Watch: Solomon Browne Live at Shrewsbury Folk 09
November 3, 2009
Top quality official festival video of Seth’s live performance on the main stage at Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2009.
Watch: Cormac Byrne on-stage with Seth at Cropredy 09
August 21, 2009
A nostalgic moment for long-time fans, as Cormac Byrne joins Seth on-stage for a classic performance of ‘Lady of the Sea’ at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2009. Cormac, with his dazzling bodhran playing, was Seth’s original percussionist. Before he left the regular band this pairing of fiddle and bodhran for the high-energy Lady of the Sea was a staple of the live set. Cormac last toured with the band in Autumn 2007.
Cormac now devotes most of his time to his own band, celtic folk trio Uiscedwr (www.uiscedwr.com).
Other good videos (all on YouTube) from Cropredy – with its big stage, huge crowd, and massive light show – include this good quality recording of set-opener The Storm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Ktkv4pQKs) and I have a soft spot for this one of set closer Race to be King (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnN2k3Kr3C8) – despite the shakey camera – perfectly capturing the wild atmosphere of the night.
Watch: Seth performing The Leveller’s, ‘The Boatman’ (2005)
August 6, 2009
Seth accompanies The Lev’s Simon Friend on the classic Leveller’s track, The Boatman. Simon was a surprise guest at this gig with Seth Lakeman and Benji Kirpatrick at Ely Folk Club way back in January 2005.
Thanks to Mary Stokes for the find.
Updated 12 May with extra photos from Philip Ryalls and Jeremy LLewellyn-Jones.
“it was pretty stadium. I wanted to crowd surf but I thought the girls at the front wouldn’t catch me” - Jim Moray
The long-awaited round-up of press coverage, photos and video from last weekend’s gig on Trafalgar Square is here. A bit light on the former, but plenty of the latter for you.
Press Coverage
The gig didn’t get much press, but there were short write-ups in The London Paper (including a few photos), various bits in The Guardian and over on The Telegraph Emma Hartley interviewed Damian Barber from the Demon Barbers.
Photos & Video
 Photo © Garry Knight |
 Photo © Caroline Voaden |
The fans unsurprisingly came through where the mainsteam media feared to tread. Lots of photos with some great shots from Caroline Voaden (flickr), Karen Armstrong (flickr), High Eight (flickr), and Helen Fenner (photobucket).
Plus these late-breaking extras from Philip Ryalls and Jeremy LLewellyn-Jones – a couple of the professional photographers who were in attendance.
There was also some surprisingly good-quality video shot from the crowd:
Full highlights, with Seth performing Blood Upon Copper
(and Sean rocking out in his fabulous red shoes)
Seth Lakeman: Kitty Jay and Poor Man’s Heaven
More video
More slightly-more-iffy video of Solomon Browne, King and Country, and Riflemen of War
#
Folk Awards 2009 Roundup
February 8, 2009
Seth presenting former mentor, Tom McConville, with the Musician of the Year Award at the 2009 Folk Awards. Photo © Allan Price. More of Allan’s Folk Awards photos »
News
The annual BBC Folk Awards took place in London on Mon 2 Feb 2009, amidst the worst snow storm to hit the capitol in 18 years.
Seth was nominated for a single award this year, for Best Live Act, and opened the show with a typically storming live performance of ‘The Hurlers’. With obvious pleasure, he went on to present long-time teacher and friend, ‘Newcastle Fiddler’ Tom McConville, with the award for Musician of the Year, paying strong tribute to the man who so inspired his own playing. You can listen again » to the full ceremony until Web 11 Feb.
In the Best Live Act category Seth was up against stiff competition from fellow former Folk Award winners Lau and Bellowhead, but on the night the winners were the comparatively little-known Demon Barbers (aka The Demon Barber Roadshow) who have been not-so-quietly winning over festival audiences with their live performances which, accompanied by some hot clog and morris dancing, lay genuine claim to the old folk "foot stomping" cliché.
- Seth nominated for Best Live Act (original post)
- Full list of 2009 Folk Award Winners (BBC website)
- More about The Demon Barbers (official website)
Full ceremony
Listen Again : Folk Awards 2009 » until 11/02/2009
(Originally broadcast BBC Radio 2, Wed 4 Feb, 7-8.30pm.)
The ceremony was broadcast in full in the Mike Harding Folk & Acoustic slot on Radio 2 on Wed 4 Feb. Catch Seth’s show opening performance of ‘The Hurlers’ and heartfelt presentation of the Musician of the Year award to long-time mentor, teacher and friend Tom McConville. You can listen again via iPlayer until Wed 11 Feb 2009.
