Thursday, 7 August 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 11 August 2025
Thursday, 17 July 2025
Warwick Folk Festival mix
I'm going to the Warwick Folk Festival at the end of next week so have put together a mix of some of those who will be playing there from Thursday the 24th to Sunday the 27th.
Listen to the mix on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM at 1pm or 8pm.
Richard Thompson - Feel So Good
Kate Rusby - Shake It Off
Martin Simpson - Born Human
Fara - Broom Power
Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth - The Workout Suite
Janice Burns & Jon Doran - Up and Awa'
Banter - Below Below
Andy Cutting - Granton Fish Bowl
Granny's Attic - The Mermaid
Le Vent Du Nord - Pauvre Enfant
Chris Wood - Turtle Soup
Martin Simpson - New Kitchen Blues
Kate Rusby - The Village Green Preservation Society
Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Fara - Speir Thoo the Wast Wind
Friday, 11 July 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 14 July 2025
It's a mostly North American playlist this week with one band from the UK, namely Jaywalkers. There are two songs from Arcadia the new album by Alison Krauss & Union Station and a Bob Dylan cover by Indigo Girls from their live album 1200 Curfews which was released back in 1995.
Listen to the show on Mixcloud or on Ginger Feather FM at 1pm or 8pm from Monday.
Asleep at the Wheel - Half A Hundred Years
Birds of Chicago - Cannonball
Alison Krauss & Union Station - North Side Gal
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway feat Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Backyard
Dolly Parton - Seven Bridges Road
Jaywalkers - Ain't Nobody's Business
Hayseed Dixie - Dude Looks Like A Lady
Down Hill Strugglers - Abandoned Orchards That Grow
Indigo Girls - Tangled Up In Blue (live)
Rita Hosking - I See Storms
The Tillers - Weary Soul
Cam Penner - Gypsy Women
Alison Krauss & Union Station - One Ray of Shine
Yasmin Williams - Through The Woods
Friday, 4 July 2025
OTBT mix 7 July 2025
Sunday, 29 June 2025
Best New Releases 2025 (so far)
As we are at the mid-way point in the year I thought I'd look through my list of new releases which I've either been sent or have bought on Bandcamp or direct from the artist. Of these ten I have only seen one in concert this year, namely Flook, though I did see Miranda Sykes recently who is a member of Daphne's Flight and I watched a live stream of one of their gigs on Folkscape.
So in alphabetical order here is my Top Ten Jan-Jun 2025
Daphne's Flight - Favourable Light
Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko - Our Calling
Flook - Sanju
I’m With Her - Wild and Clear and Blue
Jaywalkers - Move On
Iona Lane - Swilkie*
Merry Hell - Rising of the Bold
Reg Meuross - Fire & Dust : A Woody Guthrie Story
Eilidh Shaw and Ross Martin - Stay Here All Night
Natalie Wildgoose - Come Into The Garden
Tune in to Off The Beaten Tracks every day at 1pm or 8pm
On Ginger Feather FM which broadcasts 24/7 online
Thursday, 26 June 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 30 June 2025
Listen to the show now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM.
Thursday, 19 June 2025
Blues mix for Max Haymes
I first met Max when I got involved with the community radio station Diversity FM. Max did his show on a Monday afternoon and occasionally I would cover for a guy called Reza whose show preceded Max's. I would normally end my hour with a blues track knowing that Max would be in the other studio waiting to take to the airwaves and I would listen to see what comment he would make. But while Max's expertise and love of the blues was the music of the early 20th century, I was more into guitarists who I had discovered in the 1980s like Robert Cray and those who to me were the older generation like BB King and Buddy Guy.
This mix features old blues which hopefully Max would have approved of from the likes of Big Bill Broonzy and Oscar Woods up to the new generation of blues musicians like Jackie Venson and Errol Brown. Listen on Mixcloud to my Blues Mix for Max.
Thanks Max, for giving me a window into a world of early blues which I may not have got round to checking out. Rest in Peace.
