What's Going On
Busk Love Folk will be returning to the festival bar of the Atkinson Southport this year on the 11th of February. Supported by Fatea as part of the Love Folk Festival that runs over the 10th and 11th, Busk Love Folk features four showcase sets in the festival bar and best of all it's all free.
SHOWCASE SETS
12:00pm - 12:40pm - John Reed
1:45pm - 2:10pm - Serious Sam Barrett
3:15pm - 3:40pm - Frankie Archer
7:00pm - 7:25pm - Good Habits
Times May Be Subject To Change
Blackpool raised singer-songwriter John Reed, should have played Busk Love Folk in 2021, he missed 2022 due to illness so it's third time lucky.
John is both surprised and flattered to be compared to his music heroes: Roy Harper and Ian Anderson being two of those. It seems to indicate there must be something in the Blackpool sea water. Unlike the aforementioned, he was actually born and raised in this incredibly creative town. While comparisons are nice, John prefers that his music is taken on its own merits, with its powerful political content occasionally hurled out with venom, but more often as an infusion for the more thoughtful eventually to absorb and comprehend.
As well as performing, John will be sharing his experiences of an ever changing industry as part of the informal workshop.
12:00pm - 12:40pm
Serious Sam Barrett is a hard touring, folk and country singer/songwriter from Otley, West Yorkshire. Playing honest, heartfelt self penned and traditional songs on 12 string guitar and banjo.
Raised in the Dales village of Addingham, Sam began performing in and around Leeds in 2004, with word spreading further afield with the release of his 2009 debut album Close To Home. Performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas in 2010, he has toured the US widely, usually in the company of friends and fellow skaters The Pine Hill Haints.
1:45pm - 2:10pm
Frankie Archer composes and plays with heart and sensitive curiosity. She started out surrounded by Northumbrian folk music, and draws deeply on this in her own fiddle playing, singing and writing, described by Mark Radcliffe as "fascinating and intoxicating". Frankie has travelled, taught, learned and performed in many different places around the world, enriching her style and musical identity.
Frankie's take on music respects traditions and brings them into a fresh context through her own perception: "There's a kind of lifeblood which runs through folk music, which will never dry up. When a tune is learned it's shared from one human to another, and something is passed on that's more than just the pattern of notes. It's like a tiny part of history or a tiny bit of emotion is captured every time a song is passed on."
3:15pm - 3:40pm
Good Habits are an award-winning UK folk duo forged on the other side of the globe. Composed of Bonnie Schwarz (cello + vocals) and Pete Shaw (accordion), the pair mix vivid storytelling with eclectic sounds, drawing on their diverse musical tastes and weaving them into an action-packed narrative of folky goodness. After a pandemic spent happily stranded in New Zealand, they've returned to the UK to spread their joyous music throughout Europe.
During the two years in New Zealand, Good Habits performed at some of NZ's largest festivals including CubaDupa, TSB Festival of Lights, and Luminate, Their debut album, "Going For Broke" received glowing press in Songlines and The New Zealand Herald.
7:00pm - 7:25pm
WORKSHOP
Starting at 11:00 Fatea's Neil King will be running an informal workshop and Q&A. These workshops have been known to go off at a tangent to cover what's important to those that are there. Fatea has now been running for 30 years and been supporting radio shows for more than 8 years so it's a great opportunity to tap into a wealth of experience.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on Love Folk, including ticket sales for main concerts: www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/love-folk-fest-2023
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Corsair is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.
Folk Friday Radio
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