Michael McGoldrick is a folk musician who plays Irish flute, uilleann pipes, low whistle and bodhran. He also plays other instruments such as acoustic guitar, cittern, and mandolin.
Kate Anna Rusby is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the best known contemporary English folk singers. In 2001 The Guardian described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies". She is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2.
Mark "Boo" Hewerdine is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. His work includes lead singer and creative force behind The Bible, formed in the 1980s, and reformed in 1994, as well as solo recordings and work for film. He has also produced records by several artists, including a long association with Eddi Reader. He has been described as "one of Britain's most consistently accomplished songwriters".
Idlewild are a Scottish rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1995. The band's line-up consists of Roddy Woomble, Rod Jones, Colin Newton (drums), Andrew Mitchell (bass), and Luciano Rossi (keyboards). To date, Idlewild have released nine full-length studio albums.
John McCusker is a Scottish folk musician, record producer, and composer. He had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and producer for folk singer Kate Rusby. He has served as producer and arranger for various artists. He has also released several solo albums.
Andy Cutting is an English folk musician and composer. He plays melodeon and is best known for writing and performing traditional English folk and his own original compositions which combine English and French traditions with wider influences. He is three times winner of the Folk Musician of the Year award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and has appeared on around 50 albums, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. He was born in Harrow, London and is married with three children.
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised for her solo career, winning three awards at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005, and was previously a member of Malinky and Battlefield Band.
Roddy Woomble is a Scottish singer, songwriter and writer. He is the lead vocalist of indie rock band Idlewild, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Celebrated for his poetic lyrics and warm, baritone voice, In 2006, Woomble released his folk-influenced debut solo album, My Secret Is My Silence, and has since released four subsequent studio albums: The Impossible Song & Other Songs (2011), Listen to Keep (2013), The Deluder (2017) and Lo! Soul (2021). In 2020 Woomble released the 'Everyday Sun' EP which featured largely spoken word pieces over minimal, ambient backing. He followed this sound and direction into 2021's 'Lo Soul' which he recorded at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
My Secret Is My Silence is the debut studio album by Idlewild lead vocalist Roddy Woomble, released 24 July 2006 on Pure Records.
The Girl Who Couldn't Fly is an album by British folk musician Kate Rusby, released in 2005. The title refers to Rusby's fear of flying.
Sings the Songs of Robert Burns is the seventh studio album by Eddi Reader. It was released in the UK on 12 May 2003.
Ian Carr is an English guitarist and record producer from Cumbria, who has performed with Swåp and The Kate Rusby Band.
Before the Ruin is a collaborative studio album by Scottish folk musicians Kris Drever, John McCusker and Roddy Woomble, released on 15 September 2008 through Navigator Records. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at #156 and the Scottish Albums chart at #45. The album was originally scheduled for a May release, but was delayed due to McCusker touring with Mark Knopfler.
Under One Sky is an hour-long vocal and instrumental suite composed by Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist John McCusker. A studio album was released in February 2009, through Navigator Records. According to a poster advertising the Under One Sky tour: "This large scale composition explores and interweaves the many different styles, genres and traditions at work in today's dynamic UK folk scene"
Heidi Talbot is an Irish folk singer from Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. Talbot is a former singer of Irish-American musical group Cherish the Ladies.
The discography of Kate Rusby, an English folk singer, consists of twenty solo albums, four albums as part of a duo or group, four extended plays (EPs), two video albums, fourteen singles, and seven music videos. Rusby's debut was Intuition, an album recorded in collaboration with five other female singers from Yorkshire, which was released on a small label in 1993. Her breakthrough came with an eponymous album recorded with Kathryn Roberts, another of the singers featured on Intuition. This album, which was named as the best of the year by Folk Roots magazine, was the first release on Pure Records, a label set up by Rusby's father on which all her subsequent solo recordings have been released. Rusby and Roberts also formed the band the Equation in conjunction with the Lakeman Brothers, but Rusby left the group after their debut EP. In 1996 she joined the all-female folk group the Poozies, with whom she released one EP and one full-length album.
Martin Green is an English musician and composer. He is the accordionist in the folk trio Lau, who won a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England.
Aidan O'Rourke is a Scottish contemporary folk music fiddle player and composer. He was named the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year and the Scots Trad Music Awards 2011 Composer of the Year. In addition to his solo career, O'Rourke also plays in the award-winning folk trio Lau alongside Kris Drever and Martin Green. He was one of 20 musicians commissioned for New Music 20x12 by PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. O'Rourke has worked with Eddi Reader, Andy Sheppard, Alyth, Roddy Woomble and appears on more than eighty recordings. Previously, he was a member of Blazin' Fiddles, The Unusual Suspects and Tabache.
