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Rising Stars

May 3, 2004

We have seen them at the award ceremonies. We have seen them in concert, whether live or on the telly. And of course, we have bought the records along with the hype. But, I wondered, how do the rising stars of folk music present themselves on their websites? This is what I found...

I started with Eliza Carthy - as a fan, and because I'd dipped into her websites many times before. I had been impressed by Eliza's official RCA website, particularly the photos and the Flash card with music and images. However, when I looked for the site it had been deleted. The best I could find was the unofficial site Elizanet , which although it is quite nicely designed, is woefully out of date. Come on Eliza, your fans deserve better!

I thought BBC2 Folk-Award 2004 double-winner Jim Moray would lead the way with technology too, but I was sadly disappointed by his site too. As you might expect the home page has a dark, moody look to it. Once in the site there is some clever use of Flash - but it seems to be cleverness for no particular purpose. And the brown text areas are dull and provide the worst use of scroll bars I have seen for a long time. Sorry Jim, no awards for this one.

I don't know if Bob Fox considers himself a rising star - he's been around for ages. But he has done well in terms of nominations for awards in recent years, and deservedly so. Bob's website is tastefully designed with good use of photos on a black background. And it provides a decent biography, gig list and opportunities to buy current CDs. Worth a visit I'd say.

And finally, the star of my short survey - the Barnsley rose , Kate Rusby . A beautifully designed site from the "most beautiful voice in England" - according to the Guardian quote on the main page. OK, so she doesn't need to be modest! Excellent use of images fading into screens and a friendly home-drawn navigation bar make this site a pleasure to view. Watch out for the little lights moving around Kate on the tour dates page and the leaves falling from the tree on the shopping page. Well done Kate!

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