John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom
Big Bill Broonzy - Mindin' My Own Business
Sonny Boy Williamson - Sugar Mama
Jackie Venson - Down By The Riverside / Up Above My Head
Little Whitt & Big Bo - I Got A Woman
Odetta - Midnight Special
Little Willie John - Fever
Eric Bibb - Six O'Clock Blues
Grainne Duffy - Dirt Woman Blues
Errol Linton - Love Gone Cold
Blues N' Trouble - Honey Pot
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Change The Lock On My Door
Keb' Mo' - Kindhearted Woman Blues
Sunjay - Train Home
Blind Boys of Alabama - Just Wanna See His Face
Ted Hawkins - Peace & Happiness
Oscar Woods - Lone Wolf Blues
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - I Love You Baby
Thursday, 12 June 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 16 June 2025
Back to doing my radio show after a few week's off due to a family bereavement. I've got two numbers from Jaywalkers' new album titled Move On including one about never being played on the radio. Also two songs from the latest Songlines magazine download by Joshua Burnside and Natalie Wildgoose.
Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM.
Bert Jansch - Strolling Down The Highway
Jaywalkers - The Radio
Flook - The Farther Shore \ Winter Flower
The Jayhawks - Save It For A Rainy Day
Merry Hell - Singing In The Morning
Neil Young - Harvest
King Creosote - Jump At The Cats
Kathryn Priddy - A Boat On The River
Jaywalkers - Leaving Lerwick
I'm With Her - Ancient Light
Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham - The Queensferry Cooper \ Derry Cunningham's Jig
Joshua Burnside - Marching Round The Ladies
Natalie Wildgoose - I Lingered
Steve Knightley - Polly On The Shore
April Maybe May - Home
Chris Newman - Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007- VII. Gigue (Arr. for Guitar)
Sunday, 8 June 2025
One More Card
No more birthday cards to buy, no more Mother's Days to remember
One less Christmas card to send, no going shopping for presents
She liked her long hot baths so bubble bath or bath salts
Were guaranteed to bring a smile to her face
One time I bought her a cd of a singer from long ago
My aunt told me that mum had been a fan way back when
But when she unwrapped the disc there was a look
Of puzzlement, of disappointment.
I said, "your sister told me you'd really liked his music"
"Oh did she", replied mum. The cd was gone the next time I was home.
The care home had kept all the cards I'd sent her over the years
They gave me them back. Odd to see them again.
Birthdays, Xmas, Easter, Mothering Sunday, a postcard from Shetland
And a few cards just sent to say hello, I'm thinking of you.
She's gone now. End of life care led to the inevitable end of her life.
Will I see you in heaven? sing the Jayhawks. I don't know.
I miss her. Can I buy her just one more card? Please?
But others buy With Sympathy cards and send them to me.
CMB
08/16/2025
Friday, 6 June 2025
A Mournful Ditty
A poem written by my grandfather William "Jock" Kay and included in his book Kay-otic Rhymes which was published in 1938. He lived in Hong Kong from 1913 until 1939, working as a school teacher and then Headmaster at Ellis Kadoorie School for Chinese Boys before moving on to be Headmaster at King's College.
It was said of him, "Jock Kay had a lively wit and a prolific pen: he may not have been a great poet, but he excelled as a parodist and in humorous, though friendly, satire."
I read this poem at my mother's funeral in Edinburgh on Tuesday the 3rd June 2025.
Saturday, 17 May 2025
OTBT mix 19 May 2025
Friday, 9 May 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 12 May 2025
Listen now on Mixcloud or at 8pm every evening on Ginger Feather FM.
Sunday, 4 May 2025
OTBT mix 5th May
A mix with a theme of parts of the body, so songs with things like head and heart in the title. As I had so many songs to choose from I thought I would add some bonus tracks for Mixcloud listeners. So the playlist is as follows. Listen at 8pm on Ginger Feather FM from Monday.
Jez Lowe - Hands Feet
Darwin Song Project - Heavy in my Hand
Richard Thompson - Blackleg Miner
The Young 'Uns - Hand Over Hand
Runrig - Hearts of Olden Glory (live)
Peatbog Faeries - Shifting Peat & Feet
Roger Wilson - Where My Feet Are Going I Don't Know
June Tabor - Lay This Body Down
Linda Thompson - As Fast As My Feet
Shawn Colvin & Loudon Wainwright III - A Heart Needs A Home
Flossie Malavialle - Slipping Through My Fingers
Gilmore & Roberts - The Stealing Arm (Live)
Judy Dyble - Head Full of Stars
Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman - The Maid with the Bonny Brown Hair
Lindisfarne - Turn A Deaf Ear
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Rowdy Heart, Broken Wing
Bonus Tracks (Mixcloud only)
This is the Kit - Scabby Head and Legs
Honey & The Bear - Head In The Stars
The Deadly Winters - Hand to Heart
Martin Stephenson - Wholly Humble Heart
https://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/otbt-mix-5-may-2025/
Thursday, 24 April 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 28 April 2025
Thursday, 17 April 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 21 April 2025
Two songs by James J Turner on my latest show including his new single Beltane Fires. Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM.
