The English Folk Dance and Song Society are based in Cecil Sharp House, a large yet somewhat unassuming building in a quiet back street of Camden, North London. Opened in 1930, it is named after the English folk dance and song collector Cecil Sharp (1859-1924) and hosts a consistently high quality programme of music events, including courses and classes, lectures and conferences, visual art exhibitions and live performances by some of the very best artistes currently active on the ‘roots’ music scene. Continue reading “Darlingside, Cecil Sharp House, Camden, London, 21st November 2019.”
Darlingside’s latest release is an EP of outtakes from 2018’s ‘Extralife.’ It’s fair to say though that any of the songs on ‘Look Up & Fly Away’ would have been well-deserving of a place on that album. This is an exceptionally delicate listen; the intricate wording and stories in the songs are like a peek into someone’s private life, into their passing through life and beyond. It feels a little intrusive at times, but ultimately you feel lucky to have been allowed into something so special. 
The most impressive band I saw at the AMAUK conference last week weren’t performing at the awards or the showcases (although there were some fairly impressive acts there too) – they were a quartet called Darlingside who completely absorbed delegates over the best part of an hour over one lunchtime and whose new record ‘Extralife’ arrives later this month. They’ve also released a new Fleets Foxy single called ‘Futures’ which you can view the superb new video to below while you peruse the quintet of dates. 
Darlingside are an American folk band starting to make quite a stir after a bumped higher up the bill appearance at last year’s Cambridge Folk Festival earnt them a lot of new fans this side of the pond. They’ve been back for some tour dates and brought along a friend – the woman described as their “Big Sister” – who provided the opening support set. Caitlin Canty is a Vermont girl gone Nashville, and sings modern folk songs tinged with a fairly generous helping of country. She’s enjoying being in the UK – commenting that if she lived here she’d be writing train songs instead of ones featuring cars as an escape. Get Up is her standout song, with its thrumming guitar line and insistent lyrics “Get up get up get up / no time to rest or run for cover / Get up get up get up / before the road pulls you under” which restlessly hints at a chaotic scramble away from an unbearable situation.