Line-up 2025

Flook

FLOOK : CELEBRATING 30 YEARS IN 2025!

What began in 1995 as a ground-breaking union of musicians and instruments, has continued as a unique musical offering through one live album, four studio albums and countless outstanding performances. A new recording is due for release in early 2025. After 30 years Flook show no sign of letting-up in their brilliance, their dynamism, or their inventive flair. 

The band early on evolved an inimitable trademark sound and hold fast to their rightful reputation as exceptional musical innovators; the whistles and flutes of Brian Finnegan and Sarah Allen, the guitar of Ed Boyd and the bodhran of John Joe Kelly weaving and spinning tunes rooted in tradition over precise acoustic grooves, with a rare blend of fiery technical brilliance, delicate ensemble interaction and a bold, adventurous musical imagination. 

There is an ever present abundance of individual virtuosity amongst Flook’s four members, but there is also something wholly unique when this iconic Anglo-Irish band step on stage together, their playing always an intuitive, almost symbiotic, exchange between the various flutes, whistles, frets and skins. An evening and a celebration you don’t want to miss out on.

‘An absolute powerhouse, a flute and whistle-led, eight-legged jig machine. Jigs, reels and waltzes whirl by. Each as glorious as the last, the musicianship as extraordinary, the mood never any less than euphoric’  FATEA Live Review, November 2023

‘Nothing short of transcendent… No other band sound like Flook and the new material has pushed them to new, exhilarating heights’  Songlines, July 2019

‘Never have I seen so many people so completely and utterly spellbound…the most magical of experiences’  The Irish Post 

Lady Nade (duo)

Lady Nade is a celebrated UK artist known for her pure, unforgettable voice and emotionally powerful songwriting. Described as “a brilliant artist whose songs are both heartfelt and empowering” by The Line of Best Fit, her music blends jazz, Americana, folk-pop, soul, and rock, touching on themes of love, loss, and hope. With three acclaimed albums and a reputation for transformative live shows, she has been recognised as one of Bristol’s Most Influential Women.  Fans of Nina Simone, Joan Armatrading, and Joni Mitchell will resonate with her soulful, authentic style. In 2023, her name was engraved at Bristol Beacon alongside icons like Nick Cave and Grace Jones.

Twelfth Day

Twelfth Day has been challenging its broad spectrum of listeners with its genre-bending music for almost a decade.  

Though Catriona Price’s violin and Esther Swift’s pedal harp remain the front and centre of their sound, and the mastery of their instruments is evident, Twelfth Day draws from a more expansive palette than the number of instruments might suggest, leaving a lasting impact on the listener.  

Catriona and Esther challenge each other to challenge us. It can be heard in the way that they push their vocals far beyond the boundaries of what may be anticipated from two young women with high voices. It can be heard in the way the violin and harp surprise each other to drive the track somewhere new. It can be heard in the lyrics that invite us to reassess, reimagine, reinterpret. 

Though Twelfth Day wear their rich and varied experience with pride – their folk roots, their classical training – they are more than a simple product, an exponent, of their practice. It is their inherent curiosity, their need to understand through experimentation, that compels them to reach for new ways and means. 

It results in music that combines their technical proficiency and deep knowledge of their instruments with their desire to make soulful, meaningful and intuitive music, that you would expect from musicians who have grown up learning music by ear; passing, trading and improvising with musicians from other genres, other cultures. 

Twelfth Day’s latest album, Face to Face (2019), was nominated in the ‘Innovation in New Traditional Music’ category of the Scottish Awards for New Music.

Maddie Morris

Maddie Morris is an artist who strives to make a difference in the world. Bold, insightful and refreshingly unique, they take traditional song in new directions to shine a light on contemporary issues, offering new perspectives about the world we live in today.

Folk songs have always told stories, but how Maddie makes their mark is by turning this storytelling into action. Described by Jim Moray as “leading the next generation of socially conscious songwriters”, Maddie uses their work to highlight inequality, challenge viewpoints and provide an inclusive space for shared experiences. Maddie was recently commissioned by Unlimited to explore LGBTQIA+ experiences of disability through traditional music, and has also been proud to collaborate with organisations such as Queer Folk, The Bit Collective and Trans Pride Brighton.

Whether they’re turning a centuries-old ballad on its head or writing something completely new, Maddie places their focus on drawing out true meaning rather than being true to tradition. Maddie released their first studio EP Upstream in 2022 to huge critical acclaim. Two years on, they’re following this up with their debut studio album, Skin (release February 2024). Skin is a beautifully crafted collection of songs which amplifies the stories of those often marginalised by society. 

Passionately political, yet gently understated, this is music that deftly treads the path between art and activism.

The Rosie Hood Band

A former BBC Performing Arts Fellow and Horizon Folk Award nominee, Rosie Hood is known for her powerful and clear vocals and captivating performances that combine poetic writing with dynamic and honest interpretations of traditional songs.

Rosie is joined by long-term collaborator fiddle-player Nicola Beazley, melodeon-player and percussionist Robyn Wallace and fiddle-player Rosie Butler-Hall to form The Rosie Hood Band. With experience playing for ceilidhs, dancing and in brass bands, the instrumentalists bring a great dynamic lift and drive, continuing Rosie’s vision of re-working traditional English songs, as well as writing and arranging original material, touching on nature, human struggle, women’s voices and unheard stories.

