gardensessions.co.uk is an interactive hub at the heart of the Scottish Folk Scene, offering the best in traditional & contemporary folk music through a range of exclusive specialized internet radio programs, news, reviews, comment & opinion.

We believe that the Scottish Folk Scene (and it's wider Diaspora) is extremely undervalued and overlooked by the mainstream media. 

Folk music - with its plethora of genres, styles and communities- deserves a dedicated space in which it can be covered comprehensively. In the twenty first century it deserves to be able to speak to its subscribers in a mature and eloquent manner, that shirks the constraints of both novelty and exclusivity, which tend to hamper coverage of the genre in the mainstream media. 

We believe in a process of communal creative productivity, and the ability of such a situation to inspire at all levels. This already happens in the form of pre-existing musical communities (some more prominent that others). We wish to distil something of the atmosphere and ethos of the broader traditional music scene without any of the predetermined value judgments and bring this to a wider audience.

"Fun, free and full of humour, they bring a much-needed lightness of touch to a genre far too often associated with stuffy gents in Arran sweaters." 

- Channel 4

gardensessions.co.uk started in early 2006 as a means to bring more obscure folk music artists to the fore via the medium of free MP3s. In May of the same year, the 1st episode of 'The Garden Sessions' free, fortnightly internet radio program was released.  The original presenter line-up was Jack Foster, Tom Harland and Dave "The Angles" Gimble, though over it's life-span the show has bid some fond farewells (as well as welcoming several additions) to it's team, in the various shapes of Frank Burkitt, Chris Silver and Carolyn Anona Scott.

Since 2006, the 'Garden Sessions' team have broadcast coverage of Celtic Connections, Edinburgh Festival, Knockengorroch's World Ceilidh, Ross On Wye Cider Festival, The Carrying Stream Festival, Kirriemuir Folk Festival, Stonehaven Folk Festival, Hebridean Celtic Festival and the Annual MOD.

In May of 2009, the 'Garden Sessions' took it's first break from broadcasting in order to make way for a complete overhaul of it's service.  A re-launch saw the show return in August 2009 as a part of a much bigger "hub" for the Scottish Folk Scene, alongside several other shows serving more specialized areas of folk music, folkie news, reviews, comment & opinion and archived media from Garden Sessions' own vaults.