Category: Uncategorized

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!

Happy New Year everyone and there is plenty for folk fans to look forward to in 2026.

All the main ‘Listings’, the Unicorn Diary, Festival Finder and Gigs & Tours have now been updated on the main Unicorn Folk website and there is plenty to choose from. You can even find a festival or two in January if you are so inclined with Celtic Connections starting on the 15^th and the West Coast Folk Festival at Blackpool Winter Gardens from Friday 23^rd to Sunday 25^th. Seth Lakeman, Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings and The Webb Sisters are the headliners for the latter.

Amongst the many gigs listed in the Unicorn Diary in January Phil Beer and Johnny Coppin can be found at Hitchin Folk Club on the 11th and some of the artists listed in Gigs & Tours are also kicking off tours or playing dates in January, including Le Vent Du Nord.

The festive season is a time when many Morris sides are active and it would be good to get a Dance Diary off the ground in 2026 to include not only the activities of Morris sides but also folk dance societies. So, please send in details of your club’s activities for a FREE listing in the Dance Diary and maybe attract some new members in the process.

Other things to look forward to in 2026 include the Fairport Convention Winter Tour which kicks off on 17^th 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) which is mentioned below. 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.

Filby’s Folk New Year/Best of 2025 podcast (Show 113) is now available and it includes the new music that I have enjoyed listening to during the past year. If I had to pick a best album of the year then it would have to be Turnstone by the Gigspanner Big Band. At seventy three minutes in length you can just close your eyes and imagine that you are enjoying the band in concert, as indeed I was lucky enough to do earlier in the year. Reg Meuross also produced a very fine album in Fire and Dust which tells the story of Woody Guthrie. The album consists of a dozen of his own songs coupled with covers of four of Guthrie’s and with the added benefit of a booklet containing biographical notes and lyrics I certainly felt much better informed about Guthrie’s music. The third stand out album in my opinion came at the end of the year courtesy of The Winter Wonderband and their seasonal album Joy Illimited which contained some lovely new compositions as well some interesting new covers. There is also plenty of other good music from 2025 to be heard in the podcast.

Finally, don’t forget that Unicorn Folk exists to promote folk music for the benefit of fans, musicians and music venues. It is run as a not-for-profit and all of the Listings are FREE with very modest charges (typically £10 for 2 months) made for events featured on the front page of the website in order to cover expenses. Some charitable events or those that promote the cause of folk music and/or folk traditions are also occasionally featured on the front page.