A lot can happen in 5 years. And folk musician Seth Lakeman has certainly made the most of that time since I last interviewed him at the Behind the Castle Festival based at the majestic Sherborne Castle in sunny Dorset.
Seth’s now back touring his new album The Well Worn Path, & I had the pleasure to catch up with him backstage at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil to chat about the highlights over the last 5 years & plans for 2019 & beyond.
Seth Lakeman Back Stage at the Octagon Theatre Yeovil
Can you believe it’s 5 years since we were at the sunny Behind the Castle Festival, what have you been up to since then?
Busy! We recorded 2-3 albums, toured Word of Mouth & Ballads of the Broken Few. We discovered 3 girls all sisters called Wildwood Kin & worked with producer Ethan Johns who helped produce Ballad of the Broken Few.
I then had the call from Robert Plant & ended up touring with him for nearly 2 years! We saw some incredible places. Istanbul & Georgia Black Sea were my favourite, Georgia Black Sea is definitely not your usual place to visit.
I’ve also been commissioned to write some songs for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower which is about the Pilgrim Father’s Boat which is very different sound, much more traditional & hymnal as it’s set in a storm, so you have to write in a very different way.
The Well Worn Path is your ninth album, what can people expect from your performance on the tour?
I’m excited to be out doing my own thing & we have a really united band on this tour. The Well Worn Path is a bit different to the other albums with a psychedelia folk rock vibe. We’ll play 5-6 songs from the album & then mix it up with some of the favourites.
Carus Thompson is your support for some of the tour, tell us about him.
He’s an Australian singer song writer who I’ve been friends for years, & he’s toured with us over the years too. It will be quite exotic for the people of Yeovil tonight!
Carus Thompson ripping it up in Yeovil & I love those silver shoes!
So, where can we expect to see you playing later in 2019?
I’ll be touring again with Robert Plant in June over in Scandinavia which will be exciting as we’re going right up north. Before that in May we’re playing at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall (now sold out!) which will be fantastic, & you can also see us at some summer festivals such as Boomtown, Sidmouth, Folk by the Oak & Beautiful Days.
And to finish, where’s your favourite place to visit in Somerset?
We went to Wookey Hole the other week with the kids which was brilliant & they loved it.
To catch Seth on tour this year – check out his dates here.
If you’ve never seen Seth before, where have you been? You can’t help but fall in love with his folk music & charm – go check out his albums over on Spotify.
His performance in Yeovil that night didn’t disappoint as he played a variety from his new album The Well Worn Path & some of his favourites.
Seth in actionSeth & his band
Go check out these songs which were part of the set-list:
Drink Til I’m Dry & Fitzsimmon’s Fight (The Well Worn Path, 2018)
Ballad of the Broken Few (Ballads of the Broken Few, 2016)
The Colliers, The White Hare (Freedom Fields (2006)
Poor Man’s Heaven (Album same name, 2006)
Have you seen Seth Lakeman live or a follower of his music? What’s your favourite song?
