Brother Bill is back, fresh from the Eagle Festival -- the bird, not the band -- in far western Mongolia. Of course he managed to bring back some traditional and not-so-traditional music, including by The Hu -- not The Who -- a folk metal Mongolian band now touring the States.

Where else can you hear throat-singing metal except on The Folk Brothers?

Asking someone to select their top 20 songs is difficult, and picking just one is impossible. But I still asked several people to pick a song that has touched them personally / emotionally and the reason why. That's what we have today: one song from each of several people. I left the genres open.

Music is a mystery that touches us on so many levels at so many different times. It can make us happy, sad, or melancholy. Or maybe we're drawn to the music itself, or to the lyrics; or for many of us a song offers a look back that lets us relive a past moment. 

Episode 2 of The Power Of Song features songs from Jeff Shaw, Billy Larkin, Jesse Deere, Neil Heaton, Tomy Edwards and Bart Van der Zeeuw. 

A leading light of contemporary English folk music, composer, singer, fiddler and oboist, Paul Sartin passed away unexpectedly last week in Oxford, just before taking stage. Although he rarely performed under his own name, Sartin was a founding member of the bands Belshazzar's Feast, Faustus, and Bellowhead. He collaborated widely and was beloved throuhout the British folk community, none more so than in Hampshire, where he co-founded the Whitchurch Folk Club.