Author: wp-unicornfolkuk

Such sad news to hear of the passing of Dave Shepherd, violin player with Blowzabella for over 40 years since 1983, especially so since the band had announced that they would stop touring in 2028 on the 50^th anniversary of their formation.

I can’t claim to have known Dave on a personal basis nor to know very much about him, but it’s clear from some of the tributes that he was a much loved husband, father and grandad and a very well respected musician who was an integral part of Blowzabella. I have been a fan of the band since 1986, not long after he joined, so his violin playing has always been a part of the sound that I love and I am so pleased that I managed to see Blowzabella in October last year at Cecil Sharp House after a long interval between concerts. Not only was he a fine violinist but also a fine teacher of dance and dance tunes and a composer of many, and an important part of the European Balfolk movement. I would therefore like to register my thanks and appreciation for all the fine music I have enjoyed for over half my lifetime thanks to Dave and Blowzabella as well as offer sincere condolences to his family, friends and musical colleagues.

Looking ahead to what’s going on over the next few days the first thing to say is that the Ceilidh planned as a fundraiser for Ely Folk Festival this coming Saturday 28^th March has now been cancelled, which is why the poster for the event has disappeared from the Featured Events section on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website.

Tonight, Thursday 26^th, I’m looking forward to seeing Owl Light for the first time at Royston Live but if that is too soon for you there are plenty of other gigs in the next week or two which can be found in the Unicorn Diary covering March to May in the Listings on the main Unicorn Folk website. Amongst those is the Fairport Convention concert at the Union Chapel in London this coming Saturday 28^th and if you need persuading you can find a review of their recent concert at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds HERE or amongst the other concert reviews under the ‘Music’ tab on the main Unicorn Folk website where you can also find the ‘Gigs & Tours’Listing which includes details of the rest of their Spring Tour amongst those for many other folk artists. Be quick if you want to see Fairportas many of the dates are selling out fast!

Also on Saturday 28^th the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust are hosting one of their informative and instructional events at the Copeman Centre in Briston, this time involving a celebration of Norfolk traditional music, song and dance. A link to that event can either be found in the Unicorn Diary or in the Featured Eventson on the front page of the main Unicorn Folk website.

The Stables, Milton Keynes hosts the Phil Beer Trio tomorrow evening, Friday 27^th and looking further ahead, I can thoroughly recommend the Gigspanner Big Band at the same venue on Thursday 9^th April – see last year’s concert review on Unicorn Folk.

Dunton Folk in the person of Simon Bailes are holding a series of Sea Shanty Workshops over the coming months and the next one is at Letchworth Settlement on 2^nd April. Simon has been a friend to the Unicorn Magazine in the past and you can find details of all the workshops here on the Dunton Folk website with a link in the Unicorn Diary. Later, on Tuesday 7^th April there is an interesting FREE concert at The Harrison in London staged by The Woolverstones and you can listen to their music first on Bandcamp before booking tickets HERE.

Filby’s Folk Show 115 came out on March 12^th and is worth a listen especially if you are interested in new folk music as it contains lots of new stuff from both new and established artists. There is plenty more to come in the same vein so do keep an eye out for Show 116 which should be out within the next week. In the meantime I hope you have a folking good weekend!

Well, it’s been awhile again since the last blog owing to other commitments in recent weeks to Creative Royston which runs Royston Arts Festival but at least it now feels like Spring may have arrived.

Let’s start off then with a quick heads up for two charitable events that are taking place tonight 6^th March and tomorrow night on the 7th. The first is a fundraiser for Cavendish Hall in Thurston, Suffolk with The Larks performing which starts at 7.30pm and the second is tomorrow night when there is a Charity Ceilidh being held in support of the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity also from 7.30pm. More details can be found by following the links in the Featured Events section on the main Unicorn Folk website and please excuse the poor quality of the poster which is a photo of course!

If you are a folkie parent or grandparent, or perhaps an aunt or uncle to an under 8 year-old then you have the perfect chance to inspire the youngest generation with your kind of music. Acclaimed folk duo Megson are on the road from 14^th March in this region presenting a delightful concert experience tailored for young children, combining their award-winning vocals and rich harmonies. Featuring timeless children’s folk songs and fresh new tracks from their albums When I Was A Lad and Little Bird the duo will be playing venues from London to Cambridge and Oxford to Norwich and all the details can be found on their website.

