The Dolmen are an English,

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third l ...

-based,

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been extremely prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundat ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band that incorporate elements of Celtic, folk, pagan-themed, and historically based musical works into their largely original repertoire. Current group members are singer and songwriter founder/member Taloch Jameson, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Josh Elliott, bassist and vocalist Kayleigh Marchant, drummer Chris Jones, and flautist Anja Novotny. Essential non-musician members of the band are lyric contributor and collaborator, Mark Vine and sound engineer Kirsty Kelly. The majority of the band's songs and music are composed and produced by multi-instrumentalist Jameson. Guitarist Josh Elliott and bassist Kayleigh Marchant have collaborated with Jameson on the most recent albums, contributing lyrics, musical composition and production assistance.

History

The Dolmen began rather informally in or about 1990, with their first public appearance at The Duke of Albany pub in Weymouth, Dorset, where they debuted as a mainly folk music oriented group. Since that time, they have become well known on the local and surrounding areas music scene, appearing over the years for repeat performances at many major UK music venues and festivals; among them the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in 1995 and 1997, the Farnham Jazz and Guilford Festivals, The Children of Artemis Witchfest, and The

Pagan Federation The Pagan Federation is a Neopaganism in the United Kingdom, UK-based voluntary organisation, founded as the Pagan Front, that provides information and counters misconceptions about Neopaganism. It was formed in 1971, and campaigns for the relig ...

festivals. They have also appeared frequently at

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

in support of The Dolmen Grove, a United Paths Pagan organization based in the South of England. In 2007, members of The Dolmen were invited special guests at the first

New Seven Wonders of the World The New 7 Wonders of the World was a campaign started in 2000 to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. The popularity poll via free Web-based voting and small amounts of telephone voting was led by Canadian-Swiss ...

ceremonies in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal, Jameson's original composition having been chosen as the official anthem of that year's "Wonders" contest. The Dolmen at EFF 2011

In 2011, the band debuted the continental European leg of their "Storm Tour" with performances at the

Elf Fantasy Fair __NOTOC__ Elfia, formerly known as the Elf Fantasy Fair is a fantasy-themed cosplay festival held twice a year in the Netherlands. For the first time, it was organized in 2001 in the historical theme park Archeon. From 2009 Elfia (also known as ...

Haarzuilens Haarzuilens is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Utrecht, and lies about 12 km west from the city centre of Utrecht. It was a separate municipality until 1954, when it was joined to the municipalit ...

, Netherlands. The Dolmen also appeared over the summer of 2011 at the Keltisch Midzomer Festival, Fantastyval Wouwse Plantage, the Sneek Festival; and in September 2011, at the finale of the Highland Games, in

Hank Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...

, Netherlands. Summer 2012 tours for the band included several festival appearances from June through September at the "Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum" in Germany and also in the Netherlands. 2013 saw the inauguration of the band's "Nuada God of the Sun" tour. In August 2014 the band performed at

Castlefest Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the Netherlands, held in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof in Lisse since 2005. History During the first edition in 2005, 3,500 visitors attended the event, in 2007 the festival attracted 16,000 visito ...

Lisse Lisse () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of of which is water. Its population was in . Located within the muni ...

, Netherlands. In October 2014 they performed at the Gothic & Fantasy Fair in

Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was in , and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also includes th ...

, Netherlands and in December 2014 they performed at the Midwinter Fair in the Archeon in

Alphen aan den Rijn Alphen aan den Rijn (; en, "Alphen upon Rhine" or "Alphen on the Rhine") is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The city is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn (Old Rhine), where the r ...

, Netherlands. In 2019, The Dolmen were named "Best International Live Band", at the Bastaard Fantasy Awards, where they also won "Best Album Of The Year" for their 2018 album, "Wytches and Cunningfolk". In addition, The Dolmen were named "Best Pagan Band UK" in the 2018 "Pagan Events UK" competition.

Music

The Dolmen are an independent, self-published group. Their musical style covers a wide range from traditional Celtic folk music to electric rock, including modern interpretations of historical material and events. In 2008, the band released "

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

", a collection of original carols and songs inspired by the ancient pre-Christian themes of the season, drawing heavily upon the pagan traditions and mythology of the British Isles associated with the celebration of

Yule Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indig ...

