Last night I had the very good fortune to see The Brothers Gillespie at The Grimsby Folk Club on their 2024 UK tour.
Sam and James Gillespie hail from the North East of England and their music is firmly rooted in the landscape, folklore and romance of Northumbria. Both are very accomplished musicians and songwriters playing acoustic guitar, fiddle, flute, banjo amongst others.
This tour is to promote their third album The Merciful Road, a beautiful album I will write about at a later date. What is immediately apparent is their relationship with the natural world and how their environment influences them. Their stories behind how each song came to be written shows a deep sense of sociological awareness for the present as well as a spiritual connection with the past. Folk music pays tribute to those that went before us like no other genre and Sam and James write songs which connect our ancestors and their history to the landscape and the changing wheel of the year.
Accompanied by Jesse Thom, a musician, puppeteer and producer from Canada who performed three songs of his own as well as joining the brothers for two songs at either end of the set. It was so heartwarming to see what is really the ancient Bardic tradition of song weaving and story telling being taken around the country by three men dedicated to their craft and they deserve every success.
https://thebrothersgillespie.com
See also:
The Fell by The Brothers Gillespie
Categories: The Music Lounge
retroculturati 