James J Turner - Beltane Fires
Fairground Attraction - Perfect
Fay Hield- Night Journey
John Renbourn - White House Blues
Steve Knightley - Forever Young
Charlotte Carrivick - I'm Glad That's Not My Dog
Ringo Starr - Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)
Pete Townshend and Raphael Rudd - Let My Love Open The Door
I'm With Her - Espresso
The Low Countries - We Weathered The Storm
The Jellyman's Daughter - I Hope
David Ferrard - The War Carries On (Turn Turn Turn)
Tim O'Brien - Everything Is Broken
M.G. Boulter - His Name Is Gene
James J Turner - How Could We Be Wrong
Larkin Poe - Kick The Blues
Errol Linton - Bo Diddit
Friday, 4 April 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 7 April 2025
Next week's Ginger Feather FM radio show playlist. Listen now on Mixcloud.
The Gigspanner Big Band is on tour from April the 11th with dates in the NW at Kendal, Bury and Liverpool. See https://www.gigspanner.com/live for all the details.
Show of Hands - Arrogance, Ignorance & Greed
Spiers & Boden - Butter and Cheese and All
Sandy Denny - Ecoute Ecoute
Nic Jones - The Little Pot Stove
Miranda Sykes - I Need You
Kris Drever - If Wishes Were Horses
John Smith - Joanna _ Tupelo Honey (live)
Spiers & Boden - Fallow Ground
MacMaster Hay - Stay With You
Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage - Boots of Spanish Leather
Gigspanner Big Band - Betsy Williams
Gilmore & Roberts - Skip and Jump
Breabach - The Striking Clock
Friday, 28 March 2025
OTBT mix 31 March 2025
A mix for the coming week with two tracks by Scottish folk group The McCalmans. These songs are from a Nick Keir compilation I picked up recently from Greentrax Records.
Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger feather FM
Richard Thompson - Tear Stained Letter
The McCalmans - Applecross Bay
Archie Churchill-Moss - Odi & Nancy
Banter - Seneca Square / Soldiers Joy
Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko - Ninna Nanna
Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy & Chris Parkinson - Black Muddy River
Dick Gaughan - Stand Up For Judas
Roving Crows - Fire Sky
The McCalmans - Ainster Harbour
Kami Thompson & James Walbourne - I Long For Lonely
The Rheingans Sisters - The Photograph
Fotheringay - Knights of the Road
Katheryn Tickell & The Darkening - Just Stop and Eat The Roses
Mikey Kenney - Montagna Di Menta
Friday, 21 March 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 24 March 2025
This week's show starts with a track from Steve Knightley's new album "Positively Folk Street" which includes six covers of songs by both Bob Dylan and Martin Carthy.
Listen to the show on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM
Steve Knightley - Girl From The North Country
Uiscedwr - Prescription Junkie
Tidelines - Any Heart in a Storm
Jez Lowe - Snow to Nova Scotia
Steeleye Span - Shipbuilding
Tom Kitching - Old Molly Oxford
The Imagined Village - The Handweaver And The Factory Maid
Ross Ainslie - Fly Higher
Karine Polwart - Salters Road
Katherine Priddy - Walnut Shell
Kris Kristofferson - Chase The Feeling
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway w/ Gillian Welch - Side Saddle
Tumbling Bones - How They're Rolling
The Staves - I Don't Say It, But I Feel It
Joni Mitchell - Little Green
Friday, 14 March 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 17 March 2025
There are two tracks on this week's show from the new album by Reg Meuross titled "Fire & Dust: A Woody Guthrie Story" which was released on the 14th of March. The album was produced by Pete Townshend who plays on a couple of tracks along with the likes of Phil Beer, Geraint Watkins and Beth Porter.
