IN times of hardship and controversy, protest songs have always leapt to the front as a cathartic and effective way of making a point and getting minority voices heard, nowhere more so than here in North-East England.

Certainly such a time is now, and on a global scale, and from what I hear around the country, the UK folk scene is certainly stepping up the momentum on this score. It need not be in a preachy, soap-box way, or a tragic earnest way, but on so many levels these days, there seems to be the need for things to be said. History might suggest that songs can’t change the world, but there are many who beg to differ. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?

That celebrated bunch of radical lefties, The Pitmen Poets, roll back into home territory this weekend as part of our current national tour, but please note that Sunday’s show at Durham’s Gala Theatre is sold out. We’re back at Whitley Bay Playhouse on February 10, Hexham’s Queen’s Hall on February 18 and Gateshead Sage on February 19.

Elsewhere, my partner in crime Steve Tilston is at Washington’s Davy Lamp on Saturday, with some of the best songs and the finest guitar playing to be heard, and on Sunday, popular local group Broadband are at The Customs House in South Shields.

On Monday, multi-instrumentalist Brian Peters is at Stockton’s Sun Inn, and next Wednesday at The Sage, it’s the welcome return of the much-lauded Transatlantic Sessions, fronted by Shetland fiddler Aly Bain and American dobro wizard Jerry Douglas. This show is always a highlight of any year and always plays to rapturous crowds at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, the amazing festival that winds up this week after three weeks of amazing music.