It never occurred to me that the R2 awards were specifically and exclusively about the English folk music repertoire. The nominations and winners would suggest that they aren't: that they are about celebrating folk musicians playing on/in the English (British?) folk scene.

After all, Martin Simpson's always played a varied repertoire of both English and American music.

Must admit, Sunjay's track and Martin Simpson's music were the only things that stood out for me amidst the snippets Mike Harding played on his show. They both happened, coincidentally, to be American material, but they just seemed to have a bit more life and vigour to them: all the rest sounded moribund to my ears.