He has been credited with making folk music cool. The energetic Devon lad whose adrenaline-fuelled virtuoso guitar and fiddle-playing and captivating songs have the power to enthral audiences everywhere from his local pub to the fields of Glastonbury.

And, says Seth Lakeman it’s all about one thing: the story. “I’m always interested in talking to people and drawing out their stories,” he tells me. “I guess I’m forever looking for strong subjects, perhaps ones that sometimes get overlooked. And, on the odd occasion, I’ve even got a great story from the pub.”

And what stories: tales of murder, suffering and ghostly goings-on around Dartmoor, shipwrecks, feats of heroism, and West Country legends.

“I think stories are important,” he says. “I travel around the world and it’s one of my great loves, but the West Country is home; the place I feel comfortable and inspired. There’s such variety of landscape, with plenty of space to be able to come up with new ideas.”

And it is those ideas which have made Seth one of the most recognisable faces in folk. They also earned him a coveted Mercury Music Prize nomination – for his album Kitty Jay, a record based on Dartmoor tales, the title track of which tells the story of a servant girl who kills herself on the moors.

But it’s not just the tales which make his music so engaging, it’s also the pure energy of the performance, which sees Seth bashing away not only on his guitar and fiddle but on viola and banjo, and, of course, singing. “My music has been described in many different ways in the past 10 years, but it’s the energy and connection between the band which is the main reason it’s a bit different,” he says. “That’s why it seems so popular live.”

And it is not just folk fans who love it. His sets have been as well-received among the beard-and-tankard set at Fairport Convention’s Cropredy Festival as among the indie-kids and scenesters at Truck Festival, in Steventon.

Tomorrow Seth brings his high-energy take on English folk to Oxford Town Hall. The baroque plasterwork and ornate wood panelling will provide a suitably grand venue for his music, and one curiously at odds with the location of his last album – which was partly recorded 500 metres underground in a disused copper mine on the Devon-Cornwall border. The remainder of the album Tales from the Barrel House was recorded above ground in a 150-year-old cooperage.

“The town hall is a stunning place to perform,” he says. “We have played there once before and had a brilliant night. I think the acoustics really complement the voice and some of the weird, wonderful and wooden instruments we include in our set.”

After that comes the festival season – with a return to Glastonbury Festival, next month, and Cornbury, at Great Tew, in July. “Festivals are great,” said Seth. “You get to reach different audiences and check out many other acts playing. I’ve seen some fantastic musicians along the way, often by accident. And it’s a free ticket.

“I’m pretty happy to go with the flow at festivals and am not all bothered about creature comforts. The creature I take comfort in, though, is my dog Bernie. He is mad but he’s great to hang out with. And I always ignore the weather forecast. Whatever it says, it will rain. That’s part of the fun.”

The shows follow a busy year for the boy from Buckland Monachorum, whose family are practically a folk dynasty. His brothers are the folk musicians Sam and Sean Lakeman – husbands, respectively of the acclaimed Irish singer Cara Dillon and Barnsley folk artist Kathryn Roberts. His father, Geoff, meanwhile, is a journalist whose reporting of the 1981 Penlee Lifeboat disaster provided the inspiration for Seth’s heart-breaking song Solomon Browne on the album Poor Man’s Heaven.

The tune tells the tragic story of the sinking of the RNLB Solomon Browne in rough seas off Mousehole. Sixteen people died, including eight volunteer lifeboatmen. More new songs are on the way. “I’ve just come back from a mammoth tour of Australia which was great,” said Seth. “We covered the length and breadth of the place and played tons of festivals.

2In between, I’ve been working on my next record which will be called Word of Mouth. It’s a collection of songs I’ve written based on interviews I recorded with some fascinating people from around my local area.

“I can’t say more at the moment but I’m enjoying making it. “I am also involved in a project with the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library called The Full English. All the library’s traditional song collections are about to go online shortly. It’s an incredible source of words and music which will be available to everyone. I’ll be working on an album and tour related to this too.”

It is just over a decade since the release of Seth’s debut The Bunch Bowl. Since then the folk scene has changed beyond recognition – with artists like Bellowhead, The Unthanks, Coope Boyes & Simpson, Kate Rusby and Eliza Carthy reinvigorating the scene, and (while purists may rightly scoff) the likes of Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and Noah & the Whale attracting new listeners to the cause.

“There are some fantastic songwriters emerging and it’s interesting to see how they approach their material,” says Seth. “It’s pretty different from what the performers of trad folk do, obviously, but it does definitely have connections.

“I think there’s a lot of exciting stuff going on in folk music. There’s been a real boost and, for the first time in years, a lot of young people are getting involved. The scene is broader than ever. It is not mainstream, but the future is looking pretty bright which is good.”

And how has he changed in that time? “Hopefully, I’ve learnt a lot along the way and have been open to keeping a pretty constant flow of creativity in my music,” he says.

“It’s important to move forward in life and hopefully that’s reflected in my music.”

  • Seth Lakeman
  • Oxford Town Hall
  • Tomorrow (Friday) n Tickets: £19
  • Visit wegottickets.com n Glastonbury Festival, June 28-30. Sold out glastonburyfestivals.co.uk n Cornbury Music Festival July 5-7 Weekend £160 cornburyfestival.com