Last night's BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards was heard and seen live by music fans all over the world, on BBC Radio 2 and on the BBC's Red Button service. Martin and his band of some of the finest musicians in Britain, opened the show in rip-roaring style with their nominated version of The Lakes Of Ponchartrain. Not only was the song nominated for Best Traditional Track but the band included 3 nominees for Best Musician, in the form of Andy Cutting (melodeon), Will Pound (harmonica) and Martin himself. It was a great night of stellar talent and even though they came away empty-handed in terms of Awards, Martin and the band thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were genuinely delighted at the recognition given to the likes of Tim Edey, June Tabor, Bill Leader and the other deserving winners. The Awards were held for the first time outside of London, at The Lowry Theatre in Salford and you can watch all of the highlights on the BBC Red Button from 9pm tonight for a week from today. You can hear the show in full, including the interval show, presented by Mark Radcliffe and featuring the Young Folk Award nominees, by going to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bljzz
You can watch Martin and the band's performance here on the home page of his website!