There is an old and noble tradition in folk music of ordinary people writing and singing about political events and struggles. It’s a strand of folk music which still exists today, even though it sometimes may seem less overt and lost in the flood of mainstream blandness.
Voice + Vision: Songs of Resistance, Democracy + Peace, is a co-operative project with the General Federation of Trades Unions and funds raised will contribute to the GFTU’s education work.
The depth and breadth of the material on offer is breath-taking, not least because it reminds us that folk music is not about some nostalgic wish to return to a romantic vision of (non-existent) simpler days full of ploughmen homeward plodding their weary way and cheery agricultural labourers quaffing quarts of ale in the local tavern. One of folk music’s enduring features has been the way it moves with the times and reflects the changes happening in society.