THE last year has seen a range of exciting albums from both new and veteran artists on the folk scene as well as some inspiring concerts.

Devon-based duo Harbottle and Jonas released their Saving the Good Stuff Vol 1 with a combination of traditional songs like Wild Mountain Thyme as well as more contemporary tracks. There were also good albums with a storytelling theme from The Carrivick Sisters (Illustrated Short Stories), Lady Maisery (Tender) and The Trials of Cato (Gog Magog).

Tyneside trio The Young ’Uns released what was probably their best album yet with a body of songs written by band member Sean Cooney. Going alongside a brilliant concert tour Tiny Notes tells real-life stories of people caught up in sometimes tragic situations but also offering some hope for the future.

Teesside seems to naturally produce good folk musicians, as shown by the duo Stu and Debbie Hanna, known as Megson, who have released a new album What Are We Trying to Say along with a touring show, The Herald, to accompany it. Both the album and the performance look at the role of the media in providing information and the need to find out what is the real truth. 

Another inspiring album with a political theme came from Reg Meuross with Stolen from God. This album was the result of four years research into the transatlantic slave trade. With a concert tour accompanied by Sengalese kora master Jali Fily Cissokho and concertina player Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne from young folk band Granny’s Attic, the album is a cycle of songs exploring the slave trade from different perspectives and detailing the extent of how much British institutions including the church benefitted. Songs like The Jesus of Lubeck show how the trade was “endorsed by God and royalty” and Good Morning Mr Colston is a fitting response to right-wing media commentators more outraged at the toppling of a slave trader’s statue than the trade itself. 

From the United States we had Rachel Baiman’s Common Nation of Sorrow. Coming from a socialist family background she recounts her reluctance as a child to discuss this with her friends in a country where the term was taboo. However, the current reality means her generation has had to look hard at their economic situation and the album is a no-holds-barred look at US capitalism and the lack of affordable healthcare. 

Sheffield Park by George Sansome and Matt Quinn is a good example of reworkings of traditional folk songs by two young folk artists and York-based performer Joshua Burnell released an intriguing album Glass Knight exploring themes from folklore and fairy tales in what can be described as a folk-rock concept album.

We also saw the release of two amazing “Best of” collections. Scotland’s Kris Drever released a 36-track CD of his solo work as well as those performed with the band Lau. Consisting mainly of contemporary songs, there is also a rousing version of Les Rice’s US socialist anthem Banks of Marble. The other great retrospective release was Roots 2: The Best of Show of Hands where West Country duo Steve Knightley and Phil Beer mark their 30-year career with a 31-track double album before taking an “indefinite break.” With politically themed songs like Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed and Columbus (Didn’t Find America) this represents folk roots at its best.