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PODCAST

Folk on Foot

Matthew Bannister

“Modest people, playing gorgeous music, speaking articulately about areas they love. Fabulously calming” – one listener’s description of this multi-award-winning podcast in which Matthew Bannister goes walking with top folk musicians in the landscapes that have inspired them. “A restorative breathing space in sound” – The Telegraph. “Immaculately produced” – The Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

music music interviews

All Episodes

41:12

Official Folk Albums Chart Show—6th January 2026

Folk on Foot ·

2026/01/06

On this month’s show, Matthew reveals how you can win exclusive tickets to the Folk Album of the Year Award gig at Rochdale Town Hall on March 17th. There’s also music from Kate Rusby, The Magpie Arc, Laura Cannell, St. Agnes Fountain, Skinny Lister and Michael McGovern. Lucy Shields previews Celtic Connections and brings news of the latest releases.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great rewards:

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58:36

Folk on Foot Classic: The Wexford Carols with...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/22

Enjoy this classic episode from December 2022.A festive episode featuring the Wexford Carols sung by the beautiful voice of Caitriona O’Leary. The carols came out of the persecution of Catholics in Wexford in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge and Father William Devereux. Caitriona takes Matthew Bannister to the Franciscan church where Bishop Waddinge is buried and to St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy where the area’s most famous carol was collected

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53:30

Winterfolk in West Yorkshire with O’Hooley and Tidow,...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/15

Throw another log on the fire, pour yourself a cup of something hot and cheering and come with us in search of Winterfolk in West Yorkshire. With Santa hat firmly in place, we walk with Katie Spencer in Golcar, meet up with Maddie Morris on their way to a Lefty Christmas gig and end up at a gorgeous Christmas homecoming concert with O’Hooley and Tidow in “The Cathedral of the Colne Valley” - St Bartholomew’s Church, Marsden. On the way we reflect on the meaning of Christmas, spare a thought for

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44:44

Gigspanner Big Band on “Turnstone”: Folk Album of the...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/11

The Turnstone is an inquisitive bird that, as it name suggests, likes to overturn stones and seaweed in its search for food. That’s how the members of the Gigspanner Big Band see their hunt for the finest traditional songs to re-arrange, burnish and present for our delight. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister, the band’s Peter Knight, Hannah Martin and John Spiers share the stores behind the songs on their Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Turnstone”- and revel in the musical chemistry

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41:43

Poor Creature on “All Smiles Tonight”: Folk Album of...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/10

“Our first gig together was a benefit for a greyhound” The dog loving trio who make up Irish band Poor Creature are husband and wife Ruth Clinton (of Landless) and Cormac Macdiarmada (of Lankum) - plus Cormac’s brother, Lankum’s live drummer John Dermody. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister they reveal a passion for unusual vintage synthesisers, tell how Cormac breaking his back during the pandemic lockdown inspired the sound of one of the tracks on the album and share insights into working

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43:29

Edith WeUtonga on “Varipasi”: Folk Album of the Year...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/09

Born in Zimbabwe - but now resident in the UK - Edith WeUtonga is known as Mama Bass - because that’s the instrument she has made her own. She’s also an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and campaigner for musicians' rights. In this conversation with Matthew Bannister, she tells how the death of her beloved grandmother inspired her to write the songs that make up her Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Varipasi”.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what

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41:07

Peggy Seeger on “Teleology”: Folk Album of the Year...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/08

"My first kiss with Irene was behind some wheelie bins in Penge." As she celebrates her ninetieth birthday, the legendary Peggy Seeger unpacks her current feelings about “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - written for her by her late husband Ewan MacColl, but now also embracing her other passionate loving relationship. She revisits the song on her final album “Teleology”, nominated as one of the Folk Albums of 2025. In this special episode Peggy and her son, producer and musician Calum MacColl,

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42:10

Grace Stewart-Skinner on “Auchies Spikkin' Auchie”:...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/07

An old recording of her grandfather reciting a poem in the Scots dialect of the little Black Isle fishing village where he lived inspired the clarsach (Scottish harp) player Grace Stewart-Skinner to create her Folk Album of the Year nominee “Auchies Spikking Auchie”. She mixed recordings of the dialect with her own music to create the evocative album. In this episode, she tells Matthew Bannister the story behind the album and also reflects on living with cerebral palsy - and her mixed feelings about

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38:28

Joshua Burnside on “Teeth of Time”: Folk Album of the...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/06

Recorded in a former office space in Belfast City Centre, Joshua Burnside’s Folk Album of the Year Nominee “Teeth of Time” was inspired by his experience of becoming a father for the first time. He tells the story behind the album and plays tracks from it in this conversation with Matthew Bannister.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee:

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44:20

Cynefin on “Shimli”: Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominee

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/05

Delve into the heritage of Welsh poetry, agriculture, fishing, milk processing and, of course, music as Cynefin shares the story behind his beautiful Folk Album of the Year nominated work “Shimli”.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram:

