Classic Folk with Mike Norris
Classic Folk is unique.
It mines a rich seam of wonderful folk and roots music and song from around 75 years of recordings.
From the great source singers to the legends of folk rock, the travellers to the protesters, the ballads to the blues, from the far north to the deep south and all around the English speaking world, the songs live again.
And, not forgetting the pick of the new releases and a few cracking tunes, it’s like having a folk festival in the comfort of your own home!
Former English Folk Dance and Song Society Chair (2006–2011) and long-standing member Mike Norris hosts our weekly folk radio programme.
Mike explores a wide range of folk and acoustic music from the UK and abroad – from rarely heard archive and field recordings to the very latest releases.
Listen now
Tuesday 19 November 2024
This week’s music:
1. The Yews Of Borrowdale / Ben Walker featuring Emily Mae Winters
2. The Rowan Tree / Alan Roberts And Dougie MacLean
3. Fifteen Mile To Buy Tobacco / Carbonhobo
4. The Grey Cock / Chris Foster
5. Pretty Saro / Catherine Earnshaw
6. Roisin and Paddy / The Routes Quartet
7. Laird Logie / Bandoggs
8. The Flower of Magherally / Altan
9. Two Sisters / Wood Wilson Carthy
10. Blood And Bone / Will Varley
11. Coal Black Wine / Bird in the Belly
12. Cuckoos And Kings / Rag Foundation
13. Bramble Briar / Arthur Knevett
14. He Ran Out Of Road / Judy Dunlop & John Tams
15. The Bass Rock / The Road to Errogie / Sharon Shannon/ Franjie Gavin / Michael McGoldrick
16. Miners Lifeguard / The Wilson Family
17. Old Miner / Canny Fettle
18. Byker Hill / The Barelyworks
19. Flower Of Finae / Niamh Parsons
20. Irish Session / Barry Dransfield
21. Seven Point One / Duck Baker
22. Shiloh's Hill / Alice Wylde
23. John The Master's Son / Enda Kenny
24. Tramps & Hawkers / Ewan McLennan
25. First Girl I Loved / The Incredible String Band
26. The Goodnight Song / Blue Murder
Also available to stream:
The presenter: Mike Norris
Mike’s passion for folk music spans decades; from first learning to play the melodeon and singing shanties at school, to running folk festivals and gigs.
A teenager during the 1960s, Mike was heavily influenced by protest song and folk-rock popularity (Bob Dylan, the Copper Family, Joan Baez, Fairport Convention etc), as well as the tail end of the folk-song revival shaped by The Watersons, Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger, Shirley Collins, Woody Guthrie and many more.
Interesting fact: The hospital where Mike was born, in Portsmouth, grew out of the workhouse where George Gardiner collected more than 100 songs in the early 1900s.