Videoss
BBC Folk Awards 2009 Videos »
The BBC’s Folk Awards website has videos up of all the live performances and highlights of the ceremony. The main highlights video includes Seth’s presentation of the Musician of the Year award to Tom McConville. Check the links on the right for the full video of The Hurlers performance.
Photos
- Folk Awards 2009 photos by Allan Price »
including three of Seth - Performing The Hurlers »
BBC Folk Awards website
Nominated Artists Compilation CD
Proper Music’s annual Folk Awards compilation CD
Buy on amazon.co.uk »
Free Download Track
Free track: Davey Graham’s Anji »
From the BBC Folk Awards website you can also download Bert Jansch and Ralph McTell’s tribute performance of the late Davey Graham’s classic track, Anji.
Seth interview with Martyn Joseph at Greenbelt 2008
September 28, 2008
Good long interview by Martyn Joseph at the Greenbelt Festival in August 2008. The interviews roams over Seth roots in the Devon folk scene, future directions and growing Seth’s audience – Seth ‘keeping it real’ against EMI pressures for no. 1 singles – his forthcoming trip to Malawi for the Lake of Stars festival, and being Greenbelt what part, if any, faith and religion has played in Seth’s upbringing.
(Thanks for ceakayone from The Mire for the find)
Video: backstage at Moseley Folk Festival
September 27, 2008
A new video shot backstage at Moseley Folk Festival is available on MySpace and on the official website. Quite short, it features general messing about and thoughts on the upcoming Autumn Tour, which will be Seth’s biggest yet. “A few surprises” are planned, apparently. It’s not clear whether these are surprises for us, or surprises for Seth.
Video: Catch up with Seth backstage at Moseley Folk Festival »
Seth helps launch RNLI’s 2009 “SOS” fundraising campaign
September 26, 2008
Seth helped launch the RNLI’s SOS Day in London on Web 24 Sep, performing new single Solomon Browne for RNLI volunteers aboard a Tamar class lifeboat on the River Thames.
SOS Day aims to raise £1 million for the RNLI. The national theme for this year’s campaign is Sound or Silence, and it’s hoped hundreds of RNLI supporters throughout the UK will be holding SOS themed events culminating on SOS Day on Friday 30 January 2009.
The RNLI provides nine out of 10 UK sea rescue launches, and relies on voluntary contributions for its income. Last year alone the RNLI rescued almost 8,000 people, an average of 21 people every day.
More information on how to show your support is available at www.rnli.org.uk/sosday/.
Press release: ‘Devon’s Seth Lakeman supports RNLI’s SOS Day with song in honour of the Solomon Browne‘, RNLI Press Centre, 25 Sep 2008 »
Video: Sadly rather iffy-quality video of the event and Seth’s performance from the RNLI
http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/press_centre/videos/video_detail?articleid=373951
Cambridge Folk Festival 2008 Roundup
August 6, 2008
Update 30 Sep 2008: The BBC’s excellent half-hour coverage of Seth’s performance, plus interviews with both Seth and Sean, has now been posted on YouTube »
(Click to enlarge. Photos by karohemd » used with permission.)
Review
“Sexy Seth Lakeman had the ladies (and some gents) at Cambridge Folk Festival swooning over him a short while ago when he performed on Stage 1. His fabulous fiddling, gorgeous voice and hunky bod(!) whipped the audience into a frenzy which continued throughout his set.
The main stage looked as though it may collapse as the audience jumped, danced and sung along with stunning Seth, who performed songs from his back catalogue (including everyone’s favourite, Kitty Jay) as well as stuff from his new albumn, Poor Man’s Heaven.
…
Oh, and did we mention that he’s gorgeous??”
Someone is certainly more than a little smitten.
‘Sexy Seth on the Fiddle’, Cambridge Folk Festival Blog, Sun 3 Aug
More Photos
- More Cambridge photos from karohemd »
- Cambridge photos by Bryan Ledgard », taken as part of his commission to provide photographs for the Radio 2 microsite
- Photos from BBC Cambridge Folk Festival microsite »
- Other Cambridge Folk Festival shots on Flickr »
BBC Coverage
Seth appeared on the BBC’s belated coverage of the Cambridge Folk Festival on Friday 29 August at 9.30pm (repeated 2.40am, Sat 30th). The half-hour programme, presented by Mark Radcliffe, featured lots of footage of the set plus interviews with both Seth and producer/guitarist brother Sean and is available on iPlayer » until Thu 4 September and in five parts on YouTube.
