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How Brexit Is Revitalizing Political Folk Music

Lankum. (Photo by Miguel Ruiz Manzano)
Lankum. (Photo by Miguel Ruiz Manzano)

Journalist Jude Rogers(@juderogers) says all the political turmoil involving Brexit is making British and Irish folk music “more exciting and urgent than it’s been for years.”

She joinsHere & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd to talk about thenew waveof political folk music in the United Kingdom, from Ireland’s Lankum to Britain’s The Young’uns and more.

“We must remember that folk music has always been political in its own way,” Rogers says. “… But what I find interesting is lots of new, younger bands coming out. I’m exploring traditional music, be that old songs, be that old songs they can adapt, or songs that say something about the world we’re in now.”

Music From The Show

Lankum, “What Will We Do When We Have No  Money?”

Watch on YouTube.

Lankum, “The Granite Gaze”

Watch on YouTube.

The Young’uns, “Ghafoor’s Bus”

Watch on YouTube.

Lisa O’Neill, “The Factory Girl”

Watch on YouTube.

Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith, “Working Chap”

Watch on YouTube.


 

Lynn Menegon produced this interview and edited it for broadcast with Kathleen McKenna.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.