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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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Emily Portman
The West Country folk singer is winning a following for her solo work as well as her collaborations with others.
Duration: 00:57:49 | Date: 22 October, 2023
The Moon
The beauty of the recent blue supermoon inspires a playlist of songs, folk and beyond.
Duration: 00:58:11 | Date: 15 October, 2023
Covers #4
Another playlist of superb interpretations of songs already recorded by some great writers.
Duration: 00:58:26 | Date: 8 October, 2023
Gráda Reunion
The Kiwi-Irish folk group, Gráda, is in NZ for a reunion tour that their fans thought might never happen.
Duration: 00:58:10 | Date: 1 October, 2023
Robbie Robertson
We salute the late Canadian songwriter and guitarist who left a legacy of folk-rock unparalleled in American music.
Duration: 00:58:13 | Date: 24 September, 2023
Mid-Year WOMAD
We go around the world with a programme of world music to keep us going until WOMAD 2024.
Duration: 00:58:12 | Date: 17 September, 2023
John Martyn
Since his passing in 2009, the music of the UK folk & experimental artist has come to be appreciated even mor widely.
Duration: 00:55:46 | Date: 10 September, 2023
Instruments of Folk Part 4 - Pluck
The fourth in our series The Instruments of Folk investigates the music that comes from plucking strings.
Duration: 00:55:47 | Date: 3 September, 2023
Instruments of Folk Part 3 - Blow
We continue our occasional series about the instruments of folk with the oldest musical instruments of humankind - ones that we blow.
Duration: 00:58:19 | Date: 27 August, 2023
More Folk on Screen
Another playlist of folk & folkish that have made a film look good
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 20 September, 2023
Folkways Turns 75
The iconic record label, the source of so many songs still sung today, marks a milestone.
Duration: 00:57:22 | Date: 13 August, 2023
Molly Tuttle
The instrumental virtuoso Molly Tuttle has wowed audiences from an early age with her folk and bluegrass music.
Duration: 00:58:16 | Date: 6 August, 2023
Mixtape 13
Another lineup of great folk from a variety of talented artists from many different backgrounds.
Duration: 00:58:11 | Date: 30 July, 2023
Traditional Folk
The genesis of traditional songs and what became of them is a sort of musical detective story that anyone can play.
Duration: 00:58:12 | Date: 23 July, 2023
W W Guthrie
We honour the Oklahoma troubadour around the time of his July 14 birthday, playing his songs performed by his descendants and admirers
Duration: 00:58:24 | Date: 16 July, 2023
David Crosby
Known for a career in rock, the late singer’s legacy of beautiful acoustic music has a contemporary folk feel.
Duration: 00:58:12 | Date: 9 July, 2023
More Covers
A playlist of songs with that thing folk does so well - artists covering others’ songs in new ways.
Duration: 00:58:29 | Date: 2 July, 2023
Abigail Lapell
A Canadian contemporary folk artist is making waves at home, and abroad.
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 25 June, 2023
Juneteenth
Our first programme observing President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
Duration: 00:58:25 | Date: 18 June, 2023
Songs of the Sea
Songs about seafaring are some of our most loved, a rich strand woven into the folk tradition.
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 11 June, 2023
Richard and Linda Thompson
The ‘golden couple’ of British folk rock gave us some songs still celebrated and performed to this day.
Duration: 00:58:19 | Date: 4 June, 2023
All Kiwi Folk Too
We wrap up another NZ Music Month with a selection of Kiwi folk performers, showing the extraordinary variety of our own musicians.
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 28 May, 2023
All Kiwi-Folk
Our third all-Kiwi show for NZ Music Month, with some exciting news for lovers of our own folk songs
Duration: 00:56:13 | Date: 21 May, 2023
North Island Folk
Our second collection of all-Kiwi folk for 2023, with a North Island focus.
Duration: 00:58:06 | Date: 14 May, 2023
South Island Folk
We launch our NZ Music Month programmes with folk artists from the South Island.
Duration: 00:58:15 | Date: 7 May, 2023
Folk and All That Jazz
We put the case that folk blues and ballads are the origins of the music we call jazz, which in essence is “folk by other means”.
Duration: 00:57:19 | Date: 30 April, 2023
Napoleon
The war against Napoleon in the late 18th & early 19th century caused untold misery but left us with some extraordinary folk songs.
Duration: 00:58:22 | Date: 23 April, 2023
The American Civil War
162 years after the April start of the American Civil War, the enmity remains, but so does a body of poignant folk songs.
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 16 April, 2023
Doc Watson
The master of the acoustic guitar will delight generations to come with his interpretations of American folk music.
Duration: 00:58:14: | Date: 9 April, 2023
Our WoReview
The exciting return of Womad to New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park led to some great musical encounters.
Duration: 00:58:17 | Date: 2 April, 2023
Shawn Colvin
The influential singer has roots in the folk revival and has taken songwriting to new heights.
Duration: 00:57:38 | Date: 26 April, 2023
Country Folk Too
Another look at the place where folk and country meet.
Duration: 00:58:24 | Date: 19 March, 2023
Folk and Feminism Part 2
We continue the theme of women’s rights traced through folk and contemporary songs, marking Int’l Women’s Day
Duration: 00:58:13 | Date: 12 March, 2023
Folk and Feminism Part 1
Throughout the struggle for the rights of women, folk songs have been telling the truth. A programme for International Women’s Day
Duration: 00:58:18 | Date: 5 March, 2023
The Emerald Isle
Another programme of musical riches from Ireland. Simply grand!
Duration: 00:58:17 | Date: 26 February, 2023
Billy Bragg
The Londoner has excelled for years in singing gutsy folk material with an electric edge.
Duration: 00:58:17 | Date: 19 February, 2023
Woverview 2023 Part 2
A further look at the delights in store for Womadders coming to New Plymouth, March 17-19th.
Duration: 00:58:30 | Date: 12 February, 2023
Woverview 2023 Part 1
WOMAD is back, and we’re playing some of the music, hoping you’ll come to sunny New Plymouth in March.
Duration: 00:58:10 | Date: 5 February, 2023
Pete Seeger 2023
Our annual Pete Seeger special looks at the songs he sang promoting freedom & civil rights.
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 29 January, 2023
Folk and Racism
Society honours its living conformists and its dead trouble-makers. A special programme of African American folk for Martin Luther King Day.
Duration: 00:58:16 | Date: 15 January, 2023
Harps Down Under
A double bill of Australian Harpers introduces a Harp Festival in Auckland on Waitangi Weekend.
Duration: 00:57:37 | Date: 8 January, 2023
Sandy Denny
Our year always begins with Sandy, whose birthdate is January 6th. This year, some of the many covers of her songs by other artists.
Duration: 00:58:14 | Date: 1 January, 2023