The Mellstock Band

The Mellstock Band, featuring Ian Blake (clarinet), Paul Burgess (violin, fiddle), Flos Headford (violin, fiddle), and Dave Townsend (serpent, fiddle), is the real article, a quartet of folk musicians who play original instruments and perform in an authentic style -- think of them as sort of the genuine 18th- or 19th-century version of Steeleye Span. Augmented by a handful of auxiliary musicians and small-scale singing group, they keep various folk and caroling traditions alive in performance and on record in performances that are spirited and bracing, as well as very sweetly ...