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

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127 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes127

Newest first

Jan 13, 2023 · 42 min
Maddy Prior and Rose-Ellen Kemp at Stones Barn in Cumbria
“The snow it is lying on Bewcastle FellAnd the wind strips the skin from my face.The bare bones of a tree give some shelter to meBut still it’s a draughty old place.”Come to “the least populated area of the least populated county in England” and tak...
Dec 16, 2022 · 58 min
The Wexford Carols with Caitriona O’Leary
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 F...
Nov 11, 2022 · 57 min
Jon Boden, Seth Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Emily Portman and Jack Rutter on a tall ship
Ahoy there! A folk supergroup – The Sea Song Sessions - playing and singing on board a tall ship in Fowey Harbour in Cornwall as the water laps the hull. A discussion of the role of seafaring music in our island history. And a tour of the good ship A...
Oct 13, 2022 · 53 min
Gwilym Bowen Rhys in Aberdaron
Come for a wild, wet and windy walk on the beach at Aberdaron on the Llyn peninsula in Wales with the singer and songwriter Gwilym Bowen Rhys. Then join us in the local church where Gwilym demonstrates his musical versatility, accompanying himself o...
Sep 19, 2022 · 29 min
Folk on Foot Trailer
What is the multi-award-winning Folk on Foot all about? The Telegraph calls it “a restorative breathing space in sound”. In this sampler, host Matthew Bannister shares beautiful extracts from episodes featuring Karine Polwart on Fala Moor, Eliza Car...
Sep 15, 2022 · 52 min
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 Tre...
Sep 12, 2022 · 48 min
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 da...
Aug 11, 2022 · 1 hr 7 min
Fay Hield at the Soundpost Weekend in Dungworth
The singer, songwriter and academic Fay Hield invites us to a Soundpost Singing Weekend in the village of Dungworth on the outskirts of Sheffield. Guests include Sean Cooney of the Young’uns and Rowan Rheingans who wrote special songs for the event....
Jul 15, 2022 · 1 hr 30 min
The Musical Village of Pathhead, Midlothian
Join us on a walk around the unassuming village of Pathhead, Midlothian, just south of Edinburgh, which is home to a whole galaxy of Scottish musicians.We start with singer songwriter Karine Polwart, who takes us to meet pianist Dave Milligan and hi...
Jun 16, 2022 · 54 min
Jamie Webster in Liverpool
“My city, my people, my heart” – Jamie Webster loves his home city of Liverpool – and Liverpool loves Jamie Webster. The young singer and songwriter started out performing chants for fans of Liverpool FC, which led to a gig in front of 60,000 at the ...
Apr 14, 2022 · 56 min
Grace Petrie in Leicester
Grace Petrie sometimes introduces herself on stage as “a socialist, feminist, lesbian protest singer”. Her acutely observed songs range from political and passionate to personal and profound. She’s also been known to turn her hand to comedy. In this...
Mar 11, 2022 · 54 min
Johnny Kalsi in Southall
The drummer Johnny Kalsi (The Dhol Foundation, Transglobal Underground, Afro Celt Sound System, Imagined Village) takes us for a walk round Southall - an area of West London known as “Little India”. We visit a Sikh temple, marvel at the sumptuous fab...
Feb 18, 2022 · 55 min
Maurice Henderson & Ewen Thomson on Shetland
We’re back on the glorious Shetland Isles for this episode and who better to show us around than the renowned local fiddle player Maurice Henderson (of Fiddlers Bid) and his friend the luthier and guitarist from Fair Isle Ewen Thomson? After Ewen dem...
Feb 2, 2022 · 1 hr 34 min
Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show 2021
Join us for a very special show streamed live from Cecil Sharp House. The show looks back at the highlights of 2021, the very first full year of The Official Folk Albums Chart.Hosted by Matthew Bannister with guest co-host Kitty Macfarlane, the show...
Jan 14, 2022 · 52 min
Kathryn Tickell & her Dad by the River Rede
“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 i...
Dec 17, 2021 · 59 min
Declan O‘Rourke in Kinvara
The acclaimed singer and songwriter Declan O’Rourke takes us for a scenic walk near his home in the beautiful fishing village of Kinvara on the west coast of Ireland, singing songs inspired by the area as he goes. Declan’s grandfather, an artist, wa...
Nov 12, 2021 · 58 min
The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Jessie Summerhayes in the Rosedale Valley
In the shadow of the disused ironstone kilns of the Rosedale Valley in North Yorkshire, Ciderhouse Rebellion - fiddle player Adam Summerhayes and accordionist Murray Grainger - conjure up a soundscape of rare beauty - improvised on the spot. Then the...
Oct 14, 2021 · 57 min
Edgelarks at Scorhill Stone Circle
A Bronze Age site on Dartmoor, six musical instruments, a feather, harmonica-enhanced beatboxing, a stone that is said to increase fertility, a fast flowing river, a baby and a caring grandmother - all ingredients of a wonderful walk with the award-w...
Sep 16, 2021 · 44 min
Olivia Chaney at the House on Hawnby Moor
Olivia Chaney wrote many of the songs for her critically acclaimed second solo album whilst living alone without electricity or mains water at her family’s remote and crumbling farmhouse on Hawnby Moor in North Yorkshire. On a hot summer’s day, she t...
Aug 12, 2021 · 1 hr 9 min
Robert Macfarlane & Johnny Flynn at Wandlebury
Question: What do you get when you go walking with the nature writer Robert Macfarlane and the actor and musician Johnny Flynn on a scorching hot summer's day in Wandlebury?Answer: A Neolithic track, an Iron Age fort, a Roman road, a holm oak, cow p...