Martin Carthy – A Special Evening of Song & Conversation with Jon Wilks

We are delighted to be able to offer an extra-special chance to hear master craftsman Martin Carthy perform and reminisce on his illustrious career in folk song to date, with musical interludes and conversation with his talented friend, musician and journalist, Jon Wilks (Tradfolk). Martin has an insatiable musical curiosity…and a lifetime of wonderful stories and songs to share. There will also be a chance for audiences to ask freely questions of this mighty oak of the English folk tradition. Expect frank and fascinating insights into all manner of subjects…from Scarborough Fair to the Beastie Boys!

Book now for this special show: between 20th Oct and December 2023.

jonwilks.online

Cinder Well Joins ABM 

ABM are delighted to be working with Cinder Well, Amelia Baker’s brilliant experimental folk project for a new album tour from 12-23 September 2023 (plus summer festival bookings). Cadence out 21 April 2023 on Free Dirt Records drifts between two far-flung seas: the hazy California coast where Amelia grew up, and the wind-torn swells of Western Ireland that she’s come to love.


While there are still hints of the doom folk that Cinder Well is known for, Cadence balances heavy lyrics with a more expansive sound The songs search for a sense of grounding and a feeling of home.

Amelia will be touring as a trio with the talented Jim Ghedi and Ultan O’Brien.

Touring new album with trio 12-23 September 2023 + summer festival bookings.

“This is the new high lonesome for a modern era” – Folk Radio UK

cinderwellmusic.com

New Brìghde Chaimbeul Album

Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul is a leading purveyor of experimental Celtic music. Her piping has earned her a BBC Young Folk Award and a Horizon Award, and seen her perform for heads of state at the Cop26 climate conference. She’s brought her instrument to a global stage, and has worked with a range of other artists – currently she can be heard on Caroline Polachek‘s new single “Blood and Butter“. With her second album ‘Carry Them With Us’ (out 14 April on tak:til/ Glitterbeat), Chaimbeul has taken it beyond folk music, discovering a place where tradition and minimalism meet, offering her the freedom to experiment in sound and create something completely her own. ‘Carry Them With Us’ is an exhilarating weave of rich textural drones, trance atmospheres and instrumental folk traditions. 


 
A single and accompanying video from the forthcoming album was released last weekChaimbeul created “Tha Fonn Gun Bhi Trom: I Am Disposed Of Mirth” in tandem with acclaimed Canadian sound explorer and saxophonist Colin Stetson (Arcade Fire, Bon Iver) who also co-produced the album. Shot on the Isle of Skye, where Chaimbeul hails from, the accompanying music video shows off the dramatic scenery of the Cuillins mountains.

Touring new solo album Autumn 2023 (Sept/Oct/Nov) and 6-11 + 20-25 Feb 2024. Available for Festivals solo, duo (with Aidan O’Rourke) + trio (with Ross Ainslie & Steven Byrnes)

brichaimbeul.com

ABM Folk Weekend at Kings Place

We’re delighted to be running another folk weekend at Kings Place in London this spring.

No Voices (21-23 April) presents innovative music makers inspired by tradition, changing perceptions about instrumental music in the contemporary folk scene.

A continuing thread from a 2016 series, co-curated with Ian Anderson of fRoots magazine, this weekend sees the development of this revolution in folk music, in which song is not the centre of the story being told.

Vivid, emotive soundscapes are created from a core of melody and rhythm found in traditional music, breathing new life and vigour into the form. The playing is organic, improvisational and symbiotic: responsive to other musicians, to the audience and to the environment in which it is being played.

Eleven Magpies

This No Voices weekend series of concerts and workshops sees exciting and varied approaches from some of the finest players in the field, including the breathlessly energetic pure drop Celtic trad. of Ímar; the intuitive instrumental intimacy of Leveret; the trance-like rich textural drones of Brighde Chaimbeul and Ross Ainslie with Steve Byrne with their globe-trotting exploration of pipe traditions and, from the Bristolian hub of English instrumental minimalism, Eleven Magpies.

Tamsin Elliot

There’s also a first chance to hear a duo performance from Sam Sweeney and Louis Campbell; to delve into Raga fusion in a workshop with Imagined Village member Sheema Mukherjee; to hear about small ensemble playing with members of Leveret; an intimate performance with new group Tamsin Elliott Trio and pop-up performances and a dance workshop from innovative all-female Morris dancing team Boss Morris!

Tickets on sale now:

https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/folk-weekend/

ABM at Showcase Scotland

The ABM team are looking forward to being part of Showcase Scotland / Celtic Connections in Glasgow this week. If you are a fellow delegate, please come and say hello at the ABM Stand at the Trade Fair on Friday 27th January from 9.30-2.20pm to discuss the amazing artists on our roster.
 
The brilliant Scottish fiddler Ryan Young will be showcasing as part of the event at the Hands Up For Trad! event at Drygate Brewery on Sat 28th Jan at 3.20pm.
 
We are also delighted to have a number of ABM artists appearing at the wider festival.
 
Brìghde Chaimbeul with Ross Ainslie & Steven Byrnes
Weds 25th Jan, GRCH, 7.30pm

Full details here. 
 
Eliza Carthy & The Restitution
Mon 30th Jan, GRCH Strathclyde Suite, 8pm

Full details here. 
 
Ryan Young
Tues 31st Jan, GRCH Strathclyde Suite, 8pm

Full details here. 
 
Lady Maisery
Fri 3rd Feb, City Halls, 7.30pm

Full details here. 

