Music, Folk

5 Reasons to Go See . . .I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore

1 Talking about music isn’t like dancing about architecture. A curse on whoever was meant to have said that thing about writing about music. Steve Martin? Elvis Costello? This is a talk, it’s about music and it promises to be really quite…

Burning Beaches, The Recks, Khushi and Velvet Stream to play ListLive in London

The event is the first in a series of London gigs hosted by The List and promoters All Night Long

The List's first London-based live music event is only a week away, and we're pretty darn excited. With ListLive, we aim to embrace any genre of music as long as it's good, and for our debut outing in the UK capital, we've assembled four bands spanning…

eagleowl - The Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 10 May 2013

It only took ten years, but eagleowl’s first album finally hatches

Despite being Edinburgh and UK gig-playing regulars for almost a decade now, this was the night they launched their debut LP This Silent Year, an evening that saw the Fence-signed sextet eagleowl beam in all their slowcore majesty. Well thought-out…

Alasdair Roberts & Friends - Stereo, Glasgow, Fri 3 May 2013

Less a conventional folk gig than a subversive ceilidh organised by some cracked millenarian cult

Alasdair Roberts is hopping around the stage, picking out a jaunty Scottish dance tune on guitar. Huddled around him are fiddler Rafe Fitzpatrick and electric guitarist Ben Reynolds, while double-bassist Stevie Jones flanks them all, rocking and swaying…

Quercus - Quercus

June Tabor and Huw Warren collaboration blending jazz and folk tradition

(ECM) The great English folk singer June Tabor has been working with Welsh pianist Huw Warren for several years, most notably on her 2011 album Ashore. Now, under the Quercus umbrella, the pair is joined by saxophonist Iain Ballamy, best known for…

Meursault's Neil Pennycook talks touring, recording and Plastic Animals

The power-folk group are working on a new album following last year's Something for the Weakened

Fronted by the booming and distinct voice of Neil Pennycook, power-folk act Meursault have been offering their delicate, tender musings for over five years now. They put out their debut album, 2008’s Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, the first…

William Tyler - Impossible Truth

A shimmering, uplifting psych-folk album influenced by 70s singer-songwriters

(Merge) With gilded stints as backing guitarist to Bonnie Prince Billy, Silver Jews, Candi Staton and Lambchop under his low-slung belt, you might be inclined to wonder if prodigious fingerpicker William Tyler had the motivation, energy or indeed time…

Thirty Pounds of Bone - I Cannot Sing You Here, But for Songs of Where

Album exploring location and identity via travelling odes and upbeat celtic folk knees-ups

(Armellodie) As you might suspect of an itinerant folk hoarder who takes his grisly nom de plume from the average weight of a dead man’s bones, Johnny Lamb appreciates the gravity of his songs. His third album, I Cannot Sing You Here... frames his…

James and Twin Atlantic announced for Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival 2013 line-up

The fest will also host The Straits, Noisettes, Admiral Fallow, The Horrors and Dougie Maclean

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival’s 10th anniversary with be headlined by Manchester indie rock band James and Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic. James, formed in 1982, produced one of the Bella’s most celebrated performances in 2007. 12 studio albums…

Prom on the Prom promises a fun, family-friendly fiddling frenzy

The public musical performance encourages kids to pick up an instrument

Despite the name of their organisation, the founders of Fun Fiddle are well aware that learning a musical instrument doesn’t come easy. ‘We’re called Fun Fiddle, but let’s face it, it’s not always fun,’ says Gica Loening of the Portobello-based group…

The newly-christened Tradfest presents 'feast of culture in the Festival city'

Traditional and folk artists taking part include Karine Polwart, Alasdair Roberts and Shooglenifty

Tradfest is a new 12 day festival bringing dance, crafts, folk drama and environmental celebrations to venues across Edinburgh. The first under this particular name, the festival is organised by the Scottish Storytelling Centre on behalf of Traditional…

Beth Orton - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh, Tue 9 Apr 2013

The ever-pegged queen of British folk is affably personable at this reasonably intimate show

Given the hype around Beth Orton’s sixth and latest release Sugaring Season you might expect the ever-pegged queen of British folk to be flush with confidence. Instead she’s sheepish, funny and affably personable; drinking herbal tea, pulling her jeans…

Willy Mason – Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 10 Mar 2013

The rootsy singer-songwriter's show succeeds best when pared right back

'You wanna hear some songs?' burrs Willy Mason into the sold-out, low-lit basement of Oran Mor. Songs are what he promises, and songs – pared-back, intimate, glorious – are exactly what he provides. Mason works at a slow and steady pace: at the age…