Reg is on tour in March and April before playing at various festivals over the summer. See https://www.regmeuross.com/events/ for more info.
This show is available to listen to now on Mixcloud or on Ginger Feather FM from Monday at 1pm and 8pm.
Grace Petrie - Farewell To Welfare
Reg Meuross - A Folk Song's A Song
Nick Keir - Crooked Smile
Bonny Light Horseman - Blackwaterside
Lisa Knapp & Gerry Diver - I Must Away Love
Show of Hands - Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
Honey & The Bear - Buried In Ivy
GNOSS - Audrey's
Katie Spencer - Sweet and Gentle
Crosby & Nash - Lay Me Down
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Can't Take It With You
Yasmin Williams (feat. Aoife O'Donovan) - Dawning
Reg Meuross - The Gypsy Singer
Sunday, 9 March 2025
OTBT Folk Mix 10 March 2025
A mix which will go out on Ginger Feather FM at 1pm and 8pm from Monday the 10th. Also available to listen to on Mixcloud.
Bellowhead - London Town
Plumhall - The Space Between
Toni Bunnell - The Waterways of England
Breabach - Scotland's Winter
Dick Gaughan - Now Westlin Winds
Fairport Convention - South Dakota to Manchester
Steve Knightley - The Bristol Slaver
Linda Thompson featuring The Unthanks - Three Shakey Ships
Kate Rusby - Three Little Birds
McGoldrick, McCusker & Doyle - Trip to Pakistan / Edinburgh Rock
The McCalmans - The Weaving Song
Roger Wilson - Fair and Tender Lovers
Lassi Logren - Benevolence
Bellowhead - Death and the Lady
Friday, 28 February 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 3 March 2025
In tribute to drummer Rick Buckler I've included a cover of a song by The Jam which The Bad Shepherds recorded on their album Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Metheral.
Listen to the show now on Mixcloud or tune in to Ginger Feather FM at 1pm or 8pm from Monday.
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Walt Whitman's Niece
Thea Gilmore - Don't Stop Singing
Reg Meuross - Fit For Work (Illegal Hands)
Heal & Harrow - Da Dim
Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage - Lark in the Morning
Alice Allen and Patsy Reid - Miss Stewart’s Jig / of Bombay / Miss Watt’s Jig / Mether Cluny
Banter - Below Below
George Harrison - Mama You've Been On My Mind
Bob Dylan - House of the Rising Sun
Ralph McTell - Anji & Lullaby of Birdland (live)
The Bad Shepherds - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
And Did Those Feet - Dream of a Dream
Luke Jackson - Ruler of Nothing
The Proclaimers - Sean
Mariearad and Anna - She Loves Me (When I Try)
Friday, 21 February 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks mix 24 Feb 2025
Four Bob Dylan songs including two from the The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3- Rare & Unreleased, 1961-1991 a copy of which I picked up recently. Also a track from the new Reg Meuross album Fire & Dust - A Woody Guthrie Story which is being released on March the 14th. It includes contributions from Phil Beer and Pete Townshend who also produced the album. See regmeuross.com/fire-and-dust for more info.
Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday at 1pm or 8pm on Ginger Feather FM.
Steve Knightley - A Song For Wickham
Jackie Oates - When I Was A Fair Maid
Martyn Joseph - Getting Older
Christy Moore - The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
The Dylan Project - You Angel You
Bob Dylan - Rambling, Gambling Willie
Reg Meuross - So Long It's Been Good to Know Ya
Sam Sweeney - Westering
Fotheringay - Banks of the Nile [Alternative Take]
Bert Jansch - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
SykesMartin - Dark Eyed Sailor
The Trials of Cato - Paper Planes
Bob Dylan - Moonshiner
Fara - The Road Home
Friday, 14 February 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 17 Feb 2025
A mix of singer/songwriters, Americana and blues on the new edition of Off The Beaten Tracks. Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM
Hugh Cornwell - Golden Brown (live)
Jenna - 21st Century Cowgirl
Ian McNabb - Great Dreams of Heaven (live)
Annlaug - Suril Luril
Dori Freeman - Good Enough
John Mellencamp - Diamond Joe
Sam Baker - Isn't Love Great
Bonnie Raitt - Dimming of the Day (live)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Honky Tonk Wine
Robert Cray - Foul Play (live)
Little Whitt & Big Bo - Sweet Home Chicago
Big Bill Broonzy - Glory of Love
Teddy Thompson - Fifteen Minutes
Thea Gilmore - I Am A Lonesome Hobo
Bob Dylan - Mr Tambourine Man
Friday, 7 February 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 10 Feb 2025
Listen to the show now on Mixcloud.