With outstanding musicianship and a deep understanding of tradition, Nicola, Rosie and Robyn’s sensitive playing combines perfectly with Rosie’s voice, skilfully and empathetically lifting each song.

Jack Badcock

Singer and guitarist, Jack Badcock is a hugely experienced performer, having toured throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, predominantly as frontman and founding member of his multi-award winning, internationally renowned world-folk band ‘Dallahan’. He is a critically acclaimed solo artist and has also performed or recorded with Rura, Siobhan Miller, Adam Holmes, Dougie MacLean and The Royal Scottish National Orchestra among many others and was a finalist in the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award.

   Raised in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland and later Yorkshire, England, before moving to Scotland as a teenager, Jack has a split national identity shared between the three countries. At eighteen, in Edinburgh, he formed a partnership with multi-instrumentalist Ciaran Ryan, touring the UK, Germany and Denmark. The duo would go on to form Dallahan in 2013, which rapidly became one of Scotland’s busiest international folk bands. To date the band have recorded four critically acclaimed albums, earned several awards and many nominations and toured extensively on four continents. 

  In 2021, he released his debut solo EP, The Driftwood Project. Funded by Creative Scotland, the EP was drip-released throughout the year and showcased a plethora of musical influences and outlooks, featuring a large lineup of some of Scotland’s most accomplished instrumentalists from the jazz, classical and folk worlds. It was nominated for Original Work of the Year (Sponsored by PRS) at the BBC Scots Trad Music Awards 2021. He was then invited to write, arrange and perform the prestigious New Voices commission at Celtic Connections 2022 with a show of all-new original material with a six-piece band. In Autumn 2023, Jack went on tour throughout the UK as the support act for Eddi Reader, finely honing his solo live show in the process, before also performing on a lengthy tour in Germany the following year. 

   In May 2024, Jack released his critically acclaimed debut album Cosmography – produced by Euan Burton (Kris Dever, Julie Fowlis) – and launched it on a 16 date tour throughout England and Scotland the same month. Described by critics as “a glowing galaxy of songs” and affirming Jack as “a first class songwriter”, his debut album was nominated in the German Music Critic’s Choice Awards and earned him a nomination for Composer of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards.

     Jack Badcock is a singer whose solo material reveals an astute songcraft exploring enormously wide ranging subjects delivered with a musical sensitivity clearly influenced by American folk, funk and soul music as much as the traditional music of Britain and Ireland and all served with a healthy dose of storytelling and humour.

Shahbaz, Kayam and Ali Hussain

Shahbaz Hussain has received numerous accolades for his captivating performances, including receiving the prestigious “Son of Lahore” Award in Pakistan in 2008. 

Shahbaz began his grooming in the art of tabla at age five with his father, the late Ustad Mumtaz Hussain – a prominent vocalist. He later went on to study with tabla legends Ustad Faiyaz Khan from the Delhi Gharana (school), the late Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan from the Punjab Gharana and finally the late Ustad Allah Rakha Khan. 

He is much sought after for his accompaniment skills by many of the great masters’ musicians of India & Pakistan – including Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Rais Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia and ghazal legend Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan to name but a few. 

He has performed in many prestigious venues, including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., Lincoln Center in New York and London’s Royal Albert & Queen Elizabeth Halls.

Shahbaz is joined by his talented sons Kayam and Ali who represent the Punjab and Delhi gharanas of tabla playing.

Monkeybox and Lisa Heywood (ceilidh)

Monkey Box are an energetic ceilidh trio from Manchester. Composed of Tom Kitching (Pilgrims’ Way, Albireo, Gavin Davenport), Edwin Beasant (Pilgrims’ Way, Jabadaw, Ironmasters) and Rachel Crowther (Melandra, Albireo), Monkey Box creates a sound larger than it has any right to do. Chunky English rhythms underpin great dance tunes for a feel-good ceilidh experience.

Lisa Heywood is all about getting guests of all ages and abilities on the dance floor. She brings infectious enthusiasm and inclusive dance instructions that will get the party started!

Tom Kitching presents ‘Where There’s Brass’

Author and musician Tom Kitching presents his new book and album, ‘Where There’s Brass’, with a special storytelling and music concert show.

Documenting six months living in the London waterways community, making the long journey across England from Manchester on a traditional narrowboat built in 1937, ‘Where There’s Brass’ tells the story of the contemporary London waterways; a floating slum at worst, a bohemian, alternative, vibrant community at best. It is a love letter to the waterways, and a rallying cry for what they can be in the future.

Stories old and new interwoven with a specially composed suite of music, underpinned by Tom’s long term accompanist, the brilliant Nordic mandola player Marit Fält.

“I’m devouring the book, not just reading it. The lad is one of the best fiddlers I’ve ever heard – he breathes life into the tunes. I didn’t know he was also a very fine writer indeed. I’ve been a sucker for these books about these islands. Busking for his keep, with his feet on the pavement of the high streets and his hand sending music into the air, Tom is a wise and witty guide to England pre-Covid19.” – Mike Harding, on Seasons of Change.

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Youth Competition Winners 2025

The winners and runners-up of our prestigious Youth Folk Award (held in January) will have the important task of opening each of our concerts this year: