• 30 January 2023
  • Art
    Art
    An Abbots Bromley Horn Dancer clutches the antlers of an old reindeer skeleton. He is wearing his traditional dancing costume. The photo is by Henry Bourne and was taken in 2009.

    Making Mischief: Folk Costume in Britain – an exhibition

    Alex Merry's painting of Boss Morris dancing under the Cold Moon during winter. “Boss Morris are a’leaping on Haresfield Beacon under a full December ‘Cold’ moon. The beasts play by firelight, as the dancers wave their hankies to beckon in the festive season.”

    The Tradfolk guide to Christmas gifts for folkies

    Rhia Davenport of Weven, Stroud, stands in front of a white wall wearing a corn crown and a folkie white dress.

    Weven, Stroud: keeping traditional folk crafts alive

  • Customs
    Customs

    Discover traditional folk customs, rituals and traditions on the Tradfolk.co website. From wassailing to Yule, and the arc of the year in-between.

    A painting of the ritual portrayed in the Eve of St Agnes, by John Keats. The painting is of two young women in their bed chamber, observing a wraith-like character slumped on their bed. The painting is held at the Tate.

    Customs uncovered: St Agnes Eve, dumb cakes, and the prediction of the future

    The Whittlesea Straw Bear dances through the streets, followed by a bear keeper, several onlookers, and two smaller bears.

    An interview with the Whittlesea Straw Bear

    A painting of Old Father Christmas by William Ewart Lockhart, showing an old man with a long white beard, a white smock, a holly crown on his head, and a glass of wine in his hand. He is smiling and gesturing towards a feast on the table in front of him.

    Twelfth Night, Old Christmas and St Stephen’s Day… revisited

  • Music
  • Performance
    Performance
    John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

    Huginn and Munnin dance two-man Border Morris at an event. They are wearing tatter jackets and plague doctor masks.

    Huginn and Muninn: The Norse mythology-inspired Border dancers taking Morris to metalheads

    Tom Williams and Daniel Burston from Beltane Border Morris stand face to face, yelling as they dance. One of them has his tongue sticking out. They are both wearing top hats with pheasant feathers, as well as tatter coats.

    Tradfolk readers’ favourite Morris dance performance of 2022

  • Events
  • Podcasts
    Podcasts
    John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

    Jon Wilks plays guitar at Dorking Folk Club, 2018

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep7 – ‘The Gloucestershire Wassail / The Wassailing Song’, ft. Jon Wilks

    Burd Ellen, Debbie Armour and Gail Brogen, with flowers in their mouths. The image is black and white.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep6 – ‘When I was on Horseback/ The Unfortunate Rake’, ft. Debbie Armour (Burd Ellen)

    • Podcasts
    • Our folk music playlists
  • Shop
  • Tradfolk 101
    Tradfolk 101

    Handbags and Broomsticks: Molly Dancing for the uninitiated

    A woggle hopping obstacle in the wild. The picture is actually of a red postbox in Wiltshire on a pretty summer's day, but woggle hopping often involved postboxes

    Customs uncovered: Woggle Hopping

    The source singer Cecilia Costello - photo by Bob Etheridge

    Women in folk: celebrating the source singers

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    John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

    Two people stand by a fire against a darkening sky. The air is alight with sparks and they are wassailing an apple tree spruce.

    The Tradfolk Wassail Directory, 2022-23

    The Best British Folk Songs as chosen by some of the country's favourite folk singers

    The Best British folk songs, as chosen by British folk singers

    The Old Songs Podcast main logo and image featuring an old man singing unaccompanied in a pub.

    The Old Songs Podcast – A full list of episodes

    Fay Hield stares into the camera. She is holding the neck of a five-string banjo.

    Fay Hield on Access Folk and the Folk Singing Symposium

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Ben Walker

A collage of artists featured in this article, including Jim Moray, Boss Morris, Fern Maddie, Ben Edge, Hack-Poets Guild and Jacken Elswyth.
News

Folk culture in 2023 – what we’re looking forward to

A new year dawns and we wipe the folkie slate clean. We asked around to find out what 2023 holds for folk events and album releases. Here's what the Tradfolk team are looking forward to.
Read More
Ben Walker discusses On Humber Bank with Jon Wilks
the old songs podcast

The Old Songs Podcast: Ep3 – ‘On Humber Bank’ ft. Ben Walker

In this week’s episode, Jon chats to Ben Walker about “On Humber Bank”, a song that was collected in 1877 and purports to be a suicide note.
Read More

Popular Articles

John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

Two people stand by a fire against a darkening sky. The air is alight with sparks and they are wassailing an apple tree spruce.

The Tradfolk Wassail Directory, 2022-23

The Best British Folk Songs as chosen by some of the country's favourite folk singers

The Best British folk songs, as chosen by British folk singers

The Old Songs Podcast main logo and image featuring an old man singing unaccompanied in a pub.

The Old Songs Podcast – A full list of episodes

Fay Hield stares into the camera. She is holding the neck of a five-string banjo.

Fay Hield on Access Folk and the Folk Singing Symposium

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About Trad.

Exploring folk culture, folk music, folk arts, rituals and events, and how these living traditions continue today.

Artists and subjects written about regularly on Tradfolk

  • Martin Carthy

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