ARTISTS 2022
Kris Drever - Saturday Evening, Trades Club
Kris Drever is a Scottish folk singer songwriter, who has won multiple awards including an incredible 7 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, two shortlist nominations for Scottish Album of The Year (with his trio Lau) and much acclaim for his solo recordings and concerts including glowing reviews from The Herald, The Guardian, Mojo and Q Magazine.
His recent single “Scapa Flow 1919” was nominated for Best Original Track by BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards whilst his (John Parish produced) album with Lau, "Midnight and Closedown" was released in 2019 by Reveal Records to wild acclaim including being chosen in The Best Albums of The Year feature by The Guardian.
Drever’s voice and guitar form a part of the backbone of today’s contemporary roots and folk scene. Hugely admired as a solo artist, collaborator, a phenomenal and prolific artist. Kris has collaborated with Cream’s Jack Bruce, Bela Fleck, Tinariwen, Joan As Police Woman, Jerry Douglas, Danny Thompson, Tim O’Brien, Sarah Jarosz, Shawn Colvin, Phil Cunningham, Rosanne Cash, Roddy Woomble, Eddi Reader, Adem, Kate Rusby, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart, Seckou Keita and many more. One of Scotland’s finest and most in demand musicians.
Stick In The Wheel - Saturday Afternoon, Trades Club
Their work is rooted in traditional music and song, informed by the modern electronic music that grew out of their hybrid East London heritage. Nicola Kearey and Ian Carter use centuries-old work-songs that speak to present-day issues of class - an inherently political act - as well as historical material from Saxon poetry to Medieval carols. Their third studio album, Hold Fast, is a deeply layered journey of hope and resistance, with a sonic palette that is wider yet more nuanced than ever, with synths, spoken word and psychedelic guitar fuzz. 2021 experimental mixtape Tonebeds for Poetry is #2 Contemporary Music Guardian Album of the Year. SITW continue to push forward the contemporary tradition of roots music, whilst maintaining and celebrating music from our collective histories - conjuring the past to point toward the future.
Tarantism - Friday Evening, Trades Club
Now embarking on their 27th year in the business, they formed in 1995 when dance music was at its height, and led the wave of Celtic dance crossover working with Simon Emmerson and others to bring British folk out of the 70’s and into the new millennium. Tarantism are a much-loved festival band, playing from Glastonbury to Oeriol to Beltane at the Horsedrawn. During this time, they have earned the reputation as one of the hardest working bands on the alternative scene. Tarantism have always been hard to pigeon hole, using ska rhythms and African beats while always relying on a solid foundation of songwriting by Magnus Martin (Hawkwind). Tarantism are an awesome back line of bass, drums and guitars, with a powerful female front from Mel Rogers’ vocals and Rhiannon Crutchely on fiddle (Brewers Daughter). Tarantism will be playing new material from their forthcoming album, “A Pill to Purge Melancholy”, as well as playing old favourites from the 90’s and beyond. Come and have a dance and a laugh and they might just stop and make you think as well.
Captain Hotknives - Friday Evening, Trades Club
The wandering bard of beat herder, the Keighley cult legend, the man who sold his soul at Four Lane Ends! Captian Hotknives is back in Hebden to recount his tales of Buckfast, brew and 'skanking his nan'! ''Unhindered by concepts such as "being able to sing", or "making words which rhyme", his first two albums were recorded in the top of a terraced house. "The Pigeons Told Me to Shoplift" and "Blarneystoner" were then largely given away to random people at the back of pubs, resulting in the beginning of 'The Longest Slowest Tour wi the most Gaps ever', which is haphazardly continuing to this day''. Hotknives is now a festival staple, playing sets back to back over the summer and working with an immense array of artists and musicians. With over 20 releases to his name and 20 years honing his story telling craft, Hotknives has found his way into the hearts of punks, poets, thinkers and drinkers. Absolutely not to be missed.
Atlas Bridge - Friday Evening, Trades Club
Outstanding acoustic 3-piece Atlas Bridge bring together the tuneful talents of Uilleann Piper & Multi-instrumentalist Becky Taylor, with sensitive, honest vocals and melodic 5-string banjo from Madeline Smyth, underpinned with inventive and energetic accompaniments by Steve Lacey, who also adds a song or two to the mix.
Atlas Bridge came to life in the Sparrow Café in Bradford drawing from their shared love of good tunes, good songs and a willingness to keep the show on the road no matter what. Their name, with its roots in Greek mythology for the Atlantic Ocean or Atlantis Sea, echoes the bridge and deep-rooted musical connections between Irish and other Celtic folk traditions and the Americana/Appalachian music and song that is reflected in their repertoire.
Expect engaging, high energy, lively tune sets interspersed with thought-provoking songs. With a multitude of different instruments between them and a fresh approach to more familiar material as well as vocal variety, there is plenty of interest here!
