Eliza Carthy: What constitutes folk music in 2025?

Beginning of the New Year! Woo!

My apologies for last month, I was out on the road with my band having a jolly old time. I divide my attention between traditional music and new writing and it’s always interesting to see where the crossover in audience happens – there are some that will come to my shows because they first experienced my schtick when I was supporting (“co-mentoring”, she used to say) Joan Baez in the US and UK, some will come as fans of my parents or our family band, some from the Warners era, some because they love fiddle tunes and some who just take it all in their stride.

It got me thinking, as another year ends, that it would be good to look at the corresponding balance in the national charts. How is the scene looking, traditional/trad-based vs original folk/roots or contemporary music?

You may or may not be aware that The Official Charts Company now compiles a “folk” list, somewhat in the absence of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (bring them back too please, Auntie!). Folk on Foot host Matthew Bannister presents the show in conjunction with English Folk Expo, and the criteria (it says here on their website) are they must be British or Irish artists, counted as downloads, streams and sales of CDs, vinyl and “other” (presumably cassettes, shellac and Edison Bell phonographs?) in the UK.

So I took a random, put-your-finger-where-it-falls selection of the final chart of the year which was from November 5 to December 9, 2024. Here’s what I found, from low to high placing:

39. This Is The Kit, Careful of Your Keepers.

Kate Stables’ band showcases her lovely voice and songwriting. Favourites of 6Music, they’re filed under “Folk Rock”, all original.

35. Lankum, Live in Dublin.

The world-smashing Irish trad/ambient/scream of the common human/noise terrors, comfortably doing both.

32. Oisín Leech, Cold Sea.

Irish songwriter. Original, atmospheric songs delivered sparsely from Donegal. The presence of Dónal Lunny brings it back home a little, and it’s called “Folk”.

28. The Longest Johns, Voyage.

They were a huge hit on the Bellowhead winter tour, and continue to show the rest of us how to ‘do’ social media! Described somewhere as the “English Pogues” (weren’t The Pogues half English?), don’t know by who, but the trad is strong and being messed with too.

19. Staves, All Now.

Listed as “Alternative/Indie”, all original, nostalgic for the 70s in atmosphere, in the vein of/pals with Bon Iver. It says on their Wiki that they don’t like floppy, wispy folk lasses. Me neither, ladies.

15. Shovel Dance Collective, The Shovel Dance.

New kids on the allotment… having been whispered about for a couple of years this sprawling multi-heritage Bristol/London band are making tall and righteous waves. A gorgeous palette of sounds matched with teeth and purpose and yes, plenty of English trad churned in and about to make me happy.

13. Richard Thompson, Ship to Shore.

One of England’s most treasured and revered independent musicians, Thompson’s credentials working in, and inarguably helping to invent, trad-folk-rock are well known.

10. Ferocious Dog, Kleptocracy.

I’d love to happen upon this lot in a dark field somewhere, late on, tearing the sides off a club tent. Largely original, though with the figure of ‘Matty Groves’ lurking about, as he does.

9. Fisherman’s Friends, All Aboard.

They were the shanty craze before TikTok found out, with a Hollywood film about them and everything. Still going, and lots of hearty, manly singing to splice your mainbrace to. And you know I could have gone for much worse sailor talk than that!

8. Tumbling Paddies, The Journey So Far (Live).

Irish folk-pop! There’s something very sweet and slightly 80s about this band. They’re full of riffs and catchy instrumentals and songs about going out on a Friday night. ‘Galway Girl’, ‘Whiskey in the Jar’, ‘Fields of Athenry’ – your nan would love them, and I mean that in the nicest way. Good clean boys!

7. The Mary Wallopers, Irish Rock’n’Roll.

Unclean boys! And girl! I like that there are more of the rough-and-ready, throw-it-all-about-and-see-what-shakes bands out there again. Folk can lose its way sometimes when it forgets to have fun, like most genres. Your mucky nan would love them. A very enjoyable pair to have sitting next to each other on the chart at Christmas!

1. Nina Nesbitt, Mountain Music.

Folk-pop again. Though Scottish, this has a very American feel to it (‘driving down these old dirt roads’), lovely picked guitar and languid, smoke-tinged voice. Not so much Britfolk then, though the Scots have a historic love of country music.

So, conclusions? Somewhat as you would expect. The stuff that ‘rises to the top’, the stuff that may get noticed (i.e. all of this chart), is always going to be more on the ‘roots’ or ‘singer-songwriter’ side than the trad, though it is pleasing to see a few interesting weeds poking through the cracks in the shiny carports of modern taste, modern commercial interest.

The indies seem to be recovering slowly… and perhaps the peasants are revolting? Let’s see what ‘25 says.