A WONDERFUL RIDE WITH THE WILD HUNT
Even a casual acquaintance of folk tales knows the importance of words and names. Words and names hold power, they trick and they trap, they command and liberate, they deceive and they reveal truth. It's not just what they say it's how they say it. "Tales From Gingerwitch Green And Other Secret Places" is a fairytale book for adults. Drawing on Pagan images and legends, Doug Peters has created a collection of stories accompanied by guitar. You'll recognise a lot of the characters, you'll certainly recognise the intent, a wonderful ride with the wild hunt into our rich heritage.
- FATEA Magazine October 2008


DALEKS
Hi this is Tom Baker ....... [...] when I am not fighting daleks, I listen to Doug Peters for sure. Rock A Doodle Doo
- Tom Baker

STOLE THE SHOW
" ... featured Doug Peters again, seems to be very very popular with our listeners again this week) [...] if there are anymore tracks of his available to play please send them in, he stole the first half hour of this weeks show!"
 - Techno T, Radio Rejects 'Sunday Showcase' Show 27/1/08

MODERN ANTIQUARIANS
"[...] this collection of 33 songs contains some exquisitely dark and eloquent performances mainly by artists I've never before heard. But, like the heathen folk of Waldteufel, Werkraum and Sangre Cavallum, these new performances [...] have brought their very essences back to life."
 - Julian Cope,  on John Barleycorn Reborn

ALBUM OF THE MONTH
"This remarkable double CD shines a light on what is being termed ‘Dark Folk’ [...] “John Barleycorn Reborn: Dark Britannica” collates 33-takes (with a further 33-download only) [...]  on the fascinating theme of birth, death & rebirth, to form a stunning cornucopia of original compositions & trad arr gems by an eclectic band of artists that will be unknown to many of you [...]  a heathen celebration of ancient wisdom, laced with drone informed psyche [...] personal favourites include The Owl Service, Charlotte Greig & Johan Asherton, Damh The Bard, Mary Jane, Sol Invictus, Sharron Kraus, Peter Ulrich, English Heretic, The Anvil, The Straw Bear Band, Stormcrow, Doug Peters & White Angels Watch."
 - Traxmarx Review of John Barleycorn Reborn, its 'Album Of The Month' for December 2007

SONG & STORY
[...] we hear Doug Peters' 'Pact,' an old fashioned [style] folk song/story set to a powerful marching beat
 -  Jeff Penczak @ Terrascope Reviews www.terrascope.co.uk 
on John Barleycorn Reborn

GUITAR DRIVEN DYLAN 
"... guitar driven, folk stories, sung by Peters, whose voice is Dylan-like. My favorite of [them]is "Eighteen Miles" because of the change in tempo that occurs several times during this piece. [Doug Peters ] has 2 albums to his credit [...] and is included on a compilation double cd, Dark Britannica [...] If you are a fan of folk music, I think you will enjoy checking out the songs .."
 -Charlotte @ Music2Work2 (review 16th November 2007)

FIERY OPENING
“There is no one else on the acoustic circuit that I'm aware of that sounds quite like him […] some brilliant bluegrass guitar riffs […] THIS is what Doug Peters is all about!!!  A fiery opening and furious guitar licks and chord progression …" 
 - Dave Abbot (Onechordwonder Review of ‘La Vaquera’ November 2007 )

INTRIGUING GLIMPSES
Following his highly regarded debut album ‘Sacred Waters’, Doug returns with his second album and a completely new approach this album has a decidedly Latin quality. From the album’s name through to the sweeping, romantic guitar that starts the album [with] the dramatic Mexican flourishes of that title track […] This shows an artist growing quickly, evolving their style on only the second album. There is a life of experience embedded in these songs, a glimpse of an intriguing musician slowly being revealed with each release.
- (Woven Wheat Whispers, October 2007)

WHAT IS THE SOUND OF A FAT MAN RUNNING?
Tapping out a beat on his guitar's black body, crossing the border into Mexico. An unusual mixture of flamenco and country & western […] clattering through riffs like a man possessed […] slipping his now trademark ripples and curls into the frenetic strumming […] it feels like striding into uncharted territory, unarmed and unprepared. A riff that ran like an angry fat man.
 - Calum Haddow @ The Canon’s Gait, Edinburgh (OOTB Weekly Review 27th September 2007) 

NEEDS TO BE HEARD
"[It] is always a pleasure to have [Doug Peters] play his quality celtic/folk songs and his reworking of the folk classic The Lowlands Of Holland needs to be heard by many more people."
 - National Gig Guide (March/April 2007)

REFINED
"Opening up the gig will be Hull's much travelled Doug Peters whose progressive folk adds yet something a little more refined in his excellent guitar playing and folk based material. The 20th September is possibly one of the strongest line ups that Acosutic Wednesday has had and really shows the night is building in its credibility as one of the best acoustic live events in the city."
- Darren Bunting at The Tiger's Lair (MUSIC HQ Press release 14th September 2006)

HIDDEN SECRET
Doug Peters [...] mixes a slightly progressive rock vocal style reminscient of Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson with some emotive guitar playing and song writing. Doug has been playing and writing for many years and his worldwide travels has meant he is something of a hidden secret in Hull's musical scene, grab the chance to see him live before he sets off for places and venues ranging from London, Edinburgh, Mexico and even further. Doug is also appearing on Radio Humberside's late licence show with David Reeves on the 4th July when he will be playing live and being interviewed about his varied and interesting life and muscial career so far.
- (MUSIC HQ Press release 26th June 2006)

