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SHREWSBURY FOLK FESTIVAL with The Ballads of Child Migration *POSTPONED*
August 29, 2020
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THIS GIG HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
“The Ballads of Child Migration”
“A poignant and powerful history lesson with an impressive cast” – The Guardian
I was asked to be part of this amazing project a short while ago.
In November 2018, a collective of brilliant and respected musicians and singers are taking to the road to tell the moving story of Britain’s forced child migrants.
Featuring award-winning folk artists: John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Boo Hewerdine, O’Hooley & Tidow, Chris While, Julie Matthews, John Doyle, Jez Lowe, Andy Seward and Andy Cutting.*
[For Shrewsbury and other dates in 2020 – I will play Andy Cutting’s part! More details about this to follow once I know]
The concert, presented as a series of songs, narration, slides, audio and film clips, premiered at last year’s Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, where it was described as “without doubt the most memorable concert of the festival.” The songs in this concert were recently heard as part of a major BBC Radio 2 dramatisation of Michael Morpurgo’s book Alone on a Wide Wide Sea, which deals with the same subject. The radio drama, including the music, starred Toby Jones and Jason Donovan and reached an estimated audience of 6 million listeners.
Forced child migration is a little known and dark part of the history of Britain. More than 100,000 children from Britain were sent overseas (to places including Australia and Canada) with the promise of finding a better life. Some did find the happy lives they longed for; many others found only hardship, abuse and loneliness.
The Ballads of Child Migration is a tribute to those children, some of whom were sent abroad as recently as 1970.
“[It] brought the Royal Albert Hall to a stunned silence” – BBC Radio 2
“We have only praise and commendation for The Ballads of Child Migration” – Folk Radio UK
“One of the pre-eminent song collections of recent times, poignantly re-telling one of the most important stories to have emerged from these islands“ – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio