"With the Gigspanner Big Band, Peter Knight has assembled a group of musicians intent on making some of the most important and exhilarating art ever to sit under the banner of folk music" FRUK "Amazing...a force to be reckoned with - they storm every stage they walk on" Mike Harding The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music... Their high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, and they…

Sam Lee plays a unique role in the British music scene. He’s an acclaimed, award-winning inventive singer, a folksong collector, conservationist and founder/director of The Nest Collective who’ve helped shake up the music scene and injected life back into the folk trad and world acoustic scenes. With his critically acclaimed new album, ‘Old Wow’, he takes the listener on a truly compelling and emotional journey that takes his work to yet another level. His 1st release, ‘Ground Of Its Own’ in…

Formed in Beirut, the band returned to the UK in 2016 and set to performing tirelessly up and down the country, leading to BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe hailing them as “one of the real discoveries on the folk circuit in recent times.” Their debut album, Hide and Hair, gained attention in national publications, receives repeated national airplay on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, and won Best Album at the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Following a…

Performing together for over 10 years, much loved Yorkshire folk duo Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow were propelled into newfound fame when their song ‘Gentleman Jack’ was chosen as the theme tune for Sally Wainwright’s hit BBC1/HBO drama of the same name. Nominated four times for BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards ‘Best Duo’, Belinda and Heidi’s boundless song writing has been described by The Guardian as ‘exceptional’ and The Independent as ‘defiant, robust, northern, poetical, political folk music for the…

Banter are: Simon Care on melodeon, Nina Zella on keyboards and vocals and Tim Walker on drums, percussion, and brass. They are rooted in English traditional music but incorporate influences of pop, jazz, soul and big band sounds. Although just three people, they create a huge sound and have been described as the world’s smallest big band. Their new album “THREE” sees them exploring traditional song, whilst maintaining that quirky Banter twist.   What people say bout Banter: “Featuring percussion,…

Having first emerged at the start of the '00s amidst a burgeoning swarm of guitar bands, the Sunderland quartet, with their proud regional accents and spiky, playful sensibilities, stuck out from the off. Over the following decade The Futureheads – comprised of vocalists and guitarists Barry Hyde and Ross Millard, vocalist and bassist David 'Jaff' Craig and vocalist and drummer Dave Hyde – amassed five critically-acclaimed albums, headlined countless tours and earned an NME Single of the Year accolade for…

Four of England's finest traditional fiddle players, Bryony Griffith, Jim Boyle, Ross Grant and Rosie Butler-Hall, have joined forces to create The English Fiddle Ensemble with the aim of allowing their audience to feel the bite and lift of four fiddles resonating to create joyous harmonies and striking rhythms. Each with a passion for traditional English dance and its music, their combined repertoire is vast and includes rarely played and unusual regional versions of traditional English tunes alongside more familiar…

Saturday Festival Club at Manchester Folk Festival 2021: This ticket is only available for purchase when purchased in conjunction with another Saturday Manchester Folk Festival event ticket. It is also available to purchase if you are an EFEx Digital subscriber (log into your account to buy). See three of the best emerging English folk acts in HOME, the vibrant hub venue of Manchester Folk Festival. Saturday’s line-up features: Alt-folk band Ranagri Dónal Rogers (Vocals/ Guitar), Eliza Marshall (Flutes/ Whistles), Ellie…