3tynespodcast

Today, my guest is one of the most respected figures in the world of Northumberland folk music – the traditional singer David McCracken.

David farms sheep and cattle on the hills above the North Tyne valley. He draws on a lifetime’s experience of making music with his family and community to create his own songs about rural life in the Borders and beyond. He composes entirely in his head and writes nothing down, learning and passing on songs through the oral tradition and performing in local shows, pubs and folk sessions. There are almost no publicly available recordings of his singing. David says he has hundreds of songs in his head and he recorded three of them for this episode.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s guest is the drummer Francesca Knowles. Fran plays with accordionist Amy Thatcher in a duo that was recently included in the highly selective roster of Northern Line musicians supported by Jazz North. The novel blend of jazz and folk, and of drums and accordion, plus the virtuoso musicianship evident on their first album, Emergency of a Female Kind, has received glowing reviews. The duo is now recording new tracks to be released later this year.

Fran is also the drummer in Grace Petrie’s band and has played with many eminent musicians from the North East, including Beccy Owen, Ceitidh Mac, Ruth Lyons, Rob Heron and Jodie Nicholson, and she can be found teaching drums both privately and at Hexham’s Core Music.

The music in this episode comes from Emergency of a Female Kind. They are: Power To The Loser, Start Giving A F*** and Save This Woman.

You can find more information about the Amy Thatcher and Francesca Knowles duo at www.atfk.co.uk.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s guest is Ovingham singer songwriter, Sam Shields - a familiar face in Northumberland performing solo with his guitar or with his band The Regiment.

In this episode, Sam talks about his distinctive British take on Americana, the importance of authenticity, the joy of lyrics, managing social media and the pleasure – or otherwise – of hearing your own voice.

Sam plays three songs specially for the podcast: Wasting My Time, Penny’s Daughter and Mother Nature. Some of Sam’s music is available on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music but the best way to hear him is to catch one of his many gigs. You can find out about these through his Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/SamShieldsSingerSongwriter.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s bonus episode is a preview of Alston Live Festival 2025. Paul Frear and Jess McCormack talk about this year’s line-up, how an effective social media campaign has boosted ticket sales and a new opportunity for sponsors.

The festival will be held in Alston on the 18th and 19th of July. Everything you need to know about tickets and accommodation is on the website at www.alstonlive.com.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s show is all about the ukulele – possibly Northumberland’s most popular instrument along with the guitar and fiddle.

The episode is divided into three parts.

In the first, we talk to luthier and guitar player Paul Mason who, from his home in the North Tyne valley, has been making ukes for the past five years.

In the second part, singer-songwriter and ukulele teacher Ian Brown gives me an introductory lesson in playing the uke – and I warn those who believe that listening to music should be enjoyable to avert their ears.

Finally, we hear from singer-songwriter and keen uke advocate Penny Grennan on why she chooses this instrument above all others for performance, and we talk about the many different ukes she plays.

This is Part Two.

Information about Ian Brown’s uke classes can be found at https://www.facebook.com/BrownIanK

Information about ukulele classes at Core Music can be found on Core Music CIC’s Facebook page.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s show is all about the ukulele – possibly Northumberland’s most popular instrument along with the guitar and fiddle.

The episode is divided into three parts.

In the first, we talk to luthier and guitar player Paul Mason who, from his home in the North Tyne valley, has been making ukes for the past five years.

In the second part, singer-songwriter and ukulele teacher Ian Brown gives me an introductory lesson in playing the uke – and I warn those who believe that listening to music should be enjoyable to avert their ears.

Finally, we hear from singer-songwriter and keen uke advocate Penny Grennan on why she chooses this instrument above all others for performance, and we talk about the many different ukes she plays.

This is Part One.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s show is all about the ukulele – possibly Northumberland’s most popular instrument along with the guitar and fiddle.

The episode is divided into three parts.

In the first, we talk to luthier and guitar player Paul Mason who, from his home in the North Tyne valley, has been making ukes for the past five years.

In the second part, singer-songwriter and ukulele teacher Ian Brown gives me an introductory lesson in playing the uke – and I warn those who believe that listening to music should be enjoyable to avert their ears.

In this part, we hear from singer-songwriter and keen uke advocate Penny Grennan on why she chooses this instrument above all others for performance, and we talk about the many different ukes she plays.

This part ends with one of Penny’s songs, Love on the Big Screen, which is taken from her first album No Relation. You can find Penny's music at https://pennygrennan.bandcamp.com, where you can download her album No Relation. Penny plays uke in (among others) the bluegrass band The Cherry Pickers (https://www.facebook.com/CherryPickersHexham).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today. I’m talking to Craig Atkinson and Peter Aldcroft, two of the team that organises the Allen Valleys Folk Festival, about their plans for 2025.

Once again, this festival will offer a diverse range of musical styles, both traditional and progressive, that fall under the broad banner of folk, with ticketed sessions complemented by a number of free events in Allendale, including workshops, spoken word, an open mic, dancing and – of course – the famous Allendale wolf.

There will be a local sale of weekend passes in St Cuthbert’s Church in Allendale between 10am and midday on Saturday the 22nd of March. Any tickets remaining will then be sold from Allendale Co-op.

Online sales will start at 7pm on Sunday the 23rd of March at www.allenvalleysfolkfestival.co.uk.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

Today’s guest is Fiona Lander – composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, jazz fan and teacher. Based in the North Tyne valley, Fiona is one half of the duo Landermason, performing traditional and contemporary folk in jazz, blues, classical and other styles. She also works with choirs – notably, the Northumberland-based Dark Sky Voices – and composes music for schools to perform and for commissions. She is a freelance music teacher and, in the little time left for leisure, she co-organises the annual Bellingham All Acoustic Festival better known as BAAFest.

In this episode, Fiona recounts how her early talent for music and performance led to her current diverse career and her passion for composing. The episode includes three songs.

Amazing Grace is sung by Dark Sky Voices and is available on YouTube.

Make Our Future Bright was commissioned for performance at the Festival of Hope; it is not available online.

Born To Sing is from the 2021 album Landermason with Dark Sky Voices. It is available from Landermason’s Bandcamp page at https://landermason.bandcamp.com.

Information about Fiona’s work is available at https://www.fionalander.com/.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com

It’s now quite common for churches, whether grand or small, to host secular music events. But, not so long ago, this would have been unthinkable. The idea that churches should confine their activities to respectful worship is strongly rooted in centuries of tradition. And it is only in the past 10 to 20 years that a warm welcome has been more widely extended to people visiting a church for an event that is primarily for entertainment.

This is actually a return to the ways in which a church originally served its community. To find out why this happening, and what it means for a typical parish church, I speak to the Reverend Mark Nash-Williams, whose parish of Alston Moor covers much of the South Tyne valley, whose church of St Augustine’s in Alston often hosts secular music events in addition to its many religious services and community-focused activities.

The bells that you can hear at St Augustine’s are played by Josephine Dickinson with a carillon rather than ropes. In this episode, she plays a tunes from a large repertoire that includes a wide range of religious, classical and popular music.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 3tynespodcast.substack.com