Folk Music is for life...not just for Summer.

I can't help it... I love Pagan Folk, I know it isn't cool or fashionable but I don't care.  Somethings we imprint on young and Folk music is, for me, just one of those things. 

So I wanted to do a quick round up of my current favourites. 

1. Sharon Knight and T.Thorn Coyle - I felt for a long time that Pagan Chanting had been blessed with Z Budapest's work but there was little else out there.  Sharon Knight and T.Thorn Coyle have produced two amazing CDs of modern Pagan chants which are truly stunning.

2. Spiral Dance - more classic folk but with fantastic lyrics which really draw on the Pagan experience.  Spiral Dance is one of the bands who are unashamedly writing songs about life as a Pagan.  Given the lack of cultural expression Paganism has in the mainstream media, being able to listen to music with lyrics so clearly describing my life experience is a real joy.

3. Omnia - A dark folk band who draw on a diverse range of sources for their inspiration. The second I heard The Raven I was in love with Omnia's work.  Who doesn't want a bit of Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare set to music.

4. Damh the Bard - Damh is a regular on the UK Pagan scene, host of the fabulous Druidcast podcast and gifted musician.  I don't mind admitting that every time he calls this home of mine Albion I am filled with and overwhelming sense of the land I live on.

5. Hagalaz' Runedance - I was always going to enjoy music inspired by Norse mythology and Runes, but Hagalaz Runedance introduced me to folk with a definite Scandinavian and Germanic twist which was fresh and exciting (fresh to a committed UK Folk fan anyway).  I have found a deepening of my relationship with the runes and Norse Deities through their music which has been absolutely joyful.

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