I Dreamt an Ocean - Songs of the Sea Fantasy mingles with time-old reality in an expansive & epic dream of titanic proportions. An enduring voyage. Tales of leaving and staying, farewells, great journeys, adventure, mermaids, endurance, stormy seas and calm, survival, reflection and then a final acceptance that nature is greater than man. We are of this world born and so on it we do depend. Eclectic folk rock mixtape.   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^   Cat Stevens makes a rare appearance on the blog with three 1970 tracks from Tea With the Tillerman . I've been asked why we seldom play Stevens, a goliath of the folk world. Now then, while we have dropped two or three songs before I personally always found Steven's approach often a little bit too clean & precise for my taste (a bit too straight - the opposite of Jansch, for example). The sheer quality ...

Guy Clark Tribute   Celebrating the music of an original outlaw, the legendary Guy Clark  with an all-star mixtape. Bringing together various originals, live versions and covers along with a load of other folky Americana stuff. One for chillin' to.     ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ Texan  Americana trailblazer  Guy Clark  first came to prominance in the mid-1970's with the release of his superb first two albums recorded in  Nashville . While his LPs were well received Clark was initially regarded primarily as a songwriter and remained very much an underground name until he enjoyed a strong rennaisance in later decades. S everal of his compositions were high profile hits for big name artists over the years.  Known for his relaxed, stripped-down approach to a playing and a distinctive spoken Texas drawl, he was an excellent songsmit...

    If I was a Blackbird Yes indeed.   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ Naturally, for the times we're living in, a good few peace songs fade in and our. Leads with some gorgeous laments from Scottish singer Jean Redpath ,  Barry Dransfield  and the title song by Silly Wizard  Trademark socially conscious lyrics from the great Christy Moore , including the wonderfully heartfelt The Least We Can Do . Seth Lakeman blazes through a number of powerful tunes from his Poor Man's Heaven and new The Granite Way LPs. As soon as I first hear him he brought progressive rock bands like Rush to mind. Folky instrumentation & subject material enthused with rock production values and vocals ; contemporary folk rock at its most fiery & edgy!   Karine Polwart sets the pace with a few of her older recordings from 2006-07. Soaring voice, flowing mus...

  Ready for the Storm Relax along that ol' trail with some groovin' alternative folk-country sounds   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^   We revisit Aly Bains and friends' Transatlantic Sessions from 1995 with atmospheric tracks by renowned Uillean piper Davy Spillane and two emotive Dougie MacLean duets with Kathy Mattea . Outlaw country legend Guy Clark is cool as a breeze on Dublin Blues with Karen Matheson . Three apiece for two country superstars: Relatively recent Willie Nelson tracks and vintage 1970's-90's Emmylou Harris . Always a joy to hear those guys. The irrepressible Jesse Welles continues his one man barrage against oppression and injustice with more well-aimed salvos that no Iron Dome could ever stop. This man's on fire! Jake Blount & Mali Obomsawin  put out the excellent  Symbiont  in 2024, an interesting and ever experi...

Archie Fisher Tribute - Fiddler's Green Tribute to a total legend of Scottish folk music, Archie Fisher . The man passed away in 2025 aged 86 after an incredible 65 years making music. Well known for presenting the Travelling Folk programme on Radio Scotland 1983-2010, his recorded releases stretch back to 1962 with his sisters The Fisher Family . Several high grade albums followed at irregular intervals until 2015. He also toured irregularly, often teaming up with Canadian multi-instrumentalist Garnet Rogers   and also John Renbourn . Fisher's gentle picking style and clean, melodic vocal tone set him apart and make for essential listening, drawing comparisons with England's Ralph McTell. His songs usually take a few listens to really penetrate (as all the best ones do), play at volume.  Traditional songs, originals and a few interpretations of other artists' music, together with a selection of other artists covering Fisher. songs.  Fairport Convention , Emily Smith ,...

