The Girls of Folk

One of the many things I love about folk is that as a general rule, it is more gender equal than your average music genre. There are few girls in heavy metal, few girl gangster rappers and very few indie girl bands yet folk music boasts an impressive amount of female input and creates better music because of it. From Laura Marling and Caitlin Rose to The Staves and Ellen and the Escapades, the girls have made their mark and are making the nu-folk scene what it is. Below are some more of folk's Wonder Women.

Sarah Jarosz.

Miss Jarosz has been making waves in the Nashville folk/blues/country scene for a little while now. She has real stage presence and a self-confidence in her performance unlike that of Laura Marling who comes across quite nervous and timid on stage. She is touring in the UK as of July 14th - I'm going to try and catch her at the Glee Club in Nottingham on July 22nd.

 

Lucy Rose.

The name has been on the lips of many and for good reason. If you haven't heard of her already then take a listen to her new song 'Place' below - you'll understand why I don't feel the need to write more.

Cold Specks.

A new treat brought to my attention by my favourite trusty music blogger Flying with Anna. Originally known as Basket Figs, this Canadian now lives in our fair capital and is starting to make a name for herself with her rich husky vocals. Listen to Send Your Youth or Holland for a taster - both are quickly becoming my songs of the moment.

Laura Marling.

This girl just goes from strength to strength; you have to remind yourself that she is only 21. I thought she was incredible at Glastonbury - many feared the Pyramid stage would dwarf her but she shone and didn't try to overcompensate. Instead she gave a truly beautiful performance and retained an intimate feel despite the thousand-strong crowd. Her third album is on the horizon and I couldn't be more excited. Here is a little snippet - prepare for great things come September!

 

The Lovell Sisters.

A small family band made up of Jessica, Megan and Rebecca Lovell. As an incredibly talented bunch, these ladies between them play the fiddle, dobro, lap steel, mandolin and guitar as well as being well known for their tight knit harmonies. They are currently not together whilst Jessica is in college but a reunion is likely in the future. In the meantime, Megan and Rebecca have regrouped to form Larkin Poe.

 

Larkin Poe. 

Now they may be one fiddle down with Jessica not in the band, but two thirds of the Lovell sisters still do pretty well. After all they are amazingly talented musicians: Rebecca won the MerleFest mandolin contest when she was only 15 making her the youngest person (and only woman) to win a MerleFest instrument competition. Although hard to top the original, I like what they do with this cover of Teardrop.

  

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