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40:32

Spafford Campbell on “Tomorrow Held”: Folk Album of...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/04

“We first met in the National Youth Folk Ensemble. I was 14 and Louis was 16.” From these beginnings, fiddle player Owen Spafford and guitarist Louis Campbell have formed an inspiring, innovative musical partnership, drawing on wide ranging influences to create the acclaimed mostly instrumental album “Tomorrow Held”. Hear tracks from the album and the story behind it as they chat to Matthew Bannister in this special episode of Folk on Foot.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show

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32:30

Barry Kerr on “Curlew’s Cry”: Folk Album of the Year...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/03

The multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and painter Barry Kerr grew up on the shores of Lough Neagh in the heart of Northern Ireland. His experiences there left an indelible mark on his music. In this special episode, he tells his story to Matthew Bannister and they play tracks from “Curlew’s Cry”, which is nominated for Folk Album of the Year 2025.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great

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48:06

Official Folk Albums Chart Show—2nd December 2025

Folk on Foot ·

2025/12/02

This month's show has music from Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage, Me and My Friends, The Unthanks, Gus White, Josienne Clarke, Martyn Joseph and The Lilac Time. Matthew Bannister and Lucy Shields review the amazing albums shortlisted for the Folk Album of the Year Award and there’s news of a festive episode of Folk on Foot.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfootOr just

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1:06:14

Folk Album of the Year 2025 Nominations

Folk on Foot ·

2025/11/26

Matthew Bannister is joined by chair of the jury Kellie While and the nominated artists as they unveil the nine albums which have made the shortlist for the Folk Album of the Year Award. The artists give their reaction before we hear a track from each of the albums on this inspiring and diverse list of the finest folk music in Britain and Ireland today.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great rewards:

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53:57

Folk on Foot Classic: Frank Turner on the Holloway Road

Folk on Foot ·

2025/11/24

Enjoy this classic episode from July 2020.Frank Turner is a man of contrasts: the old Etonian who became a punk; the heavy metal fan who became a folk-influenced singer songwriter. On this walk through his old haunts on the Holloway Road in North London he reveals the inspiration for his change in musical direction, calling in at the venue Nambucca where "the scales fell from my eyes" and he discovered the power of "three chords and the truth". In the empty venue he plays the songs he wrote about

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49:59

Boss Morris on Rodborough Common

Folk on Foot ·

2025/11/14

Dressed in costumes fashioned from vintage tea towels, the dancers of Boss Morris take us to Rodborough Common near their base in Stroud to walk and dance, accompanied by musicians Rob Harbron, Miranda Rutter and Sam Sweeney. This is where Boss go to mark the different seasons of the year. They introduce us to their own increasingly popular ritual “Finger In The Spring”, reflect on their distinctive aesthetic, explain their love of the ancient dances and tell how they are taking Morris to previously

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58:39

Official Folk Albums Chart Show—4th November 2025

Folk on Foot ·

2025/11/04

The wonderful guitarist and songwriter Katie Spencer is Matthew’s guest on this month’s show. She’ll be discussing the inspiration behind her acclaimed new album “What Love Is”. There’s also music from Nick Harper, John Smith, Kathryn Williams, Cerys Hafana, Leveret, Niall McNamee and Brown Boots Boogie Band. Lucy Shields has the album preview and gig news and Matthew announces the next episode of Folk on Foot.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what

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52:33

Folk on Foot Classic: Kathryn Tickell & her Dad by...

Folk on Foot ·

2025/10/27

Enjoy this classic episode from January 2022.“He said you could pluck songs out of the air - pluck them out of the air - and sing them bonny”. The great Northumbrian pipe player Kathryn Tickell describes the River Rede near her home as the backdrop and soundscape to her life. On its bank, she is joined by her Dad Mike to perform music, songs and stories inspired by the beautiful county where he brought her up and introduced her to the folk tradition.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep

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53:49

The Wilderness Yet on Iping Common

Folk on Foot ·

2025/10/16

Celebrate the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness as The Wilderness Yet take us for an Autumnal musical walk across Iping Common near Midhurst in West Sussex. Singer Rosie Hodgson grew up near here and played on the Common as a child. She’s joined by fiddle player Rowan Piggott and guitarist Philippe Barnes to perform contemporary and traditional songs inspired by Autumn. Along the way we admire the spectacular colours of this glorious landscape, hear how folk music threaded its way through the

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1:05:38

Official Folk Albums Chart Show—7th October 2025

Folk on Foot ·

2025/10/07

Matthew’s guest on this month’s show is James Yorkston, talking about his collaboration with two wonderful Swedish singers: Nina Persson (of the Cardigans) and Johanna Söderberg (of First Aid Kit). Oli Steadman of Stornoway also drops in to showcase his new podcast series and a fundraising musical walk. There’s music from Amble, Flyte, Gwenifer Raymond, Johnson and Finnemore, DUG, Junior Brother and Richard Thompson.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like

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168 results

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