. The Dolmen's early 2010 album, The

Crabchurch Conspiracy The Battle of Weymouth and the associated Crabchurch Conspiracy occurred in 1645, during the First English Civil War, when several Cavalier, royalist plotters within the twin towns of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, Melcombe ...

is a departure in many ways from their general offerings in that it is a musical re-telling of the events of a little-known but decisive battle of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

taking place in February 1645 at the strategic Dorset seaport of Weymouth. Based on the book of the same name by author/historian and Dolmen collaborator Mark Vine, the album utilizes both song and spoken word to recount the daring exploits of the Sydenham brothers, William and Francis, who thwarted the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

conspirators in their bid to seize the town, culminating in The Battle of Weymouth. Professor

Ronald Hutton Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 bo ...

of the University of Bristol, a leading expert on 17th century Britain, speaks a stirring introduction to the album. In August 2010, the band released their first double album, "Spirits of the Sea", a collection of original songs, sea chanteys, and atmospheric musical arrangements interspersed with tales and narrations of the historical exploits of several well-known pirates, buccaneers and 'gentlemen of the marque'. Among the album's Poole, Devon, Dorset and Bristol UK privateers are

Blackbeard Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English Piracy, pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's Thirteen Colonies, North American colon ...

Calico Jack John Rackham (26 December 168218 November 1720), commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, whil ...

, William Lewis, Cap'n Ned Lowe,

Henry Strangways Henry Bull Templar Strangways (14 November 1832 – 10 February 1920) was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia. Strangways was the eldest son of Henry Bull Strangways of Shapwick, Somerset, England. As a boy, he visited Sou ...

, and the sinister husband-and-wife team of Eric Cobham and Maria Lindsey. The album also celebrates in song and story the infamous

Harry Paye Henry Paye (died 1419), also known as Harry, Page or Arripaye (to the Spanish), was a privateer and smuggler from Poole, Dorset in the late 14th and early 15th century, who became a commander in the Cinque Ports fleet. He intercepted hundreds of Fr ...

of Poole, whose life and adventures are spoken of on the album by a linear descendant, Mr. Bob Paye. Mr. Paye, a retired educator, lives still within the area from which his famous ancestor sailed forth. "Paye Day", now a charitable event, is celebrated each Summer in Poole in honor of their famous pirate son. With the advent of "Spirits of the Sea" and furthered by the energy of their 2012 double album, "Storm", The Dolmen created "The Pirates Keep", a musically oriented gathering that, with the support of several historically influenced re-enactment groups, meet at various venues within the UK to re-create as authentically as possible pirate gatherings of old, during which the band's music is enhanced by audience participation in which true, and sometimes fanciful but thrilling tales of daring seafaring events are related. Encouraged by audience response, The Dolmen are in the process of filming several of these gatherings and are developing ideas for a film based on the exploits of many of the characters that have emerged as the concept of the Pirates Keep continues to grow. Aside from the band's collective efforts, Taloch has released several solo albums over the years. Among the most notable is ''Crow Dance'', a largely shamanistic themed journey that explores his ancestral Native American heritage, incorporating also ancient spiritual elements of his Welsh roots.

Album art

Since the release of Taloch Jameson's solo album, ''Crow Dance'', all subsequent album art and overall CD design have been created by Weymouth, Dorset artist and illustrator, Semirani Wolf Vine. Notable for her fluid imagery and utilization of vivid, primary colours, she also collaborates with the band in the production of concert posters and a variety of material for media release.

Discography

*1994: ''Dolmenation'' *1995: ''Spirits of the Land'' *1999: ''Above & Below'' *2000: ''Undefeated'' *2005: ''Dolmen Folk'' *2007: ''Songs From the Cauldron'' *2008: ''Ah Ry Ah'' *2008: ''Winter Solstice'' *2010: ''

'', based on a historical work by Mark Vine *2010: ''Spirits of The Sea'' *2011: ''Whispering Winds'' *2012: ''Storm'' *2012: ''Wytchlord'' *2014: ''The Banquet'' *2014: ''The Ballad of Cape Clear'' *2015: ''Kayleigh'' *2016: ''Live at Castlefest'' *2016: ''NUADA'' *2018: ''Wytches & Cunningfolk'' *2022: ''Celtic Giants (Collaboration with the band Connach)''

References

External links

The Dolmen website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolmen English folk rock groups Celtic rock music English gothic rock groups Modern pagan musical groups Modern paganism in the United Kingdom