We’re massively excited to announce the unique Folk on Foot Front Room gigs. Live on Zoom between 3–4pm UK time on Sunday afternoons, they are exclusively available to the lovely people who sign up to become Folk on Foot Heroes.
Welcome to Folk On Foot
Folk on Foot Presents The Front Room Gigs
Latest episode: The Dance of the Commons at the Englefield Estate
On a hot August day, scores of walkers in weird, wacky and wonderful costumes inspired by old English traditions, accompanied by morris dancers and musicians, set off to stage a peaceful and joyful mass trespass. Led by Herne the Hunter (Book of Trespass author Nick Hayes) and singer Sam Lee, they targeted the Englefield Estate near Reading, thousands of acres owned by Lord Benyon, the government minister for rural affairs. In this episode, we hear them dance into the estate, explain why they demand the right to roam and share their ceremony celebrating nature under the shade of a mighty oak.
Find out more about Nick Hayes and the Right to Roam movement at righttoroam.org.uk.
Previous episode: Bonus Episode: Maddy Prior and Peter Knight in conversation at Cecil Sharp House
Singer Maddy Prior and violinist Peter Knight were at the heart of the success of folk rock pioneers Steeleye Span. In this candid interview with Matthew Bannister on stage at the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House, they recall the heady days of rock n roll excess during the 1970s and movingly describe the role of music in their lives. Peter reveals he once appeared on Top of the Pops dressed as a Womble and Maddy describes the gig where they dropped thousands of pound notes onto the heads of the audience. The band is famous for having countless different line ups and they speak about the rows that often led to one or more members departing. A fascinating conversation with two legendary names of the folk world.
Find out more about Maddy Prior at https://stonesbarn.co.uk/
Find out more about Peter Knight at https://www.peterknight.net/
Official Folk Albums Chart Show—6th September 2022
This month’s Official Folk Albums Chart Show from Folk on Foot features an interview with Bernard Butler about his stunning number one album with Jessie Buckley “For All Our Days That Tear The Heart”. “We made this album for love,” Bernard tells host Matthew Bannister as he reveals the recording process started at his kitchen table and continued in his attic. There’s also music from Manran, Bellowhead, The Wilderness Yet, Katie Doherty and the Navigators and Rusty Shackle. Plus all the latest gig news and details of a new Folk on Foot episode featuring a mass trespass.
Subscribe to Folk On Foot On Film
Folk on Foot on Film is an amazing – and growing – archive of more than 150 unique performances of songs filmed on location during our walks, featuring many of the artists showcased in our podcasts.
Festivals
The four Folk on Foot Festivals have raised an astonishing £327,000 for musicians during the COVID 19 lockdowns. Half the money has been donated to the charity Help Musicians and the rest was divided equally between the scores of performers who took part.
Listen to the highlights