Friday, 31 January 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks mix 3 Feb 2025
This coming week's playlist. Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday at 1pm and 8pm on Ginger Feather FM.
Charlotte Carrivick - Bacopa Reel
Richard Thompson - Singapore Sadie
Nuala Kennedy - Ye Lovers All
Jenny Sturgeon - Honest Man
Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar - All Fall Down
Kaela Rowan - Naive Melody
Plu - Dinistrio Ni
Honey and the Bear - River Man
Battlefield Band - That's How Strong My Love Is \ The Water Is Wide
And Should Those Feet - All Through The Night
John Renbourn & Wizz Jones - Strolling Down The Highway
Ralph McTell & Wizz Jones - Deportees
Jamie Smith's MABON - Lady of the Woods
Thursday, 23 January 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 27th January 2025
A mixture of music from both sides of the Atlantic with a few blues tracks towards the end. Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM.
Asleep At The Wheel - Half A Hundred Years
Dori Freeman - Wrong Direction
Teddy Thompson - If It's Magic
Leyla McCalla - So I'll Go
The Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments - The Butterfly
The Pogues - Love You 'til The End
David Crosby feat. Sarah Jarosz - For Free
Steeleye Span - January Man
The Proclaimers - Drop Dead Destiny
Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson - Gordon
Bert Jansch - Black Cat Blues
Reverend Freakchild - Death Don't Have No Mercy
Jackie Venson - Down By The Riverside \ Up Above My Head
Matt Woosey Band - Black Smoke Risin'
Locust Honey String Band - Lonesome Song
Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Remembering John Sykes
Thursday, 16 January 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 20th January 2025
This week's show includes tracks by a number of Scottish singers, musicians and bands as it is Burns Night on Saturday the 25th of January. Listen now on Mixcloud or from Monday on Ginger Feather FM.
Ewan MacColl's real name was James Henry Miller. He was born in 1915 in Salford to Scottish parents. He was father to Kirsty MacColl and as well as being a folk singer he was a folk song collector, labour activist and actor.
Read more about him at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewan_MacColl
Martin Stephenson - Little Red Bottle
Megson - Working Town (live)
Track Dogs - Amor De Mi Vida
The Low Countries - Don't Let It Be You
Deep Cabaret - Real Reality
Eddi Reader - Wild Mountainside
Kris Drever, Eamonn Coyne & Megan Henderson - Parcel of Rogues
Reg Meuross - I Ain't Dead
GNOSS - Dirt & Bone
Kate Rusby - Friday I'm In Love
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas - The 3-Stringed Uke
Jim Causley & Miranda Sykes - Blackingstone Ravens
Smith & McLennan - Long Way Down
Peatbog Faeries - Jakes on a Plane
Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger - Mormond Braes
Thursday, 9 January 2025
Off The Beaten Tracks 13 January 2025
My first radio show of the year after a break over Xmas and New Year. It includes tracks from albums I've recently downloaded by Martyn Joseph and Morag Brown & Lewis Powell-Reid along with some Fairport \ Thompson family numbers at the end.
As ever you can listen at any time on Mixcloud or wait until next week when the show will be going out from Monday on Ginger Feather FM at 1pm and 8pm.
Equation - He Loves Me
Morag Brown & Lewis Powell-Reid - Tide Time
Oisin Leech - October Sun
The Magpie Arc - Wassail
Show of Hands w/ Track Dogs - Company Town (live)
Martyn Joseph - Chapel Porth Beach (acoustic)
Rhiannon Giddens - Hey Bebe
Pokey LaFarge - It's Not Over
Fierce Flowers - Scene De Danse
Sunjay - Mail Order Mystics
Fairport Convention - Fotheringay (2012 version)
Fotheringay - Nothing More (Live In Rotterdam - 1970)
Richard Thompson - Johnny's Far Away
Linda Thompson featuring Teddy Thompson - Those Damn Roches