Jack Rutter Solo Tours

Yorkshire folk singer Jack Rutter is forging a great solo career, based on his hugely engaging stage presence, soaring vocal, powerhouse guitar and bouzouki playing and masterful arrangements of traditional songs and contemporary covers have enthralled audiences from the largest festival main stages to the most intimate folk clubs. His latest EP of covers, out in November 2022, offers a taste of his diverse talents.
 
Jack will be touring solo in Spring (April/May) and Autumn (October/November) ahead of his new album release of traditional songs later in the year. He is also available for festival bookings. Get in touch ASAP to secure a booking.

Legends on Tour

ABM is privileged to work with some national treasures – quite literally – who have contributed immeasurably to the folk scene in the UK and Ireland.

Martin Carthy MBE is one such. Still endlessly curious at 82 years of age, Martin Carthy is one of folk music’s greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. His skill, stage presence and natural charm have won him many admirers, not only from within the folk scene, but also far beyond it.

Martin is available for solo gigs (and some duo dates with daughter Eliza Carthy in 2023.)
 
Andy Irvine is one of the great Irish singers, his voice one of a handful of truly great ones that gets to the very soul of Ireland. He has been hailed as “a tradition in himself”. Musician, singer, songwriter, and Lifetime Achievement Award winner at the inaugural RTÉ Folk Awards, Andy was at the helm of legendary bands like Sweeney’s Men in the mid 60s, Planxty in the 70s, and then Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and more recently Usher’s Island. To quote the Irish Times, “Often copied, never equalled”, his solo repertoire consists of Irish traditional songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes and a compelling cannon of his own self-penned songs.

Andy tours solo in the UK this October.

The man that Shirley Collins has called “English music’s mighty heart of oak, John Kirkpatrick is one of the most prolific figures on the English folk scene with a buoyant, engaging stage presence, a robust singing voice and a justified status as an instrumental virtuoso (melodeon, Anglo concertina and button accordion): a leading interpreter of English folk music, song and dance. John now appears solo, with his concerts brimful of good-humour and outstanding musicianship.

He is generally available and offers some special seasonally-themed shows including Carolling & Crumpets – an uplifting celebration of Christmas and Midwinter – touring every December.

Festive Wishes

ABM would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year! It’s been great to work with so many wonderful artists, promoters, venues and festivals over the last 12 months. See you again in 2023 for some more live music! Best wishes, James, Sarah, Tash, Elie, Sarah and John xx

ABM welcomes Adam Beattie

ABM is excited to be working with Scottish singer/songwriter and guitarist Adam Beattie. Adam is a celebrated artist of the London scene and has toured widely in the UK and throughout Europe. Having roots in Scottish folk music, and a lifelong interest in old time jazz and blues, Adam’s music is defined by his distinctive lyrical voice, narrative lyrics and fingerstyle guitar. His current (5th) solo album Somewhere Round The Bend has received widespread critical acclaim with Mojo Magazine referring to his “uplifting reveries of love and loss through romantic balladry” and Loud And Quiet Magazine describing it as “mesmeric”.

Adam is currently working on his next solo album for release in 2024, with a planned single release (and tour) in autumn 2023. The songs will be a continuation of his timeless Scottish folk trademark sound, with incisive melodies and rooted narratives on the theme of home and our relationship to where we are from.

Booking now from mid-Sept to mid-Nov 2023, and summer festivals. Flexible line-up from solo to full band.

adambeattie.com

Mikey Kenney Joins ABM

ABM is delighted to announce a new working partnership with traditional fiddler/singer/songwriter/composer from England’s North-West and Ireland Mikey Kenney.

Mikey is an original. A passionate and well-respected advocate for traditional music – a brilliant Liverpool-style fiddler drawing primarily on his native North West English and Irish heritage  – but grounded in a present-day, urban reality. He is a musician with wide-open horizons and insatiable curiosity for new possibilities. As evidenced on his latest album, The Reverie Road (Penny Fiddle Records), Kenney’s songwriting is both adventurous and earth-bound, with his high lonesome voice exploring sun-drenched Italian vistas, dream worlds and sounds of the city.

Mikey is currently working on a new album due for release next autumn. Mikey performs unaccompanied as well as being a prolific collaborator.

“This is magical, medicinal music that defies labels and borders” Liverpool Echo

Taking bookings now for a November 2023 album tour, plus summer festivals. Flexible line-up from solo to full band.
 
mikeykenney.co.uk

Calling all Festivals!

ABM are looking forward to some exciting festival line-ups in 2023 and we have some amazing artists to bring your stages to life!
 
Choose from a great range of acts including the powerhouse 30th celebrations of Eliza Carthy & The Restitution; the uniquely captivating harmonies of Lady Maisery; the uplifting pipe-driven trio Brighde Chaimbeul, Ross Ainslie, Steven Byrnes (see video below); Heal & Harrow’s ground-breaking duo show; the inimitable solo intimacy of the Martin Simpson amongst many others. The Spooky Men’s Chorale are even making a cheeky one week return at the end of August.
 
2023 heralds lots of new releases and tours from ABM artists including the golden instrumental sounds of Owen Spafford & Louis Campbell; the show-stopping Scottish fiddler Ryan Young; dark and brooding sounds from The Furrow Collective; sparse and evocative trad. songs from the mighty Alasdair Roberts; Devon’s creamiest singer Jim Causley celebrating old traditions and creates new ones; the bittersweet and beguiling new duo Emily Portman & Rob Harbron and more.
 
The ABM roster represents a great one-stop shop for festival bookers offering barnstorming headliners to boundary pushers to iconic tradition bearers like Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick.