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and Here’s The Tender Coming you wonder how the inferior Last has swayed opinion, but not only is it up for Best Album, Adrian McNally’s slightly mysterious title track is in the mix for Best Original Song. Surely, though: touring extensively with string sec- tions and brass bands and playing innova- tive shows of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons material: the Unthanks final- ly deserve the Best Live Act award that’s habitually reserved for Bellowhead (bid- ding for a third straight win in the catego- ry) with the revived Home Service and Peatbog Faeries also in the frame.
The Unthanks also have an interest in stable mates and touring companions Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell, previously nominated for an Horizon award and now, with their own debut album just released, find themselves nominated as Best Duo. There’s strong competition, though, from Tim Edey & Brendan Power and perennial duo category winners Spiers & Boden, who’ve had a productive year of their own beyond Bellowhead celebrating their tenth anniversary together. The emotional winners, though, would be Marry Water- son and her brother Oliver Knight, both winning their first nominations and, in a sad year for the family, are this year’s sole representatives of the Waterson/Carthy dynasty on the back of their intriguing contemporary album, The Days That Shaped Me.
The Musician Of The Year category always severely tests the awareness of the panellists, this year resulting in a direct split between two old hands and regular previous winners, Martin Simpson and Andy Cutting and a newer vintage repre- sented by guitarist/accordeon player Tim Edey and young harmonica player Will Pound, who made a spiky album with Dan Walsh, played with Martin Simpson’s band and popped up on populist telly working with Goldie on the BBC2 reality series Goldie’s Band: By Royal Appointment.
There have been some great past win- ners in the Best Original Song category (last year it was Chris Wood’s provocative account of the Stockwell tube killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, Hollow Point) but with songs as diverse as Steve Tilston’s The Reckoning and Adrian McNally’s Last it’s less easy to call this time. You’d think it could go to On Morecambe Bay, Kevin Lit- tlewood’s similarly emotive epitaph to the Chinese workers drowned while collecting cockles in 2004 as recorded by Christy Moore on his new album, but for her bold- ness in changing direction to record an underrated, entirely self-written album, it would be nice to see Bella Hardy (who pre- viously narrowly missed out with Three Black Feathers) get it for her compelling narrative The Herring Girl.
Perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy, the
Horizon Award has a decent history of identifying rising talents who have subse- quently progressed to greater awards (Cara Dillon, Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Jackie Oates), so all eyes on Megan Henwood, Lady Maisery, Pilgrims Way and Lucy Ward, all of whom have released debut albums this year. A win for singer songwriter Megan Henwood would mark another notch in her progress since winning the Young Folk Award with brother Joe in 2010 and while Lady Maisery (Hannah James, Hazel Askew and Rowan Rheingans) and Pilgrims Way (Tom Kitching, Lucy Wright and Edwin Beasant) also have legitimately solid claims, the personable and eclectic Lucy Ward (who also has a shot at Best Tra-
June Tabor & Oysterband: up for Best Album, Best Group, and Best Traditional Track, while June herself is in the running for Folk Singer Of The Year.
ditional Track for Maids When You’re Young) may start as hot favourite.
It’s a great shame that due to economies the Young Folk Awards has now been absorbed into the main event, rather than getting its own showcase. Last year’s winners Moore, Moss, Rutter were thus denied their moment in the sun, but there’s still prestige to be had with this award (MMR have just released an accom- plished debut album) and much interest will doubtless be inspired by the four shortlisted candidates this year: blues
FOLK SINGER OF THE YEAR Jon Boden Jackie Oates Emily Smith June Tabor
BEST DUO Tim Edey & Brendan Power Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell Spiers & Boden Marry Waterson & Oliver Knight
BEST GROUP Bellowhead
The Home Service June Tabor & Oysterband The Unthanks
BEST ALBUM Last: The Unthanks Purpose + Grace: Martin Simpson
Ragged Kingdom: June Tabor & Oysterband Saturnine: Jackie Oates
BEST LIVE ACT Bellowhead
The Home Service Peatbog Faeries The Unthanks
guitarist/singer and Daniel Radcliffe look - alike Sunjay Brayne, Irish band Ioscaid, Scots fiddle player Graham Mackenzie and guitarist/singer Blair Dunlop, whose repu- tation precedes him as the son of Ashley Hutchings and a central figure in the born- again Albion Band.
You pays your licence fee and you takes your choice. Salford beware…
The winners will be unveiled at the rapidly sold out live event, broadcast on Radio 2’s Mike Harding Show and on red button TV on Wednesday 8th February. F
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR Andy Cutting Tim Edey Will Pound
Martin Simpson
HORIZON AWARD Megan Henwood Lady Maisery Pilgrims’ Way Lucy Ward
BEST ORIGINAL SONG The Herring Girl: Bella Hardy
Last: Adrian McNally (performed by The Unthanks)
On Morecambe Bay: Kevin Littlewood (performed by Christy Moore) The Reckoning: Steve Tilston
BEST TRADITIONAL TRACK
Bonny Bunch Of Roses: June Tabor & Oysterband
Lakes Of Ponchartrain: Martin Simpson Maids When You’re Young: Lucy Ward Sweet Lover of Mine: Emily Smith
YOUNG FOLK AWARD Sunjay Brayne Blair Dunlop Ioscaid
Graham Mackenzie
Photo: Judith Burrows
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