Wolf. In this episode she takes Matthew for a walk from her flat in South London, through surprisingly green parkland, to the historic Brockwell Lido where she persuades him to take a dip. Along the way she demonstrates her multi layered vocal technique and sings songs from her albums “Hawk to the Hunting Gone” and “Keld”.

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Seth Lakeman on Dartmoor

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 23:01:00 GMT

Seth Lakeman is the Mercury Music Prize nominated singer, fiddle player and guitarist who will forever be associated with Dartmoor. He grew up in the village of Buckland Monachorum with his two brothers Sean and Sam who are also key players on the folk scene. In this episode Seth takes Matthew to the village church to re-create his 2004 recording ""Cape Clear"", to the local school to sing “An Educated Man” and to the hills above the Burrator Reservoir where he performs “Kitty Jay”, “The White Hare” and “The Courier”. Along the way he reflects on sibling rivalry, the myths and legends of Dartmoor and his experiences of touring the world with the former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant.

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Jon Boden in the Loxley Valley

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 23:01:00 GMT

The former Bellowhead lead singer takes Matthew on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Sheffield. This landscape inspired his 2009 album “Songs from the Floodplain”, which creates a vision of a post apocalyptic future when industrial architecture is decaying and people are returning to a more rural way of life. As they walk down the valley, Jon sings “Going Down to the Wasteland”; by a whirlpool in the River Loxley, he performs ""April Queen." Next we visit a disused brick factory - where empty kilns and rusting girders are being overwhelmed by trees and weeds - the perfect setting for “Dancing In The Factory”.

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Cara Dillon in Dungiven

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 23:01:00 GMT

The multi award winning singer Cara Dillon and her husband and musical collaborator Sam Lakeman take Matthew on a walk through the countryside around the Northern Irish town of Dungiven where she was born and brought up. Standing on an iron bridge over the River Roe, Cara sings “The Winding River Roe” with the water rippling by in the background. Then they climb the local mountain known as “The Hill of Thieves” which is also the inspiration for one of Cara’s songs. As the rain begins to fall, they take refuge in a local sibin where Cara and Sam perform “The Leaving Song” about the living wakes held by families before their children emigrated to the United States.

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Steve Knightley on the Exe Trail

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 23:01:00 GMT

Steve Knightley of Show of Hands has been described as “a gravel voiced spokesman for the rural poor”. Many of the songs he writes are inspired by the working people he meets in and around his home town of Topsham in Devon. Steve takes Matthew on a walk from Exmouth - scene of some of his earliest gigs as a teenage musician - along the Exe trail to Topsham. In Exmouth docks Steve performs “The Dive” which tells the true story of a father and son diving drama, as the real life son of the story looks on. On a farm near Topsham Steve sings “Country Life” his angry anthem about the destruction of the countryside by second home owners and agri-barons.

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Eliza Carthy (and Family) in Robin Hood's Bay

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 23:01:00 GMT

Eliza Carthy inherited her love of English music from her famous folk singing parents, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. Norma recently suffered a serious illness and Eliza moved back to the family home in the North Yorkshire fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay to look after her. Eliza takes Matthew on a walk along the cliffs near her home, reflecting on her family heritage and then on to the farm where the whole extended family used to live when she was a child. Martin, Norma and Eliza’s aunt Ann and cousin Marry gather at the kitchen table for a rousing and emotional sing.

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Sam Lee singing with Nightingales in Sussex

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 23:01:00 GMT

Mercury music prize nominee Sam Lee is a folk singer, a countryman and an impresario. In this episode of Folk on Foot he invites Matthew to join him in a Sussex wood in the middle of the night as he leads a group of people on a silent walk to hear him sing with a nightingale. The next day Sam and Matthew retrace their steps in daylight, reflecting on the power of this mystical experience.

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Karine Polwart at Fala Moor

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 23:01:00 GMT

Karine Polwart’s solo theatre piece “Wind Resistance” and album “A Pocket of Wind Resistance” were inspired by Fala Moor near her home in Midlothian just south of Edinburgh. She takes Matthew for a walk across the Moor which is a haven for wildlife. As she sings you can hear skylarks and curlews flying around her. Karine tells stories of the people who lived near the moor and the monastic hospital which stood nearby where pioneering herbal treatments were invented. And she reflects on her own life journey from social worker dealing with survivors of domestic violence to award winning folk singer.

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The Young'uns in Hartlepool

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:01:00 GMT

The Young’uns are three award winning troubadours from Teeside. Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes take Matthew Bannister on a walk round the historic headland of Hartlepool where Sean used to live in a shed in his parents’ back garden. Along the way they tell stories and sing songs inspired by the location, visiting the medieval Sandwell Gate, St Hilda’s Church and the Heugh Battery, site of the only First World War battle to take place on British soil. They end up in the Pot House pub, where the Young’uns used to run a folk club, singing Cooney’s original composition “The Hartlepool Pedlar”. There may also be time for a pint.

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