Sallows - Saturday Evening, Trades Club
Born on a late night in front of a fire in a field. Sallows are a four-piece band from around the North West. Using banjo, guitar, whistle, accordion, Shruti box, and harmony singing, Sallows create a driving sound set to dark poignant political lyrics. Featuring members of Autonomads, Black Star Dub Collective, Roan Long, and KlinAboy, Sallows take influence from 60s revivalists like The Watersons and 80s anarcho punk. They use folk song to tell tales of the land and everyday struggles that transcend time. Playing up and down the country at some of the UK’s biggest festivals, performing for numerous BBC sessions and appearing in a Guardian Film feature, Sallows are one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the scene in recent year.
Sam McLoughlin - Saturday Afternoon, Trades Club
Sam has released a rich and eclectic body of music under numerous guises, from haunted post-industrial folk to musique concrète, from dark ambient glossolalia to chaotic abstract noise. In recent years Sam has experimented extensively with homemade primitivist instrumentation, free improvisation, river powered drones and semi-nonsensical harmonium songs. While working in many disparate styles his music always retains a recognisable, distinct character, and is frequently imbued with influences from folklore, psychogeography and the natural world.
Sam plays under various titles, including ‘Samandtheplants’, and has released numerous EPs on Folklore Tapes and in 2016 he undertook a residency at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic with fellow musicians David Chatton Barker and Ian Humberstone. He is one half of the improv conjuration duo, The Universal Veil and one third of the substandard pub rock noise trio, Schisms.
True to the organic flow of Sam’s music, expect something fresh and new for his set at the Hebden Bridge Folk Roots Festival, where he will hopefully also be joined on stage by a few talented friends!
Spaceship - Saturday Afternoon, Trades Club
A musician, sound artist and educator based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, Mark S. Williamson's work is often made in response to his environment, with his most recent major release, Outcrops (by his project Spaceship), being recorded within, and on the subject of, the geology of the Upper Calder Valley.
Mark often works in the field, combining field recordings with electronic and acoustic instrumentation recorded in the outdoors. His 2015 project ‘A Hole in the Ground’ explored the ruins of Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring posts while ‘Stone Steps of The Upper Calder Valley’ related to subject matter closer to home. The latest Spaceship LP; ‘Ravines’ (released 4th February 2022) focusses on the steep sided cloughs which line the valley from Cornholme to Hebden Bridge.
Mark also recently collaborated with artist Michael Powell on his Calderfolk project. His collaboration with Luke Turner on series of readings from Luke’s book ‘Out of the Woods’ has seen performances at Cecil Sharp House, Port Eliot Festival, The Trades Club, Krankenhaus Festival and the Horse Hospital.
Ghostschool - Sunday Afternoon, Trades Club
Ghost School is a Calderdale based alt folk group made of Andy Greaves, Les Gillon and Jen Trott. Using acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle and three voices they weave together traditional and original material, creating a rich musical tapestry which comes to life in their dynamic live performances. Ghost School has been playing a variety of venues around the north since 2017.
Hind & The Jaffa Cakes - Sunday Afternoon, Trades Club
Hind and the Jafa Cakes became a thing about 4 or 5 years ago, nobody is quite sure when or how. We all met at the St. Augustine’s Refugee and Asylum centre in Halifax. Some members are centre users, others employees and others volunteers, and some are more than just one or the other. What we all love and share is a passion for each other’s music and a belief in the transformative power of music to help us get through life and be transported in the moment of creating or listening to it. Our line up over time has included local musicians Iranians, Kurds, Syrians, Salvadorans, Lebanese and Jews, always people with different faiths or none at all, and different beliefs and values but just by all being in the band together, we hope we embody the idea that difference is fantastic, that there can be mutual tolerance in the world, that we don’t all have to believe or value the same things and yet we can respect each other for our diversity, live in peace, and make music together .
Jiggerie Folkerie - Sunday Afternoon, Trades Club
Jiggerie Folkerie are a youth folk band aged 8-18, based in Hebden Bridge. With performances at The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge Town Hall and Wadsworth Community Centre under their belts they combine instrumental talent with the energy and enthusiasm of youth - you'll be sure to leave with a smile on your face!
Owter Zeds - Sunday Evening, Trades Club
The Owter Zeds are a bit of an institution around the Calder Valley - they formed in 1985 and they’re still out there playing their catchy, self-composed original ska/rock tunes. They’re a seven-piece band at the moment - see them on a good night (they nearly always are good nights..) and you won’t be able to keep your feet still!
Manouche North - Sunday Evening, Trades Club
We are delighted to welcome back Manouche North to our Festival. Expect a performance of high energy, fun and the urge to spontaneously dance. Formed in 2019 Manouch North are a collective inspired by swing music, the music of Eastern Europe, Klezmer and the hot club music pioneered by Django Reinhardt and Stefan Grappelli. They play a mixture of fast energetic Manouche style music, some romantic swing numbers and the emotional Doinas of Eastern Europe.