The BBC website has a video of the performance of Kitty Jay permanently available on Seth’s artist page, plus loads of photos. Go to BBC Cambridge Folk Festival 2008 > Seth Lakeman »
You can also listen to the performances of Hurlers and Solomon Browne » on Radcliffe/Harding, who refer to the latter as the “forthcoming single”. Seth’s bits start just after the 33min mark and are available on iPlayer until 11 Aug.
Perhaps the highlight of the highlights though is this impromptu performance of the Hurlers caught by a festival goer as Seth wandered amongst the crowd as it was being filmed for the BBC’s promised future coverage:
In-store Performances and Album Signings Roundup
July 3, 2008
Seth has been a busy bunny, with a bunch of in-store performances and album signings starting in Plymouth on Monday, then heading for Bristol and the Capitol on Tuesday before rounding it all off in Cardiff tonight before hopping on a plane for the Rock for People festival in Prague.
Write ups, fan photos, much “yay”ing on the Mire »
Fopp in Bristol, 1 July 2008
Write up of the in-store performance and album signing at Fopp in Bristol-
‘Seth Lakeman’s showdown in the city’, Spiral Earth, 2 July 2008 »
HMV London, 1 July 2008
(Fan footage of Solomon Browne performed live at HMV London, 1 July 2008)
The GetCloser website (registration required) has the full quality video filmed by the cameraman you can see in-shot above, plus a dedicated page for the signings where you can upload your own photos and reviews. Watch his stunning solo performances of Lady of the Sea, Solomon Browne and The Hurlers at HMV London and hear his answers to questions posed by the fans queuing to meet him. Some great stuff that’s well worth the minute it’ll take you to register.
Added 4 July 2008: Article and interview in the Telegraph from the album launch which is so good it gets its own post
Plus photos and gig write-ups on The Mire »
And a short write and interview from the Western Morning News (27 June 2008) »
On the new album: “It is a heavyweight record, but it would be great to chart it. That would be brilliant. We think it will. … A high position would be great for folk music, for down here (the Westcountry) it would be amazing. If it went top twenty, we will be getting the champagne out.”
Glastonbury 2008
June 30, 2008
Updated 8 July 2008 with Jaine Keskeys’ great photograph
Updated 30 June 2008 with Down on the Farm, The Guardian
Seth hit the Glastonbury Acoustic stage at 6.40pm on Saturday. Overlooked in the BBC’s coverage, save a small solo spot on the BBC2 highlights show at one o’clock in the morning, Lakeman’s set was nonetheless clearly one of his classic crowd winners.
“His effort was unrivalled, his performance was flawless.”
On the Glastonbury website Anna Blainey recounts the oft told tale of another accidental convert to Lakemania. Stumbling into the acoustic tent only because “three people … had told me in the last twenty four hours that he was one of the best acts they had seen” she was understandably worried that “with all these promises of Lakeman’s greatness… he would be completely awful.”
Clearly all prepared for the “lengthy arguments with people I’d rather not fall out with” that would ensue, she was totally won over by his “huge versatility” and “extraordinary voice…every intonation of it suggesting a phase of a song, and a story… sung with a unique raw expressiveness. And on top of this was his fiddle playing, executed with such speedy exuberance that he ended the set with a clump of shed horse hair hanging from the bow”.
TV Coverage
His TV performance of The Hurlers, solo and unaccompanied save his own urgent fiddle, is available to view and download from BBC iPlayer until 5 July or in rather blurrier form on YouTube (until the beeb spots it anyhow):
Down on the Guardian G2 Farm
The Guardian decided to test stars rural knowledge with their own miniature farm. Estelle, bless her, was confused by the absence of shops: “how do you get food, how do you eat in the country?”.
Moving swiftly on:
“Because I’m from the West Country, Glastonbury means a lot to me,” says folk star Seth Lakeman. “There’s a rich English heritage to Glastonbury, and there’s a lot of meaning when you play those songs about people from round this area.” Lakeman lives on the edge of Dartmoor, and says the landscape is an inspiration to him. Many of his school friends are now farmers, and he says they often ask him when he’s going to get a proper job. He used to help bale hay when he was younger. “It’s tough on your hands,” he says.
Crimson Dawn Video
June 26, 2008
Shot at Minack Theatre, Cornwall. Rumour and conjecture expects a single release for Crimson Dawn sometime in August
Poor Man’s Heaven Web Interviews
June 24, 2008
Part I
Part II
Part III
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