Folk rock with virtuoso playing?

RiftAmps

Pat O'May did Excalibur alongside Fairport and Martin Barre.

Philly_Q

It's not my kind of music so I don't know if it's folk or Celtic or what (or if the styles overlap), but Pat and John McManus (formerly of '80s rock/metal band Mama's Boys) grew up playing traditional Irish music and later formed a band called Celtus.  It probably sounds like Clannad....

stufisher

Always liked Anna Massive stuff ... fantastic multi-instrumentalist. I think she also produces stuff for others, has a radio broadcast about Scottish folk music and various hook-ups with other musicians as well as Blazin Fiddles.

stufisher

Anna Massie 

PhilKing

For older bands you could listen to Mr Fox, Alan Stivell, Decameron and Sandy Denny's North Star Grassman and the Ravens

blobb

Ooh - Alan Stivell has already made an appearance. I'm not the only one!

On the virtuoso tihng, here's a great clip of Swarb duelling with Chris Leslie. I was looking for a video (I'm sure I've seen it somehere) with Swarb and RT doing this. It had never been done before - a high stakes folk fiddle duel but between fiddle and electric guitar - RT said it was one of the most challenging things he did, trying to keep up with Swarb.

Chris leslie is someting else. He sits in the Fairport chair of mandolin player, occasional fiddle tune but you can see here he is no slouch. Every now and again he will duel with Ric Sanders (who is also a pretty full on fiddle meastro) and in my opinion Chris wipes the floor with him every time. Sorry Ric, I think you're great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jStS036nsI

Pjon

blobb said:

On the virtuoso tihng, here's a great clip of Swarb duelling with Chris Leslie. I was looking for a video (I'm sure I've seen it somehere) with Swarb and RT doing this. It had never been done before - a high stakes folk fiddle duel but between fiddle and electric guitar - RT said it was one of the most challenging things he did, trying to keep up with Swarb.

Chris leslie is someting else. He sits in the Fairport chair of mandolin player, occasional fiddle tune but you can see here he is no slouch. Every now and again he will duel with Ric Sanders (who is also a pretty full on fiddle meastro) and in my opinion Chris wipes the floor with him every time. Sorry Ric, I think you're great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jStS036nsI

They are/were all good musicians, obviously. I once chatted to the band after a gig, got their signatures etc. All lovely people, but I remember asking Maartin Allcock about how well he played and how many instruments. I'd seen him on the guitar, fiddle, keyboards possibly, and bass. He said that the only thing he claimed to be able to play well was the fretless bass! I'd love to be able to play a single instrument as poorly as he could.  

Anyway, virtuoso folk-rock - I'll give you Joshua Burnell. I really like his stuff, and he's good live. He also apologised in his latest email for accidentally covering Fairport.  

KKJale

I was at college with a pre-Fairport Chris Leslie - I think we overlapped for two years, 1982-83. Absolutely astonishing player even then and the loveliest man possible. I have wonderful memories of trying to keep up with him, and others, banging away in DADGAD on my old OM in folk sessions in pubs in Newark on Trent. Ruddles, roll-ups and lock-ins, what times. 

stufisher

I met and took beer with Maartin Allcock when he was duo-ing with Keiran Helping. He was a really likeable, modest, easy-going guy ... as well as being a fabulous instrumentalist. I recall asking him about playing a fretless bass and how he could get generate such sounds and tones  ... sadly, I can't recall what he said because it was during my sabbatical years  

Anyway, he was good company and very approachable and FWIW, he was content with his little lot, doing what he loved IIRC.

Sad loss  

stufisher

Feqqin predictive text ... Keiran Halpin 

Pjon

stufisher said:

I met and took beer with Maartin Allcock when he was duo-ing with Keiran Helping. He was a really likeable, modest, easy-going guy ... as well as being a fabulous instrumentalist. I recall asking him about playing a fretless bass and how he could get generate such sounds and tones  ... sadly, I can't recall what he said because it was during my sabbatical years  

Anyway, he was good company and very approachable and FWIW, he was content with his little lot, doing what he loved IIRC.

Sad loss  

I asked him about playing in Jethro Tull. He wasn't complimentary!  

Gassage

Runrig.

Malcolm Jones is an absolute monster of a player.

Gassage

Ben- here you go. Love the outro.

Gassage

Actually, a much better version- fantastic musicianship (and my old TC2290 in the guitarist's rack!)

boogieman

Maybe not quite straight folk rock but there was a band (duo more like) called Mouth Music that covered traditional Celtic songs in a mixed up World Music rock stylee. Martin Swan is the kingpin of the band and played most of the instruments in the studio, an amazing multi-instrumentalist. 

https://youtu.be/Ws0QlTubyZ4?si=SCJF1pIpWf_yOOYo

Also for virtuoso folk guitarists, try Paul Brady. His earlier more folk oriented material like Arthur McBride is lovely. 

https://youtu.be/cBGkhPx529g?si=8ae96w4tjRcvYPeI