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Introducing the Tradfolk Takeover at FolkEast

Introducing the first ever Tradfolk Takeover at the FolkEast Festival, featuring some of the up-and-coming stars of traditional English folk music.

It’s a great honour to have been asked to run a stage at the wonderful FolkEast festival this coming August. We’ll be taking over the beautiful Stage in the Woods for the whole of Sunday afternoon and evening, programming performances from some of our favourite singers of traditional folk songs and broadsides, many of whom regular readers of Tradfolk will know and love.

Tradfolk editor, Jon Wilks, explains, “All of the artists we’ve invited specialise in traditional English folk music but come at it from diverse and intriguing angles. The aim was to put artists on the stage that are passionate about the tradition but not necessarily household names in the folk world. That said, since we first put the lineup together, some have already bucked that trend: Hack Poets Guild is now one of the most spoken-about folk groups of the year, and Angeline Morrison has become something of a superstar since her appearance on Later with Jools Holland.

Here’s you’ll get to see if you come and spend the day with us at the Tradfolk Takeover.

Patakas

Will and Joe Sartin share more than a striking physical resemblance to their esteemed father, Paul. Both are exceptionally talented musicians. Joe, still a teenager, is already showing himself to be a confident, beautiful singer with a strong traditional repertoire that owes much to his upbringing. Will is an incredibly dexterous mandolin player with the superb ceilidh band, Out of Hand.

Sam Baxter

“In a genre where wearing your influences on your sleeve is the norm, I love that I can’t really tell where Sam Baxter’s ideas have come from. He’s obviously spent a long time studying old singers, and he’s looked to traditional music from elsewhere in Europe for inspiration, but the effect is sounding like nobody but himself. He doesn’t make the music sound pretty, but it never sounds like he’s not in complete control. I think he’s only going to get better with time.” – Jim Moray, writing for Tradfolk.co.

Cynefin

“From the opening field recordings of ‘Cân O Glod I’r Clettwr’ to the final, stripped-back arrangement of ‘Ffarwel I Aberystwyth’, Cynefin’s debut album is an aural road trip – a postcard – through a place, a time and its people. In our opinion, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.” Read the full review here on Tradfolk.co.

Frankie Archer

Frankie Archer releases 'Close the Coalhouse Door', her second single. The artwork is the same as her first single, 'Over the Border' - the artist stands against an orange background, clutching a fiddle - but this time it has added white squiggles around the edges.

“Frankie is a great singer and top-level fiddle player, but, most interestingly to me, she’s also a really great producer. Her singles so far have been startling because there’s so much attention to detail in the sound itself, weaving intricate arrangements around the possibilities in her multitracked voice and violin. It’s the most refreshing and interesting treatment of traditional music that I’ve heard in ages, and the potential of her solo live show makes me really hopeful for the next decade of forward-looking English folk.” – Jim Moray, writing for Tradfolk.co.

Jennifer Reid

Jennifer Reid and Tom Kitching performing traditional music in the Gallows Pole. She is singing while he is standing behind her left should playing the fiddle.
Jennifer Reid and Tom Kitching performing in The Gallows Pole. Image via Jennifer Reid’s website.

Jennifer Reid is a multifaceted folk artist who has made it her mission to resurrect the working-class traditions of 19th-century Lancashire dialect and Victorian broadside ballads. With a belief that folk music has strayed from its roots, she employs her talents to provoke and rekindle interest in geographical heritage. Jennifer has expanded her craft into acting, playing the character of Barb in Shane Meadows’ period drama “The Gallows Pole.” Her educational background includes an Advanced Diploma in Local History from Oxford University and volunteering at distinguished libraries. Jennifer’s research into 19th-century music serves to educate students of all ages, contribute to academic and artistic projects, and develop engaging live performances, talks, and workshops. Her work has global reach, with contributions from Venice to Bangladesh. Currently a consultant on the ‘Congruence Engine’ project, Jennifer’s unique blend of research and performance has made her a notable figure on both television and the folk music scene.

Angeline Morrison

A still from the Angeline Morrison of the Brown Girl, in which she sits in the grass alongside a Cornish road, wearing her hair in a bun on top of her head.

“Angeline Morrison will go on to record other wonderful albums, but The Sorrow Songs is likely to be viewed as her masterpiece. And rightly so. It’s tempting to call this an album for our times, but – unfortunately, given the subject matter – it will remain an album for as long as it takes for equality to prevail. In the meantime, allow these songs to shock and sadden you, and to be lifted by a truly profound ending.” – Tradfolk.co

Nick Hart

Nick Hart is probably the English folk scene’s ultimate ‘musician’s musician’ – you’d be hard pressed to find many of his contemporaries who haven’t been blown over by what he does. And it’s easy to see why. His skills lie in finding relatively unknown material and then interpreting it with the minimum of fuss, but the utmost in quality. Witty and engaging, his shows are a real joy to witness, but it’s his love of the songs that really shines through. Probably the finest interpreter of traditional English folk songs this generation has produced.

Hack-Poets Guild

Nathaniel Mann, Marry Waterson and Lisa Knapp - the three members of Hack Poets Guild - stand in a row, with their visages sliced as if in a collage.

“One of the most striking albums of the year so far comes from Lisa Knapp, Nathaniel Mann and Marry Waterson, collectively known as Hack-Poets Guild. Produced by Gerry Diver, Blackletter Garland is a sonic treat for anyone who cares to jump in.” – Tradfolk.co

The Sartin Singaround

Paul Sartin leading a singaround at FolkEast, 2022
The late, great Paul Sartin leading a singaround at FolkEast, 2022. Photo credit: Jon Nice

Aside from the Tradfolk Takeover, We’ll also be running the all-new Sartin Singaround on the Saturday night. Jon Wilks, explains…

“I bumped into Jimmy and Sid at last year’s FolkEast. We hadn’t seen each other for a few years so we decided to meet up that evening for a bit of a singsong at one of the festival pubs, The Hop Inn. We called a few friends and about 80 people turned up, including my friend and neighbour, Paul Sartin. He sang a few songs and went off into the night, full of bonhomie. His enthusiasm hadn’t abated the following morning. “That was one of the best singarounds I’ve been to in ages,” he said. “You’ve got to do that every year!”

“Sadly, Paul left us only a few weeks later. When it came to deciding on a name for this newly born singaround, all involved decided that it should be christened in his memory. Welcome, then, to The Sartin Singaround – a rowdy, beery celebration of traditional song!”

FolkEast runs at Glemham Hall, Suffolk, between August 18th and 20th. For more info, see our FolkEast X Tradfolk pages. Tickets can be purchased here.