According to their website Magpie Lane are a five-piece folk band from Oxford, specialising in traditional English songs and dance tunes. The band has been delighting audiences for over 25 years. And finally, through researching May songs for this project I have discovered them!
They have a lovely early folk-rock sound to my ears - based, admittedly, on my hearing only a very small part of their repertoire. They all sing and they play acoustic instruments - fiddle, concertina, melodeon, cello, bouzouki, guitar and percussion.
Here is their version of the May Day Carol, which I will be contrasting (video available on Facebook only) with an American version by Sam Gleaves at the Hindman School.
