June Tabor is bringing folk to Cork topping a bill of music from the ECM label
JUNE TABOR’S laughter has the quality of a babbling brook — it is loud, sparkling and goes on quite a while. But the biggest surprise is that the 67-year-old icon of contemporary folk music is capable of humour at all. Tabor’s public persona is of a severe matriarch, weighed down by all the sadness in the world.
“Well I AM serious — about my music,” says Tabor, taking a break from tending her farm in the rugged hinterlands between Wales and England. “The songs are about difficult subjects. You should be serious about it. What I don’t like is when people say ‘Ooh, your music is a bit dark isn’t it? ‘Dark’ — what is that supposed to mean? Life is a serious matter — the problems we face are often very serious. That doesn’t mean I walk around with a scowl, my jaw about to hit the floor.”
