Fairport Convention and some other Folk

Bridge & Allen - Together Again
The infamous 70s duo reunited after their big tune Heather's Mist was used as the theme for sci-fi hit show Outlandish. Persuaded out of retirement to record a covers album with modern acts, they manage to book KT Tunstall, Mel C and the Proclaimers. Will Alan Allen and Duncan Bridge stay together this time? Amusingly done.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections 2020 - Dervish
A new series. As well as Dervish, there was music from The Poozies, and chats with members of both bands. There was also a collective whose full name would take too long to mention here.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections - Della Mae / Peggy Seeger
More from the Arches, Glasgow. DM chatted about having 5 women in a band, and played a few tunes. The legendary Peggy sang, chatted about her legacy, and played with two of her sons. The other notable act was Malin Lewis, whose new project seems to be called Two Octaves. Another good show.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections - Aoife Scott & Ron Block
They've collaborated on an album project, which was recorded in Tennessee. They met at Celtic Connections in 2018. Also on the show were Abigail Washington & Bela Fleck, Naad-hara and more from Two Octaves.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections - Talisk
They've no vocalist. Also on the line-up were more of Two Octaves (Malin Lewis chatting about the project for once), Eabhal, who I think came from Tiree and went to Uist, and Miller MacDonald Cormier, a supergroup of 3 acts.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections: RURA
Quite enjoying this series, although the crossover with previous shows is getting a bit silly. Whether giving each act their own whole show would have been better, I can't say. Anyway, RURA were marking 10 years together, the Poozies are celebrating 30 years, Naad-hara, Eabhal and the Seamus Egan Project had no such convenient number to work with.

TMF - Feis Chiull Throdh - Skerryvore
From 2015, a good half hour of tunrs inclusing Call Of The Sea and The Angry Fiddler.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections 2020 - Kinnaris Quintet
The penultimate episode saw a headline act who've only been going for 3 years. Elsewhere, Seamus Egan chatted about his titular project and how it feels after 20 years in Solas, and Naad-hara and Aoife Scott & Ken Block also played.

Seirm @ Celtic Connections: Della Mae
End of the series, so more stuff from RURA, Dervish, Aoife Scott & Ron Block, The Poozies and Della Mae. Some of whom chatted as well as sang. Glad to have enjoyed this series in order for once.

TMF - The Urban Teuchtars
They started in 2010, and this 2015 show was their telly debut. They had a busy half-hour and plenty of good songs to boot.

TMF - Saturday night highlights (2015)
They obviously wanted their value from the material they got at this show. Besides the already seen Urban Teuchtars and We Banjo 3, were numbers from The Chaplins, Manran and Skerryvore, plus a chat with Kathleen and Sineag from Urban Teuhctars.

misery guts wrote:Iul a' Chiuil (The Musical Path) - Fosgailte
The story of bands like Runrig, Moving Hearts, Capercaillie, Clannad and the Riverdance phenomenon, plus more modern acts like Moxie and Jarlath Henderson. A large cast of contributors considered how traditional Celtic sounds have had differing treatments in Scotland and Ireland.

Iul a' Chiuil (The Musical Path)
Now seen all 3 parts of this series (the above being the middle one). Many performers and creatives told the tale of the folk scenes on either sides of the Straits of Moyle. There's also a performance series linked to it as well, which I hope to catch up with too. Better late than never.

TMF - Skipinnish
The end of that 2015 series. They formed in 1999 apparently, and some tracks were just instrumentals. They even threw in a cover of Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, which was bemusing.

Ffwrnes Gerdd
A 2-part series showcasing many Welsh folk acts in performance. Some were writers, some instrumentalists, some just singers, some were all three. A pleasant enough series.

Judy Dyble, one of the original singers with Fairport Convention, has died at 71. RIP 

misery guts wrote:Iul a' Chiuil (The Musical Path)
Now seen all 3 parts of this series (the above being the middle one). Many performers and creatives told the tale of the folk scenes on either sides of the Straits of Moyle. There's also a performance series linked to it as well, which I hope to catch up with too. Better late than never.

Iul a' Chiuil (The Musical Path - The Music)
A 5-part series of performance, some of which were shown in extract form in the main series. So we heard from Jarlath Henderson, Lau, Atlas, Inyal, Eoghan Neff, Talisk, Snuffbox, Damien O'Kane, Moxie and others, some more than once.

Julie Fowlis - Ceol aig Baile
A 9-part series of the format where people around the world perform songs via video-call technology. Each one was curated by a separate team, but Julie pretty much anchored the series anyway. Rosanne Cash turned up in one episode, and overall there were acts from all over.

misery guts wrote:Colin Macleod - When It Kicks In
He's a crofter on the Isle of Lewis, and also a folkie singer-songwriter making waves with a US label. He combines his home-life with his rock-life (such as a gig on the James Corden show). His album is called Bloodlines, and the show's title is another of his tracks.

Colin Macleod - The Music
An addendum to the above, with performance footage from gigs in different countries, plus the big final spot on James Corden's show. He fitted in chat about life on Lewis, working in America, and the blend between playing live and being in the studio.

Port
Another mammoth (8-part) series from 2016, with Julie Fowlis and Muirean Nic Anhlaoibh. They visited Ross-Shire, Cork, Edinburgh, Donegal, Connemara and Lewis, showcasing the best of Scottish and Irish folk, with a couple of "extras" shows at the end.

Tide Lines 2020 - Air Chuairt
Another mix of old and new, with specially recorded material from the titular band, and some from a show they've done with space-themed songs like Starman and Rocket Man. Tamzene collaborated on one song.

BBC Proms '20: Laura Marling and the 12 Ensemble
Folk star Marling sings with the 12 Ensemble, without them, with some quartet, and so on. Impressive show, to be fair.

Lorient is Alba
A 4-part series from the InterCeltic Festival in Brittany in 2017. The theme was Scotland, and presenters Allan McDonald and Julie Fowlis spoke to many of the bands in attendance, and sundry other persons involved with it. Bands included Elephant Sessions, HoRo, Hecla, the TMSA Young Trad Tour, the Mischa McPherson Trio, Blasta (also including Mischa McPherson), and Tide Lines, to whom the final show was entirely devoted.

The Quay Sessions : Karine Polwart
She was presumably pushing an album of cover versions, as she and her band did songs by Churches, Big Country, Ivor Cutler and Emeli Sande among others. Some good choices.

Seirm - Blue Rose Cafe
The 2019 series, again from Celtic Connections. BRC were the main act featured, as well as Lahira, Dreamers' Circus and The Local Honeys. At least most acts had short interviews but the performances were the main thing.

Virtual Folk Songs / Ty Gwerin O Bell
The 2020 Eisteddfodd was rather more virtual than otherwise, and here were short sets from Cowbois Rhos Botwnng, Tant and Vri. Pleasant enough.

Seirm - Tim O'Brien & Jan Fabricius
Besides these two, there was Gillebride MacMillan, Loudon Wainwright III and Coig. Again, decent efforts.

misery guts wrote:Port
Another mammoth (8-part) series from 2016, with Julie Fowlis and Muirean Nic Anhlaoibh. They visited Ross-Shire, Cork, Edinburgh, Donegal, Connemara and Lewis, showcasing the best of Scottish and Irish folk, with a couple of "extras" shows at the end.

Port - Druthag Bheag Eile
A 4-part extra series with performance footage not already crammed into the original series, linked by Julie Fowlis.