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Almost all music has a folk origin: blues, jazz, rock and even some classical. As Big Bill Broonzy famously said: all songs are folk songs - never heard a horse sing!
Arguably the first Kiwi to make a living with a mandolin, David spent some of his musical life playing bluegrass, but was performing in the folk boom as early as 1964.
He performed in Europe and the UK in the 70s, and recorded original music for NZ film and television. He dabbled in folk rock and pop in California in the 80s while teaching kids to sing. In London in the 90s he learned to help special needs children to read.
Now retired and no longer performing, he is free to pursue any of the musical paths he loves: song-writing, tuition - guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin, autoharp, dulcimer, even bass - and he works to record his original songs, such as https://youtu.be/P2iClmUZAZk
A long-standing enthusiast for NZ’s own folk music, David also still loves US old-time music, nurtured since Doc Watson LPs first made it to these shores, and explores the folk tradition of the British and Irish isles. He is a fan of World Music and fiercely proud of WOMAD Taranaki. A natural entertainer since his debut on radio aged six, David thinks radio is the perfect performance medium and now has an extensive archive of programmes.
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Podcasts
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The Festive Season 2022
You can listen on 104.4FM, stream, or podcast our Christmas/New Year programme throughout the season. Thank you for following the Folk Music Hour. Happy Holidays!
Duration: 00:58:11 | Date: 18 December, 2022
Fleurieu
A terrific folk festival in South Australia is a colourful and laid back glimpse into the broad range of Aussie folk talent.
Duration: 00:58:22 | Date: 11 December, 2022
Mixtape 12
Sometimes Folk Music Hour stumbles on new songs or a new take on an old song to share with you.
Duration: 00:58:18 | Date: 4 December, 2022
Bonny Light Horseman
A trio recording new folk has its roots planted in traditional soil.
Duration: 00:57:30 | Date: 27 November, 2022
Fingerpickin' Good
A playlist of songs accompanied by a folk guitar style way more delectable than fried chicken.
Duration: 00:56:11 | Date: 20 November, 2022
Trios
Three-part harmony sounds good, so the trio has a long history in groups, folk and beyond.
Duration: 00:58:37 | Date: 13 November, 2022
Joni at 79
We cannot let Joni’s birthday pass without her music, our admiration and some welcome news.
Duration: 00:59:01 | Date: 6 November, 2022
400
A collection from among David’s favourite songs with folk roots, chosen from a lifetime of loving music, and marking a Folk Music Hour milestone.
Duration: 00:59:10 | Date: 30 October, 2022
Labour Day
We explore the folk music that arises out of the struggle for workers’ rights, as May Day and our own Labour Day mark workers’ contributions to our lives.
Duration: 00:57:18 | Date: 23 October, 2022
Mixtape 11
A programme of songs and tunes too good to not share.
Duration: 00:58:16 | Date: 16 October, 2022
Instruments of Folk Part 2 - Drums and Percussion
In our 2nd in the series, The Instruments of Folk, we put the case that wanting percussion led to the first human instrument-making.
Duration: 00:58:09 | Date: 9 October, 2022
All Music is Folk
Folk is a broad church and restricting who is and who isn’t performing it can tie us in knots.
Duration: 00:56:54 | Date: 2 October, 2022
Sarah Jarosz
The Texas-raised singer and multi-instrumentalist has strong folk and old-timey roots but can sound right up-to-date, too.
Duration: 00:58:39 | Date: 25 September, 2022
The Instruments of Folk Pt. 1 - The Voice
We launch an occasional series of programmes exploring the musical instruments of Folk, starting with the human voice.
Duration: 00:55:32 | Date: 18 October, 2022
Funny Folks
We relax and have a laugh with some folk humour from around the world.
Duration: 00:57:57 | Date: 11 September, 2022
Luck O' the Irish
The songs of the Emerald Isle have influenced folk music the world over.
Duration: 00:57:10 | Date: 4 September, 2022
Virtuosi of Folk
We’re accustomed to virtuosos playing in classical music, but folk instrumentalists show some stunning skills, too.
Duration: 00:57:27 | Date: 28 August, 2022
Natalie Merchant
The former lyricist and singer for a Jamestown NY rock band has solo albums with powerful settings of some folk classics
Duration: 00:58:19 | Date: 21 August, 2022
Stan Rogers
In just a few years, the Canadian songwriter and folk artist made a collection of original folk music still enjoyed all over the world.
Duration: 00:58:07 | Date: 14 August, 2022
Mixtape 10
Our wide-ranging tenth mixtape shows how the folk song is always reinventing itself, with touches of country and touchstones of history.
Duration: 00:59:46 | Date: 7 August, 2022
Works Both Ways
We explore the way folk-style writers broaden their audience by going pop, and how rock is reinventing itself closer to its folk roots.
Duration: 00:59:15 | Date: 31 July, 2022
Famous Lives
It is the folk tradition we look to for the best expression of our feelings when we lose a significant historical figure.
Duration: 00:58:20 | Date: 24 July, 2022
Woody Guthrie
The Oklahoma balladeer’s songs will live forever and are performed around his 110th birthdate by a who’s who of country & folk.
