Folk That: Ship Happens

It seems like only yesterday that Flook announced they were breaking up. But now they’re back together again. After ‘much arm twisting’, the band has agreed to play a one off concert, as part of what’s being billed as one of the biggest events ever to hit Ireland – the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge which hits Belfast from Thursday August 13 to Sunday 16.

As the Gateway to the Tall Ships, Custom House Square in Belfast will play host to a feast of fantastic folk, trad, roots and world music over the four-day period, culminating in what may well be the most exciting evening of traditional music this year.
The ‘Titanic World Ceilidh’ runs from 8pm midnight on Sunday August 16 and features Brian Finnegan, Sarah Allen, Ed Boyd and John Joe Kelly along with some special guests about whose identity they’re keeping schtum.
Eager not to miss the chance to film this unique event, BBC Northern Ireland’s Blas Ceoil will be hosting the evening and also presenting a variety of ‘special guests’.
They’re also keen to keep the specifics of the line-up under wraps, so they haven’t yet given any details as to who all these men or women of mystery are just yet – but if folk, roots and traditional music are your cup of tea, they’re promising you won’t find a more exciting line up this year!
Hailing themselves as ‘a new band from Cork’, Small Town Talk hit the road for a few gigs around the country including a stop off at Whelan’s in Dublin on Thursday August 13. The line-up features Declan Sinnott, who after a career sharing stages with Moving Hearts, Mary Black and long time collaborator Christy Moore should need little or no introduction, Hank Wedel, who is a legend in Cork and shamefully neglected outside it, bass player Eleanor Healy whose latest work can be heard on Christy Moore’s recent chart-topper Listen and drummer Martin Leahy, whose former exploits include a stint lashing the skins for traditional band North Cregg.
Their modesty belies the fact that that is one hell of a lot of firepower in one small space. As they wend their way towards Dublin you’ll also be able to catch them in The Thatch, Rahan on Saturday July 25 — and they're also playing in Dundalk’s Spirit Store on the evening of Friday August 14.
Also making an appearance at the Spirit Store, Dundalk minimalist folk duo Norabelle launch a new 4-track EP in the the quayside venue on Thursday July 30. Citing influences such as Sun Kil Moon, Lambchop, the Red House Painters and Bonnie “Prince” Billie, the duo of Ken Clarke and Shane O’Hanrahan make low-key, lo-fi, downbeat music that's well worth checking out.
Hot on the heels of Wilco (The Album) Jeff Tweedy’s former Uncle Tupelo bandmate Jay Farrar releases the latest offering from his own band Son Volt.
Having first formed Son Volt in 1995 after the implosion of Uncle Tupelo, Farrar resurrected the band in 2005 after the spectacular (if unjust) failure of his own solo career to catch fire.
The two albums that followed – Okemah and the Melody of Riot and The Search found widespread recognition as some of the best and most compelling music Farrar had produced since Son Volt’s masterful debut Trace in 1995. Sadly, the albums didn’t find a particularly wide audience, and the band parted company with Sony/BMG.
Their return record, American Central Dust, the third set from the reconvened Son Volt, has been released by the venerable independent roots music label Rounder Records, and whether driven by financial constraints or a more restrained aesthetic, the album sounds austere in a way its immediate predecessors did not. Okemah... and The Search found Farrar and his new bandmates embracing a bigger studio sound; by comparison, American Central Dust feels more organic and intimate, recalling the simplicity of the band’s debut.