Music / Folk & Roots
Bristol’s month in folk & roots – June 2023
As the sun comes out and the sky appears almost totally cloudless thoughts inevitably turn towards festival season. We’re not quite there yet though, and Bristol still has a few amazing Folk and Roots shows up its sleeve before we all decamp to a field somewhere.
The undoubted highlight of the month, if not the entire year, is the long awaited return of Steve Earle to Bristol on the June 22. This is a solo show for the legendary Americana artist and promises to be amazing.
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One of the finest songwriters of his, or any, generation he has a deep back catalogue to mine so there are bound to be some serious crowd pleasers in amongst the newer material from 2023’s Jerry Jeff.
Earle is always a captivating live performer so St George’s should be suitably reverent.
The last of the current Rising Folk series sees Maddie Morris in the Glass Studio on the June 2. Winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award in 2019 she is a gifted songwriter with an incredible voice. Expect contemporary folk songs rooted in the tradition but exploring different perspectives.
Karine Polwart and Kitty Macfarlane play St George’s on the June 16 for an evening of song inspired by nature. Polwart is a multiple BBC Folk Awards winner and is reckoned, by The Guardian, to be “one of the finest singer-songwriters in Britain”.
The third Friday of the month (June 16) sees the return of Bella Hardy to Downend. Her first appearance there was almost ten years ago and she will, certainly, be welcomed back as a returning hero.
One of the most distinct voices in contemporary Folk, this is going to be the finest of all of the Folk-y things that Bristol has to offer this month.
Added to the fact that the support for the evening is Hannah Scott – already a favourite of Radio 2, Radio 6 and Dermot O’Leary – and there’s no doubt that this is a gig not to miss.
For a different kind of female voice, The Exchange has Amanda Shires on the June 23.
A Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and fiddle player, she has been a member of Jason Isbell’s Unit 400 and formed The Highwomen with Maren Morris, Brandi Carlisle and Natalie Hemby. She is alt-country royalty.
Mr Tea and The Minions bring some Balkan inspired Ska-Folk on the June 16 – they are a guaranteed great night out and will have you furiously dancing and jumping about for just as long as you have the energy.
Topette!! are an instrumental five-piece featuring Dave Delarre on violin and Andy Cutting on accordion. Both are extraordinary musicians and Topette!! are a deliciously danceable, raucous and totally infectious dancefloor filling monster.
This show is billed as a live album recording so expect some special guests. Their music roves about all over Europe but has French rhythms at its heart. They’re glorious live and you can see them on the June 26.
Kris Drever is a member of the almighty Lau and this tour sees him playing with a band for the first time outside of that beautifully experimental three-piece.
He’s an award winning, Scottish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist and his band play on the June 7 in support of a brilliant career-spanning retrospective album.
The album features a huge number of guests, from Yola to Kate Rusby, Norman Blake (of Teenage Fanclub) to Joan as Policewoman. Drever is an absolute genius.
Other interesting places and things
Bill and the Belles bring a bit of proper Tennessee to the Folk House on the June 4. They’re a thrilling mix of Americana, Bluegrass and Country roots.
Slightly closer to rock n roll and country soul are Lukas Nelson & POTR who, occasionally, serve as Neil Young’s band on the road. They play SWX on the June 17.
Kate Stables aka This is The Kit plays live and signs the new album, Careful of Your Keepers, at Rough Trade on the June 18 (it’s a lovely mid-afternoon show too).
Josie Blakelock is an indie-folk singer-songwriter influenced by Kate Bush, Lana Del Ray and Laura Marling and plays The Louisiana on the June 27.
Willi Carlisle brings his Woody Guthrie-esque, earthy, brainy country to the same place on the June 20.
Lastly Rhona Dalling, a fiddle player from Newcastle, and local guitarist Danny Tryani play a free show at The Canteen on the June 18.
All of that and there’s still the Folk session at the Hare on the Hill on the June 28.
Main photo: Gavin McNamara
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