Duration: 00:58:20 | Date: 17 July, 2022
We Mavericks
A duo consisting of a New Zealander and an Australian is making some enticing new contemporary folk
Duration: 00:59:36 | Date: 10 July, 2022
Amateurs
We round off an extended NZ Music Month with tracks that Kiwi singers have sent in for us to enjoy.
Duration: 00:59:46 | Date: 3 July, 2022
T Bone and Turkey
A Wellington quintet mix American, Irish, and Kiwi influence in a melting pot, cooking up an original sound with plenty of energy.
Duration: 00:57:57 | Date: 26 July, 2022
Graham Wardrop
In this NZMM special, we feature the astounding guitar picking of the Christchurch musician.
Duration: 00:59:08 | Date: 19 June, 2022
Cath Woodman
We remember the late Cath Woodman, whose voice brought such pleasure to NZ folk audiences.
Duration: 00:59:58 | Date: 12 June, 2022
Gentle Annie
The Kiwi folk and old-timey trio rose to prominence in the '70s and '80s and still sound good.
Duration: 00:59:58 | Date: 5 June, 2022
Mike Harding in Conversation
The veteran performer of NZ folk and Kiwiana reveals some fascinating background to our best songs.
Duration: 00:59:00 | Date: 29 May, 2022
Nancy Howie
Whether performing with the trio Tweed or multi-tracking at home, this NZ songwriter has some amazing material.
Duration: 00:59:00 | Date: 22 May, 2022
Bob McNeill
We feature the new album by the Scottish Kiwi trad and contemporary singer and instrumentalist.
Duration: 00:56:49 | Date: 15 June, 2022
WomenFolk
A New Zealand Music Month special featuring women folk musicians and singers.
Duration: 00:59:50 | Date: 8 May, 2022
NZMM 2022
Every May, we play only NZ songs and/or Kiwi folk artists and begin with a mixtape of terrific tracks.
Duration: 00:59:29 | Date: 1 May, 2022
ANZAC 2022
To mark our national day of observance, a programme of poignant and inspiring songs from many past conflicts, with a yearning for peace...
Duration: 00:58:12 | Date: 24 April, 2022
Guitar Time
We salute the key instrument in folk song performance with a selection of terrific playing.
Duration: 1:00:02 | Date: 17 April, 2022
In the Family Way
There can't be many moments more wonderful for a folk artist than sharing the stage with a musical descendant, or ancestor.
Duration: 00:59:24 | Date: 10 April, 2022
Maura O'Connell
The Irish singer Maura O’Connell lived in the US, and her repertoire bridges the pond, between the new world and the old.
Duration: 00:58:54 | Date: 3 April, 2022
Folk On Screen
Another playlist of folk and folkish songs featured in soundtracks on both the big and small screens.
Duration: 00:57:14 | Date: 27 March, 2022
Tom Paley
The old-timey specialist was one of the influential young musicians of the 60s who helped America re-discover its folk heritage.
Duration: 00:56:04 | Date: 20 March, 2022
WOMAD Dreams
Womad Taranaki ‘22 has run smack dab into omicron/omigosh. For the second year, we bring you a virtual Womad and dream of better days ahead.
Duration: 1:00:03 | Date: 13 March, 2022
The McGarrigles
Kate and Anna McGarrigle, sisters beloved in their native Canada and beyond, are recalled in this retrospective tribute.
Duration: 00:59:56 | Date: 6 March, 2022
Covers
Enjoying songs where one artist records something written by another leads to some interesting discoveries.
Duration: 00:58:49 | Date: 27 February, 2022
Black History Month
Some fascinating revelations about February’s commemorations, with some amazing music.
Duration: 00:59:18 | Date: 20 February, 2022
Maggie Boyle
The Anglo-Irish singer and flute-player is the archetype of the collaborative folk artist.
Duration: 00:58:43 | Date: 13 February, 2022
Folk on the Charts
Folk or folkish songs have captured the listening public’s imagination since at least the 1950s, and have even hit the Top Ten.
Duration: 00:57:16 | Date: 6 February, 2022
Pete Seeger
Every year, we play a programme of entertaining songs from the Johnny Appleseed of folk and Americana whose banjo kicks off every Folk Music Hour
Duration: 00:58:43 | Date: 30 January, 2022
Burns Night
Every January 25th, the world celebrates the birthday of the Scottish poet and song writer Robert Burns, born in 1759.
Duration: 00:57:23 | Date: 23 January, 2022
Mixtape 9
We launch into another folkin' good year, with more variety than you can shake a stick at, in our 9th mixtape.
Duration: 00:59:40 | Date: 16 January, 2022
Blues and More
Every year, around Martin Luther King Day, a US public holiday, we feature the kind of music we think he would’ve enjoyed, and hope you will, too.
Duration: 00:57:05 | Date: 9 January, 2022
Sandy Denny
We begin every year with our tribute to Sandy Denny, near her birthdate of 6th Jan. For 2022 we play her unreleased demos.
Duration: 00:58:28 | Date: 2 January, 2022