Sam Lee & Friends

Folk has found an excellent new artist in the form of Sam Lee; not only an artist but a folklorist – he has spent the last few years collecting traditional songs from Irish travellers and gypsy roma communities throughout the UK. As well as issuing some recordings via a new download platform he has set up, he has used the songs, fragments only in most cases, to inspire him in the writing of his debut album ‘Ground Of Its Own’, one of the finest ‘folk’ albums of recent years. Tonight, and very graciously, he gives much of the spotlight to Thomas McCarthy, a relatively young Irish traveller, treating us to some rarely heard songs, beautifully delivered; mixing poignancy with humour. As for Lee, he’s a delight to watch, swaying around to his own songs when not singing, accompanied by a measured yet dynamic band, and delivering a collection of songs that very subtly incorporates a mildly contemporary feel to the underlying traditional forms of folk.

All Saints Church, 14 May 2013

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