Airing time: 12pm Sunday, Replays 7:30pm Thursday
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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
To download the latest episode: Click on the kiwifruit to go to The Folk Music Hour page on the accessmedia.nz site:
Click on the title of an episode to listen
Katherine Priddy
The Birmingham-based singer and writer is at the top of the official UK Folk Charts and is winning awards, and listeners.
Duration: 00:56:02 | Date: 17 October, 2021
Malinky
Described as the finest young Scottish folk band around, these musicians are really enjoyable
Duration: 00:57:33 | Date: 10 October, 2021
Mark Laurent
One of NZ’s finest singer-songwriters, Mark has released a best-of, making a baker’s dozen of albums of his original work, with fine instrumental and vocal performances.
Duration: 00:56:55 | Date: 3 October, 2021
All Folked Up
What happens when popular songs appeal to folk artists who are moved to give them completely new arrangements.
Duration: 00:55:57 | Date: 26 September, 2021
Bruce Cockburn
The brilliant Canadian songwriter has a great repertoire of guitar instrumentals.
Duration: 00:57:05 | Date: 19 September, 2021
Te Wiki o te reo Maori
We feature the folk music of the tangata whenua, with the sounds of taonga puoro - singing treasures.
Duration: 00:53:05 | Date: 12 September, 2021
Mainly Acoustic
Apart from some subtle background textures, these artists write and record acoustic music.
Duration: 00:58:29 | Date: 5 September, 2021
Oldies
We put together a show of songs for older folks - both poignant and funny.
Duration: 00:57:59 | Date: 29 August, 2021
Vikki Clayton Part 2
We continue our story of the English folk artist and trace her NZ journey.
Duration: 00:57:46 | Date: 22 August, 2021
Vikki Clayton Part 1
The UK ex-pat has an impressive discography of traditional and contemporary folk, with some fine original songwriting.
Duration: 00:58:11 | Date: 15 August, 2021
Mixtape 8
Another eclectic mix of music from four continents.
Duration: 00:56:44 | Date: 8 August, 2021
Nordic Folk
We’re biased towards Anglo-American folk, but our archive has a lot of music in languages other than English. This programme has some superb music from Scandinavia.
Duration: 00:56:34 | Date: 1 August, 2021
Young Old Timey
Old-timey music is attracting young players globally - we feature two fiddlers, a Canadian and a Kiwi, who play it brilliantly.
Duration: 00:59:30 | Date: 25 July, 2021
Mississippi John Hurt
We play the songs of this significant blues artist whose recordings have recently been remastered.
Duration: 00:59:15 | Date: 18 July, 2021
Shanties
The phenomenon of Wellerman inspires us to choose folk songs about the seafaring life.
Duration: 00:52:31 | Date: 11 July, 2021
Fay Hield
A great performer, and a senior lecturer at Sheffield University, Fay has a super repertoire and some excellent musicians, live, and in the studio.
Duration: 00:58:04 | Date: 4 July, 2021
The Roots of Modern Folk
Davey looks at the moments where folk evolved into the singer-songwriters who brought us into the present day.
Duration: 00:56:39 | Date: 27 June, 2021
Sam Lee
A specialist in traditional song works some magic with his astonishing arrangements.
Duration: 00:53:26 | Date: 20 June, 2021
Hard Times
Life is tough for many in NZ these days, but the folk tradition reveals that hard times have always been with us.
Duration: 00:57:07 | Date: 13 June, 2021
NZ Mixed Tape 2
We wrap up our NZMM series for 2021 with tracks from those who have kindly shared their music with the Folk Music Hou
Duration: 00:57:07 | Date: 6 June, 2021
Jacquie Walters
In our third NZMM program with a Christchurch focus, Jacquie Walters sings her original songs.
Duration: 00:58:52 | Date: 30 May, 2021
Rua
The Christchurch folk band performed exciting live shows, and is remembered in this special feature.
Duration: 00:54:18 | Date: 23 May, 2021
Emeralds and Greenstone
Our NZ Music Month has a Christchurch focus this year; first up is a bicultural folk group blending Celtic and Maori sounds.
Duration: 00:45:33 | Date: 16 May, 2021
Women Folk
We continue NZ Music Month with an all-Kiwi programme of women folk artists.
Duration: 00:52:43 | Date: 9 May, 2021
NZ Music Mixtape
We get NZ Music Month underway, playing a variety of NZ artists.
Duration: 00:56:10 | Date: 2 May, 2021