THE north east of England has for many years (centuries, if you include the Border Ballads) been a hotbed of folk music – home to the Waterson-Carthy dynasty, Fay Hield, Kathryn Tickell, The Unthanks, Lindisfarne … The list also includes Rachael McShane, an original member of folk big band Bellowhead, who travelled from Newcastle on Tyne to Dorset with her trio, The Cartographers, for two July dates with Artsreach, at the village halls at Studland and Marnhull.
With a repertoire that ranges from ballads of love and death to songs of the sea, The Cartographers are renowned for their energetic performances, combining traditional and contemporary folk sounds and lively banter, and the Marnhull gig was a real showcase for Rachael’s great voice and the instrumental skill of all three musicians.
Singer Rachael plays the violin, viola and cello. The trio at Marnhull also featured melodeon player Julian Sutton (also a fluent French speaker) and Andy May on keyboards. Regular guitarist Ian Stephenson is unwell and was not able to be there.
The playlist at the Artsreach gigs included The Cropper Lads, a Yorkshire folk song from the 1812 Luddite uprising originally sung by highly skilled textile workers known as “croppers” who protested at the introduction of the job-destroying mechanised shearers. With a rousing and defiant chorus, the song tells of the Croppers using hatchets and a heavy hammer nicknamed “Great Enoch” to destroy the machines.
The early 19th century Young Roger Esquire is the story of a young miller who loses his bride because he also wants “the grey mare”! Adultery and the biter bit are the themes of The Molecatcher, a bawdy ballad about a jealous husband – the mole-catcher – who catches his wife in bed with a young farmer. He demands what seems a large amount of money, but the young farmer laughs that it was a good bargain! This song was bowdlerised by Sabine Baring-Gould, the north Devon parson and folklorist who heard it on Dartmoor and thought it was “very gross”!
The concert also included a range of “tunes” – dances and other instrumentals, many written by members of the band, showcasing the talents of the individual instrumentalists.
The group’s critically acclaimed debut album When All Is Still was released in 2018. Their second, Uncharted, came out in March 2025 and features Julian (who also plays with Kathryn Tickell), Andy and Ian, and various friends from the folk scene.
Rachael toured extensively with Bellowhead, making a number of television appearances. The band recorded five studio albums and won eight BBC Folk Awards. Parting ways in 2016, Bellowhead returned in 2022 for a series of ecstatically-received performances that reminded audiences of their unique alchemy, energy and talent.
Away from her Bellowhead fame, Rachael is a sought-after performer. Her debut solo album, No Man’s Fool arrived in 2009 via Navigator Records led to her signing with Topic Records, the world’s oldest independent label.
Rachael McShane and the Cartographers are at Purbeck Folk Festival on 22nd August, and they have one more summer date with Artsreach, on 23rd August at Buckland Newton village hall.
FAC