Mumford & Sons are more than just banjos and waistcoats
The band may have moved on aesthetically from the 2010s, but the music remains electrifying
ByFolk music
In defence of cabaret-style seated gigs
There’s something about crowding round tables at a concert that conjures conversational magic.
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Paul Brady’s songs of conflict
The Northern Irish songwriter – Bob Dylan’s “secret hero” – on making morally complex music in the time of the…
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Richard Dawson’s songs of England
On his new album The End of the Middle, the cult singer explores a nation defined by loss and alcoholism,…
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Motherhood is full of agony, but its songs are deemed “nice”
I’d always shied away from writing sentimental songs about having babies for fear of seeming too soppy.
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Laura Marling’s songs of experience
As the singer showcased her new album Patterns in Repeat at Hackney Church, the parallels across her work – and…
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Rediscovering the bright lights
An old album and a Pet Shop Boys gig remind me of music’s power to refresh memories and forge new…
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Revisiting Richard and Linda Thompson’s folk-rock masterpiece
Fifty years on, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight retains a spartan beauty – and a feeling of…
By Bridget St John and the power of folk memory
At a magical gig in east London, I feel transported to Greenwich Village in the Sixties.
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First Aid Kit: “We realised constant touring was not a good way to live”
Johanna and Klara Söderberg on making music as sisters, the side effects of ambition, and taking a break from live…
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Are football songs the new folk music?
From the trumpet blasts in “Sweet Caroline” to the many chants based on the tune of “Vindaloo” – sports songs…
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How Shirley Collins became an icon of English folk
The singer’s updated memoir is a charming, idiosyncratic evocation of her journey from postwar Hastings to the music scenes of…
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