Four seasons in one blog post

I seem to have neglected my blog since the spring and now it’s nearly the end of the year. It’s not because I’ve had nothing to report. On the contrary, I’ve been busy taking in lots of good music, doing lots of writing and travelling quite a bit - but the poor old blog has, like my garden, been left to lie fallow. Let’s hope the quality of the soil will have improved in the interim and the yield will be increased in the coming year.

My latest album, released in June 2023

One of the things that distracted me from blogging was working on – and then releasing – my new album In the Emptiness. Through April and May I was busy checking and approving the masters and artwork ready for the album’s release in June.

But life has a way of getting in the way of our plans, and so it was that throughout May, the house demanded attention in the form of some significant cracks in the ceilings of the living room and the landing. For days on end my home was taken over by plasterers - and then carpet fitters - so the concentration needed for writing was hard to find. I did manage to attend a Writing West Midlands Regional Writers’ Meet-up in Stratford, which only made me feel more guilty for not devoting more time to writing fiction. Having said that, over the course of 2023, I’ve been more active on the journalistic front, and have had twenty pieces published in a variety of magazines including Songlines and Resurgence so, with hindsight, I can see my writing energies, rather than lying dormant, have simply been redirected into journalism.  

In May I also attended the Dulcimers at Halsway weekend, (an annual event I’ve written about in the past on this blog,) but this was the first time I’d spent the Halsway week sleeping in my microcamper, which made the event feel more ‘outdoorsy’ (as well as making the trip more economical.) As always, I learnt a lot from the visiting mountain dulcimer tutors who, this year, were the wonderful Erin Mae Lewis from Kansas and Thomasina Levy from Connecticut.    

June finally saw the release of my album with a launch gig at the Swan Theatre’s Culture Café in Worcester as well as a radio ‘appearance’ on Black Country Radio (with their incomparable presenter, Billy Spakemon.)

I also managed to catch some excellent films in June at the recently refurbished Ludlow Assembly Rooms: Margy Kinmonth’s brilliant documentary about the great landscape artist Eric Ravilious –Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War – and a highly entertaining new version of The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (directed by Martin Bourboulon,) which literally left me wanting more. (It wasn't until the end credits that I realised this was the first of two linked feature films;  Part Two: The Three Musketeers: Milady, is due for release this month.) The third film I saw in June was, I’m afraid, the new version of The Little Mermaid at Kidderminster’s Lume cinema. I’m very fond of the original and felt this was a pale imitation, but it was made more entertaining by my two little grandchildren who sat – but mostly stood – excitedly in the row in front of me!

One of the best open mic nights in Cumbria

In July I took off in my microcamper again to revisit Keswick, one of my favourite places in England. It was my first visit to Keswick without my late wife Sue, who loved the place as much as I do. It felt strange and, at times, very emotional to be back in Keswick without her, only three years after her I lost her. I was pleased to find our favourite café – the Square Orange – was still there. Visiting Keswick, and especially the Square Orange, felt like a bit of a pilgrimage to Sue. I stayed at the Camping and Caravaning Club’s excellent campsite on the shores of Derwentwater. This is only a short walk into town so I was easily able to carry my guitar to the Crafty Baa, where I had the great pleasure of playing at the Open Mic night, run by the irrepressible Darren Farnham.

Damian Clarke - hurdy-gurdy man - in Worcester 

Later in July, I performed as part of the Malvern Rocks Festival and also the Worcester Fringe Festival (where I finally got to meet Damian Clarke – hammered dulcimer player, hurdy-gurdyist, busker, artist and author.)

My August was, like the previous year, largely taken up with the Purbeck Valley Folk Festival followed swiftly by Shrewsbury Folk Festival. In between these two festivals there was more drama on the domestic front as my washing machine gave up the ghost and needed replacing.

So, first, Purbeck...

There can’t be many other festivals where, from the campsite, you can catch a glimpse of a steam train and have a clear view of a thousand-year-old castle. Nearby Corfe Castle stands sentinel, guarding the route through the Purbeck Hills that leads to this gem of a musical gathering.

This year’s headline attractions included English alt-rockers The Magic Numbers, electro-acoustic whizz-kid Newton Faulkner (who also shared insights in a guitarists’ workshop) and the ever-popular Seth Lakeman.

Alongside these big names, Purbeck excels at supporting emerging artists such as multi-instrumental songwriter Den Miller, a finalist of last year’s Purbeck Rising Showcase. Miller’s performance, switching effortlessly from ingenious parody to thought-provoking meditations on modern life, was testament to Purbeck’s nurturing spirit.

One of the more innovative acts was Mishra (more of which later,) who transfixed the audience – despite a brief rain shower – with their fusion of UK folk and Indian classical music. Accompanying themselves with foot percussion and bass pedals, the duo played banjo, low flute, bombarde and drums – and sang! On Sunday they reemerged as a full band to satisfy the audience in the Big Barn.

The kora was well-represented by both Senegalese/American duo Touki and by Sousou and Maher Cissoko (Senegal/Sweden) but the festival’s secret weapon came from Brittany in the form of Plantec whose electro-Breton sound had the euphoric crowds bouncing as if spellbound by the unlikely, high-energy combination of bombarde, guitar and laptop-generated beats.

Breabach at Shrewsbury Folk Festival 

Shrewsbury Folk Festival has a very different vibe to Purbeck. It feels busier, noisier, more sprawling and, as it runs into the very beginning of August, it can feel a bit cooler overnight in the microcamper. Highlights of Shrewsbury were O’Hooley & Tidow, Breabach, Talisk (who were amazing), my old friends Good Habits, Mishra (again) and Billy Bragg (who I’m glad to have finally seen live but who, I'm afraid, came across as rather sanctimonious.) The absolute pinnacle of the festival for me was Joachim Cooder who performed music from his 2020 homage to the songs of Uncle Dave Macon - Over That Road I'm Bound.

Red Guitars in Birmingham

As we slid into autumn, there was still some live music to be had in September in the form of recently reformed indie band Red Guitars at O2 Academy Birmingham and Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart at Huntingdon Hall, while I did a couple of gigs of my own as part of Worcester Music Festival. Then, In October I played another Culture Café gig and attended the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club’s Annual Weekend at Swanwick in Derbyshire, where I was invited to run a beginners' dulcimer workshop. Here, I had the pleasure of meeting (for the second time) outstanding dulcimer players Aaron O’Rourke and Stephen Seifert, both great players and teachers but also naturally witty and charming people.

Mishra at Shrewsbury Coffee House

In October, I also had the honour of interviewing Karine Polwart for Songlines magazine and my feature on Karine appears in the January/February issue which is already out now. 

November saw, on the domestic front, a major operation involving thinning out and lopping several overgrown trees in my garden. But I also got to see Mishra live for the fifth time this year – this time at Shrewsbury Coffee House with my brother Phil, who took a picture of me with Kate and Ford.

Kate & Ford from Mishra, with your humble blogger

And then Christmas arrived and I got into my usual flap, writing Christmas cards, buying presents, and trying not to be grumpy. My next blog post will share with you some of the great albums I’ve discovered in 2023 …and I'll try not to leave it so long between posting. That almost sounds like a resolution. Happy New Year!