Everyday Folk Jus' a selection of Scottish, Irish, English & American folk, late-1970's to present, for your musical enjoyment.    ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^   As usual the old run shoulders with the new. Songs from the brilliant new Seth Lakeman LP, The Granite Way . Spotlights also on amazing Scottish sangster Karine Polwart and a Dylan-inspired  Jesse Welles , including tracks from his latest album Devil's Den . Woman, America is a great protest song. Jake Blount brings something new to folk Americana and specialises in traditional African American sounds, his work has been described as as 'Afrofuturist folklore'. Tracks from his Spider Tales LP (2020). Two acapella songs are performed by folk historian  Angeline Morrison . Yorkshirewoman Kate Rusby has a stunning voice ad is an original songwriter. Some nice more recent tracks by sin...

No Winners in War What more to say? Peace songs blended with some beautiful Persian & Arabic music. An appreciation of the beauty of Islamic Middle Eastern culture.   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ We set of with a beautiful introductory adhan from South African composer Abdulla Ibrahim .  Some lovely Iranian music and songs by Abdolnaghi Afsharnia , Chengis Mehdipou , Parvin Javdan , the Ali Akbar Moradikayhan Kalhor  and Persian rock band Barad .  Rami Essam is an Egptian topical singer-guitarist and his Ramy Ramy is a real cry for freedom. Kelmti Horra (My Word is Free) is a wonderful song by Tunisian musician Emel Mathlouthi . Tiken Jah Fakoly is a powerfully outspoken reggae star from Senegal. Two tracks from his 2024 Acoustic album, Tonton America (Uncle America) and the once banned Plus Rien Ne M'étonne  (Nothing Surprises Me Anymore...

Existence is Resistance Topical songs from all eras together with some beautiful Palestinian music.      Protesting war & the inhumane behavior of a cabal of corrupt Israel-centric heads of government. A cry for peace and a return to the charter of human rights under a relevant & influencial federated international organisation with real powers.  We condemn  the normalisation of genocide, child murder (& child abuse for that matter - Epstein), double-tap strikes, carpet bombing of cities & hospitals, killing of journalists and a host of other atrocities. We must work towards a return to some kind of moral order, press for a fair, equitable reconstruction and fight for a fairer society and a more sustainable world.      ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ Illustrations from the  Middle East Children’s Alliance art tour Co...

Blues N Rags  Just like it says.. good ol' southern ragtime and blues with a splash of southern rock n roll. Playlist runs beween the late 1950's & 2020. Many songs from the road, leaving songs, walkin' songs, returning songs... Rags with attitude!   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^    Thank you to Cristen Craven Bernard & Erika Litteral for the cover background artwork The Blue Rags were a fun, punky ragtime swing group outta North Carolina. Four romping tracks from their 1997 CD. Bluesman Abe Reid was with the band at around that time before putting his solo project, Basicly Dumb (sic) out in '99. I was lucky to catch them both live back then in Asheville on different nights, raucous and memorable (lets not even go into the blue lights haha). Guitarist & blues/ragtime specialist  Stefan Grossman is well known in the UK for his 1980's ...

Gulf Stream Blues Oh mama, I got the gulf stream blues... Trans-Atlantic folk selection. Traditions have travelled back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean for years to intertwine and create a shared musical heritage.   ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page & stream or d/l^^ Blend of Irish, Scottish, English and American folky sounds. Songs from Linda Thompson 's excellent 2002 LP Fashionably Late . An exploration of some inspirational Jethro Tull tracks from the  late-1970's   Heavy Horses era, including three brilliant studio outtakes that never ought to have been left on cutting floor. Glaswegian band The Humblebums were formed in 1965 by Billy Connolly & Tam Harvey  and were later joined by Gerry Rafferty . The band continued until 1971 when they split to pursue solo projects. Connolly in particular went to to enjoy a stellar career in stand-up comedy, television &...