Some news in from Blowzabella following last year’s announcement that they will disband permanently in 2028, their 50th anniversary. This year they’re playing in England, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy and will do a small number of gigs in 2027 and early 2028 and that’s it. All the details are on their website as soon as they’re confirmed but for all their fans around the world who can’t get to see them live and theyre recording a live album and filming a concert for online broadcast. If you’re anywhere near Muziekcentrum Dranouter (see post for February 19) in West Flanders on Tuesday 10th March you can be a part of the audience for the concert filming though tickets are limited and only available in advance.

Other things happening soon include the Fairport Convention Winter Tour which kicks off on 17th March and Cropredy tickets are already on sale for those looking ahead to the summer. An added attraction of the Winter Tour is that the support act is the very talented singer-songwriter Jenn Butterworth whose debut solo album appeared in 2025. A track from that album, Her By Design, rated one of the best for last year, can be heard on Filby’s Folk (Show 113 & others – see indexes). If you are reading this blog on the Unicorn Magazine you will find a link to both the tour and Cropredy ticketing sites in the Gigs & Tours Listing on the main Unicorn Folk website.

On the subject of Filby’s Folk I hope to get the next one out over the weekend as I have lots of interesting new music to play from a wide variety of artists that you may never have heard of, but if you listen to the podcast you will be in a better position to spot up and coming new folk artists and perhaps be encouraged to go and see them at your local or nearby folk venue.

Finally, there is a new Unicorn Diary covering March to May in the Listings on the main Unicorn Folk website with some additional new listings for March and April as well as May. I’m also hoping to establish a Dance Diary soon so do send in your club activities for a FREE listing ideally in the same format as the Unicorn Diary please.

I must begin this latest and rather overdue blog with a tribute to Martin Carthy given the latest sad news on his health and the fact that he will no longer be able to tour.

I didn’t really get into folk music until the early seventies by which time I had missed out on the years when he first made his reputation playing solo in the clubs and then with Dave Swarbrick. Many years later I was fortunate enough to see Carthy and Swarbrick when the two performed together at Hitchin Folk Club whilst Swarb was still recovering from yet another operation but my first exposure to Martin’s unique voice was mainly through albums with bands such as Steeleye Span and The Albion Country Band. I remember being delighted when he briefly rejoined the former for the Storm Force Ten tour in 1978 when I luckily got to a concert in Bath. Over the years I have probably only seen Carthy in concert on around ten occasions, not enough really, but last of all in Royston Folk Club a few years ago when I was pleased to be able to say thank you to him personally for another very enjoyable performance. I have always thought of him as the male ‘Voice of English Folk’ with respect to all the other great English folk singers I have heard over the years and of course he was justly renowned for his unique style of guitar playing. I hope his final years will be peaceful which would be the least he deserves for the huge contribution he has made to English folk music and beyond over the course of his long and distinguished career.

On a happier note Ninebarrow will embark on a short series of concerts starting tonight Friday February 6^th in Upwey, Weymouth and finishing on 2^nd May in Sturminster Newton. In between there are just 6 dates and they do not venture too far out of the South West apart from their concert in Hackney, London on 27^th March. However, they are planning at least one e-concert from Ninebarrow HQ on 7^th March and all the details can be found using the link in the ‘Gigs & Tours’ Listing on the main Unicorn Folk website.

The new year is a good time to consider learning new skills or brushing up on old ones and there is an opportunity for folk musicians to do just that at The Stables in Milton Keynes which is hosting a six week course covering The Ceilidh Experience which starts on Sunday 8^thFebruary. In a similar vein, Chiltern Folk Association are hosting a number of events during February and March including a Caller’s Workshop led by no lesser practitioner than Mr Barry Goodman and that will take place in Amersham on Saturday 28^thMarch. Details of both the 6-week course and the workshop can be found amongst the ‘Featured Events’ on the main Unicorn Folk website.

The Unicorn Diary has been updated to include some additional gigs not previously in various folk club’s programmes at the beginning of the year and now covers the period February to April and includes over 110 events. It would be really good to get a Dance Diary off the ground this year so dance clubs and societies and Morris sides are all invited to send in listings of their events to info@unicornfolk.uk ideally in the same format as in the Unicorn Diary.

Finally, the latest edition Show 114 of Filby’s Folk has been available since last Thursday and as it was recently Burns Night this edition of the podcast is dedicated to Scottish Folk music, old and new. If you like Scottish Folk music then you will enjoy this podcast and if you don’t but listen anyway then you might change your mind!