Randolph’s Leap - The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 16 Feb

Catchy and lighthearted set from the Leap, supported by Jo Mango and Snowgoose

‘Are you all prepared for the worst voice of the evening?’ comes the playful opening gambit from Randolph’s Leap singer Adam Ross, his seven bandmates settling into position behind him. It’s a point prudently made in light of the intimate evening’s…

John C Reilly & Friends - St Andrew’s in the Square, Glasgow, Tue 12 Feb 2013

Actor takes country band on the road as part of Wreck-It Ralph publicity tour

’We got the Death Star to work for us,’ laughs John C Reilly, actor, singer, raconteur and star of Disney offering Wreck-It Ralph, explaining the novel approach to around-the-world publicity junkets he managed to talk the megacorpration into. Instead…

Monoganon - Mono, Glasgow, Thu 10 Jan

Charmingly ramshackle psych-folk performance from John B McKenna and co

Wandering onstage to the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme, then spending ages tuning up, deliberately awkwardly, Monoganon are a glorious curveball. Gigs by the Glasgow-formed quartet are relatively rare, as singer/songwriter John B McKenna lives in Malmö…

Hollywood actor John C Reilly to play intimate music show in Glasgow

The star of Wreck-It Ralph is also a roots musician

Hollywood star John C Reilly will be visiting the Glasgow's St Andrews in The Square on Tue 12 Feb to play an intimate gig, alongside fellow musicians Becky Stark and Tom Brosseau. Reilly, who is signed to Jack White's Third Man Records label, plays…

Fatherson & Friends - King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 16 Jan

Acoustic show from Celtic indie band fleshed out with brass and strings

Calling in a string quartet and horns section is normally the preserve of bands entering the ‘mature’ middle-phase of their career, but young Kilmarnock quintet Fatherson already feel grown-up enough to dial orchestra, albeit as a one-off for this King…

Anderson McGinty Webster Ward and Fisher - King Tut’s, Glasgow, Sat 12 Jan 2013

Gig showcases Dundee acoustic fivesome’s musicianship

Uniting five pillars of the Dundee music scene, rootsy acoustic collective Anderson McGinty Webster Ward and Fisher is a smart and fruitful exercise in individual songwriters and players combining strengths. With so many talents jostling for primacy as…

The best events at Dublin’s TradFest 2013

Highlights at the annual music festival, featuring Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and the Sands Family

TradFest kicks off again today for the 8th year. It’s Dublin’s biggest festival of traditional music and culture -- designed to expand your mind far beyond any Riverdance clichés and shine a spotlight upon Ireland’s rich musical traditions. Bringing…

Alasdair Roberts & Friends - A Wonder Working Stone

Diverse source material reworked into complex and idiosyncratic originals

(Drag City) Those who (wrongly) have Alasdair Roberts down as a dour purveyor of funereal dirges might be surprised to hear the Trossachs troubadour launching into Scottish country-dance romp, ‘The Bluebell Polka’, complete with parping horns and a…

Top five world music events at Celtic Connections 2012

Konono No. 1, Tamikrest and Bulgarian State Radio and Television Choir among highlights

This year’s festival offers riches from Africa, Eastern Europe and South America. Let The List’s jazz and world music reviewer Stewart Smith be your guide. Salif Keita. A rare Scottish outing for the great singer, Mali’s Salif Keita. From the colourful…

Exposure: Daughter

The ambient alt.folk trio are tipped for great things in 2013

One daughter and two sons, this London trio will be all over the January tips-for-the-year lists with their unnervingly, transfixing model of emotionally derelict ambient alt-folk. Having spent the last few months bedding in with a handful of singles…

Mumford & Sons - SECC, Glasgow, Wed 5 Dec 2012

The nu-folk kingpins prove they can hold their own on a big stage

Early this December T in the Park announced The Killers, Rihanna, Azealia Banks and these guys for next year’s festival, heaping a great deal of expectation on the 20th anniversary shindig. When indie-folk outfit Mumford & Sons were confirmed as…

Dan Mangan – Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 25 Nov 2012

Raw, vulnerable alt.indie folk with spaced-out banter

‘I don’t think this is the most jet-lagged I’ve ever been onstage – I think this is the most jet-lagged I’ve ever been.’ There’s a hint of ragged, rough-round-the-edges-ness to Canadian indie-folkie Dan Mangan’s gig tonight, due no doubt to his…