(EXETER) EXPRESS AND ECHO, FOLK, ROOTS and ACOUSTIC MUSIC

As you probably know, the Express & Echo began a ‘folk roots and acoustic music’ column last week (5th January 2012), planned to be monthly (first Thursday of the month) with the intention of covering music falling within this broad category, within do-able car range of Exeter.

My self-imposed brief was to cover anything that you might be un-surprised to find at, say, Cambridge Folk Festival, on Mike Harding’s Wednesday night Radio 2 folk show, or featured in fRoots magazine.

So far so good.

We opened, last week, with an interview with Simon Nicol, guitarist and original founder member of Fairport Convention who appear at the Corn Exchange at the end of this month.

Fairport currently celebrate 45 years on the road ‘man and boy’ as Simon put it to me, and are probably the main reason most of us are here in the first place…

As luck would have it the Express & Echo now has a new editor, who brings his own ideas to the post but who was unfortunately not involved in the original discussions to begin the column.

If you see the value in a dedicated ‘folk roots and acoustic music’ feature in the Exeter paper can I please ask that you voice that support by briefly emailing Sue Kemp, Features Editor, at skemp@expressandecho.co.uk who has been very supportive and enthusiastic from the outset.

Copy to the new editor Andy Phelan at aphelan@expressandecho.co.uk would not be amiss!

I must stress that although I am a freelance journalist in this instance I am writing this column unpaid because I feel it is needed, and that although, as you know, I also regularly promote events, I am not writing it out of self-interest. My intention is to write about the very best ‘roots-based’ music coming to our area irrespective of who is providing/promoting/playing that music.

As Mike Harding said to me recently in interview “the folk music scene has never been healthier”, and a big contribution is currently originating in the West Country.

Brilliant acts such as Show of Hands, Mad Dog MCrea, Seth Lakeman, Fisherman’s Friends, Philip Henry and Hannah Martin, Josh Bray, Ruarri Joseph to name a few, are all West Country based and we have a network of great clubs and small theatres and arts centres across the region promoting the music.

I know I have the full support of the venue managers in town but a groundswell of support from readers would be a huge help in getting this properly up and running.

If you have a minute PLEASE FLASH THEM AN EMAIL just to let them know that there is more to ‘live’ music in our neck of the woods than endless tribute bands and that you welcome this new initiative…

Thanks for your support.

Steve Chilcott,
info@gypsymusicpromotions.co.uk
Gypsy Music Promotions.