John Smith is known for his delicate and intricate guitar work, honey-and-gravel voice and songs of lost love. He was born in Essex, but brought up in the seaside town of Brixham in Devon. Struck down by illness as a child, he took up the guitar and practiced obsessively in his attic bedroom over...

Jon Cleave and Billy Hawkins of Fisherman’s Friends take Matthew Bannister for a walk around their beautiful home village of Port Isaac in Cornwall, telling tales and singing songs inspired by the seafaring history of the area. They invite us to fall in love with “The Maid of Madeira”, marvel at ...

Jarlath Henderson has been described as the “Jimi Hendrix of the uilleann pipes”. He is also a fine singer and accomplished player of the whistle. At the age of 17 he became the youngest ever winner of the Radio 2 Young Folk award. He comes from Northern Ireland but has now made his home in Scot...

On the surface Frank Turner is a man of contrasts: the old Etonian who became a punk; the heavy metal fan who became a folk-influenced singer songwriter. On this walk through his old haunts on the Holloway Road in North London he reveals the inspiration for his change in musical direction, callin...

This episode has by far the largest cast of walkers we’ve ever assembled – and the most musicians. The lead singer of Oysterband John Jones started walking from gig to gig and singing on the way long before our podcast was invented. He’s done it all over the country and he’s usually accompanied ...

Eliza Carthy is one of the most influential figures in the UK folk scene. With her exuberant stage presence, she re-interprets the folk tradition for a new generation. She inherited her love of English music from her famous parents. Her Dad Martin Carthy was a key figure in the first folk revival...

Sandwood Bay, at the far North Western tip of Scotland near Cape Wrath, is one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK. This wild, isolated place inspired the Scottish fiddle player and composer Duncan Chisholm’s album “Sandwood”. He takes Matthew on the four-mile walk from the nearest road to e...

The singer, songwriter and fiddle player Bella Hardy was Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year in 2014. She takes Matthew for a rain-sodden walk through the majestic countryside of the Edale Valley in the Peak District where she was brought up and has now returned to live. Undaunted by the weather, the...

Kitty Macfarlane is known for her pure voice, poetic song writing and passion for the natural world. She was nominated for the Horizon award at the 2019 Radio 2 Folk Awards. Kitty was born and brought up in Somerset and is often inspired by the landscape of the county. On this unexpectedly sunny ...

Johnny Flynn is a talented stage and screen actor who is also a wonderful musician. You may have heard his theme tune for the brilliant TV comedy Detectorists, or seen him on the big screen in the recent adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, or on stage alongside Sir Mark Rylance in the acclaimed pla...

The award winning singer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Wood has lived in Kent all his life. “If you keep moving around, how much can you trust your judgement?” he asks. “If you stop where you are, the world does eventually come to you.”

Since the Brexit referendum and election of 2019, Chris h...

The multi award winning Dorset duo Ninebarrow take Matthew Bannister for a walk in the glorious countryside of the Isle of Purbeck.

Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere have known each other since they were twelve years old. They are a musical and personal partnership – a singing duo and a married...

Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow created one of the most memorable sets of our summer Festivals, filmed at their home in the village of Golcar in West Yorkshire. They have an uncanny ability to move you to tears one moment then have you roaring with laughter the next.

In summer 2020 they were pl...

The legendary guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson (who celebrated his 70th birthday in 2019) takes Matthew Bannister for a walk around the areas of London where he grew up, began playing the guitar, formed Fairport Convention (inventing English folk rock) and joined the vibrant music scene...