Live reviews
The Mary Wallopers at the Electric Ballroom, Dec 16
Reportage from a rollocking night of magical folk mischief and fun-fuelled rock'n'roll at a sold-out Electric Ballroom, Camden
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Features
How The Watersons recorded a landmark in English folk music
In a bedroom in Camden, one Sunday in January 1965, The Watersons recorded a landmark in English folk music whose reenactment of ritual and magic still sounds thrilling 60 years later
Features
Top 10 Albums of 2020
Here are 10 of our favourite albums from the past 12 months, including releases from Sam Lee, Cocanha, Afel Bocoum, Siti Muharam, Damir Imamović and more...
News
HERD hits Kirklees
Composer Orlando Gough tends his choral flock for an ovine-audio spectacular in the West Yorkshire countryside
News
The Folk on Foot Festival returns for a third edition
The award-winning team behind the Folk on Foot podcast are back with the third edition of their hugely popular Front Room Festival.
Features
Dispatch from: Asunción, Paraguay
Through fantastical water instruments, Sonidos de la Tierra have been helping bring both music and environmental activism to Paraguay’s communities. Huw Hennessy finds out more…
News
January 2026 Issue Is Out Now!
End-of-year special featuring Songlines Music Awards 2025 (the best global music of the year) plus exclusive Kneecap interview, Alice Gerrard, Peggy Seeger, Gloria Estefan and in-depth klezmer essay
News
Obituary: Thongsai Thapthanon
Phin master and pioneer of Isan popular music, Thongsai Thapthanon, has passed away.
Essential 10
Essential 10 Topic Records
One of Britain’s most iconic folk imprints is 85 years old and to celebrate we’ve asked ten artists who have history on the label (Martin Carthy, Angeline Morrison, Seth Lakeman and others) to pick a favourite from Topic’s catalogue
News
Malian Government Signals Support For Arrested Singer
Embattled singer, Rokia Traoré, faces extradition hearing this Wednesday
Features
Live Review: Polygon Live LDN
The sonically enhanced environs of Polygon Live LDN at Crystal Palace Park, London, created the perfect atmosphere for a bevy of musical icons to conjure and connect
News
Arooj Aftab, Tinariwen and Nitin Sawhney provide powerful playing, frenzied crowd-pleasers and plenty of laughs at Polygon Live LDN
The sonically enhanced environs of Polygon Live LDN created the perfect atmosphere for a bevy of musical icons to conjure and connect
Features
50 Great Moments in World Music
We've noted 50 great moments from 7000BC to the present day – concerts and confrontations, collaborations and conspiracies – all of which have shaped the sounds we're listening to today
Live reviews
Tallinn Music Week, Estonia, April 4-7
Tallinn Music Week, where Estonian jaw harps meet Moroccan basscore pile-ups and Québécois stomping…