NICELY-WROUGHT
Doug Peters, from Hull, has been an occasional arrival over the last three years. He kicked off the final section of the night with a piece that was Spanish in both feel, and [...] language; nice imagery regarding a blue-green pick-up truck driven through the Sierra plains. Doug likes his folk, certainly, and his second track was the old tune of The Lowlands of Holland with some new words of his own making. "The Green Man comes from between the trees and he talks to me of that ancient lore", "repent, not ever, not even when I die". It was consummately played and sung [...} feel free to pass us the lyrics though, Doug. The last piece was another nice one, centred on the image of being 18, some time ago he says, and was another nicely-wrought folk piece ("I walked 18 miles and I knew that I was right").
- Scott Reilly at The Canon's Gait, Edinburgh (OOTB Weekly Review, 13th May 2006)

WORTH CHECKING OUT
Came across a download pagan folk album today - Sacred Water by Doug Peters. [...] well worth checking out. [...] Those of you that know that I like some really weird/experimental music note that this is simply great singer/songwriter acoustic music - voice, guitar, drums and bit of keyboard.
- (Hull Pagans, Music Reviews, May 2006)

LORE
There is an enduring link between folk music and the Pagan community. The direct communication of folk and its links to the land, history and nature make it a form that can express Pagan concepts effectively. Doug Peters is one such musician whose music shows a love of nature, an appreciation of our environment and the hidden spiritual mystery behind it. On his album he explores this through his self-written songs. Doug's 'pagan folk' is subtle in its approach, indeed if you were not aware of this aspect for much of the album it is a conceptual undercurrent. It helps give the album a thematic cohesion and a sound that binds the songs together. The songs use acoustic guitar and percussion along with well integrated keyboards. Many songs also incorporate sound of the environment recorded vividly and interwoven carefully with the music. Lyrically the songs explore the old gods and their relevance to us, their manifestation in nature, the qualities of fraternity and how lore informs our present existence. Doug's vocals remind of Perry Leopold and the arrangements sit somewhere between Gwydion and Clannad. We aren't pagans but enjoyed the album considerably as a contemplative work with excellent arrangements [...] he can count us as recently converted fans too!
- (Woven Wheat Whispers, April 2006)

DIFFERENT GIFTS
 " ... the conference drew to a close with superb and very different gifts of music & song from Damh the Bard and Doug Peters."
 -John Mactintyre, The Pagan Federation (DruidCon, Glasgow University Union, 23rd August 2003)

ALL-ROUNDER "Later on in the evening, after we had all gone for our evening meal, was the eisteddfod, with two excellent bards, as well as impromptu poetry by Mad Mick, and anecdotes by several others. I really can recommend the music of Damh the Bard, whose stirring lines left the audience crying for more, and Doug Peters, whose music was well liked all round."
 -Math Campbell (DruidCon, Glasgow University Union, 23rd August 2003)
 
MAVERICK "Picture a maverick storyteller singing to enchanted ears around a fire in the middle of a stone circle. This is Sacred Water. Doug Peters' acoustic dexterity - a daring blend of folk, Spanish and acoustic-rock guitar - might not shine until track 2, but the alluring textures of 'Spell' draw the listener in at once. Musically, each track has a circular feel - bridges/choruses are rare - "reminding me of the cycle of my destiny" (Samhain Song), while the self-conscious 'Scraper Days' is singularly appealing as a simple portrait of a friendship immortalised. Cactus Night Movement's swan song 'Nomad' recalls to mind THAT scene from Deliverance with its furious dancing across the strings. Aptly so, for Sacred Water, with its pervasive spirituality, documents a cry for deliverance from something you're not even sure you want to lose - especially if carrying this cross (Scraper Days) produces such refreshingly exquisite acoustic-folk music as this."
- Lou Hare reviewing 'Sacred Water' CD ('Musician' Magazine, April 2003 Issue)

LIKE MACBETH
 His first song, “The Magician” [...] Evoking a world of fairies, magic and thieves stepping out into the night, it concluded “A true magician’s power lies in these six steel strings”. Prog-folk if ever I heard it (which I haven’t very often, I am sorry to say). More of an introduction than a fully-fledged song, this was followed by Sarah’s Song, another helping of imaginative storytelling and impressive playing on Doug’s brand new, jumbo-sized guitar. Leaving the best till last, Doug gave us “Samhain Song” , named after the Celtic festival that coincides with Halloween. Over a spare backing of atmospheric chord changes and drumming on his guitar, Doug unfolded a story full of striking images. “Ghosts reach out their bloody hands”, “it reminds me of the cycle of my destiny”, “take my branch from me” [sic]: it is like Macbeth in song form, full of menace and symbolism.
- Andy Thompson at The Waverley Bar, Edinburgh (OOTB Weekly Review, 19th June 2003)

RESPLENDENT
" ... up-tempo, folk-tinged songs [...] some fine hammering-on, the lyrics perhaps veering towards acoustic 'Zep style. Resplendent in his gold brocade-trimmed waistcoat/shirt [...] lead lines traded with strums on the green guitar "
- Nelson at The Waverley Bar, Edinburgh (OOTB Weekly Review, 31st July 2003)

AN UNEXPECTED TREAT
 "Doug Peters comes from a lyrical, storytelling background with neat arrangements backing these songs. Titles [...] suggest prog rock but the lyrics actually convey something [...] It’s more ‘prog-folk’ His last was a love song though the line ‘you fit me in between your shifts/when you had nothing else to do’ suggests it wasn’t all a bed of roses. His break into Spanish during the last verse was an unexpected treat. "
- James Igoe at The Waverley Bar, Edinburgh (OOTB Weekly Review, 10th July 2003)