Manouch North are Stephen Shulman (violin), Julia Farrants (cello) Vernon Bigsby (guitar),Gerard Paul Cavallari (guitar) and Christine Pinkard (clarinet)
Red Hippo - Sunday Evening, Trades Club
Red Hippo is Peadar Long, Daz Jones and Simon Chantler. They play saxophones, sousaphone, fiddle, whistles, bass clarinet, stompbox, flute, and even the highland bagpipes. Red Hippo are a truly unique trio, who combine Jazz, Folk and World music to create compositions which are accessible yet challenging. They respectfully nod towards The Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Bellowhead, Filafolket and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and yet don’t sound like any of them.
Folklore Talks - Free Entry
Johnny Campbell - Saturday Afternoon, The Terrace, The Town Hall
Class Trespass: How Radical Histories Interlink with Folk Music and Class Struggles
Since 2015, Johnny has been writing self-penned material and delving deep into Northern English folk song and story. Since March 2020, Campbell has release two further singles, Hard Times of Old England & Winter Hill Trespass.
The former receiving play on Ian Lynch's (Lankum) Fire Draw Near podcast, the latter, gaining national press in Country Walking Magazine & The Guardian as well as collaborating with Boff Whalley (Chumbawamba / Commoners Choir) on WOVEN, an English Arts Council funded project that promotes the textile heritage of West Yorkshire.
Jennifer Reid - Saturday Afternoon, The Terrace, The Town Hall
On Lancashire Dialect
Jennifer Reid performs Lancashire dialect and Manchester broadside ballads and clog dances on occasion.
John Billingsley - Saturday Afternoon, The Terrace, The Town Hall
Stoodley Pike: A Folk Meta-narrative
John Billingsley has been collecting the folklore and place narratives of the upper Calder valley for 40 years, and has written or edited a number of books and articles on related topics. He is also convenor of the Folklore Section of the Hebden Bridge Local History Society, and editor of the neo-antiquarian journal, Northern Earth.
Zaffar Kunial - Saturday Afternoon, The Terrace, The Town Hall
‘England’s Green’ (Faber 2022): A Talk and Poems from a Forthcoming Book
Zaffar Kunial was born in Birmingham and lives in Hebden Bridge. He published a pamphlet in the Faber New Poets series in 2014 and spent that year as he Wordsworth Trust Poet-In-Residence. His debut collection US was published by Faber in 2018, and in the same year was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize. His new collection ‘England’s Green’ will be published by Faber later in 2022.
Town Hall Workshops - Free Entry
Annapurna India Dance Company - Saturday Afternoon, Town Hall Terrace
Enjoy a taste of Indian folk dance and music by Calderdale’s renowned Annapurna Indian Dance company.
Watch a beautiuful string instrument called VEENA being played and participate in the energetic Bhangra
Community Drum Circle with Filomena Ianni - Saturday Afternoon, Town Hall Terrace
Come and join a community drum circle and enjoy an uplifting and exhilarating experience creating world rhythms of your own. No experience necessary, all ages and all instruments provided.
Filomena lives in Hebden Bridge but is originally Italian and is a dance and somatic movement practitioner and a trained community rhythm facilitator. She loves supporting people's participation in our natural musical creativity for cohesion, social change, wellbeing and fun. www.allthingsflow.co.uk
Radical Folk - Free Entry
Johnny Campbell - Saturday Evening, Fox & Goose Inn
Since 2015, Johnny has been writing self-penned material and delving deep into Northern English folk song and story. Since March 2020, Campbell has release two further singles, Hard Times of Old England & Winter Hill Trespass.
The former receiving play on Ian Lynch's (Lankum) Fire Draw Near podcast, the latter, gaining national press in Country Walking Magazine & The Guardian as well as collaborating with Boff Whalley (Chumbawamba / Commoners Choir) on WOVEN, an English Arts Council funded project that promotes the textile heritage of West Yorkshire.
Katie Spencer - Saturday Evening, Fox & Goose Inn
Raised in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, Katie Spencer’s landscape has always been that of open skies and widening rivers. The songwriting, and most notably her guitar playing stems from a time when the steel-stringed instrument was truly finding its voice. Artists like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and perhaps most evidently Michael Chapman, flow into her sound, carrying with them the warmth and idealism of the early 70’s folk and songwriter movements.
Henry Parker - Saturday Evening, Fox & Goose Inn
Henry Parker has laid down a new sound for modern folk music, drawing deep from the well of the sixties and seventies revival. His style is a clear joining of the past and the present, a unique voice in the folk world that echoes with sounds of the tradition, whilst venturing beyond, into the realms of folk-rock and psych.
Joe Solo - Saturday Evening, Fox & Goose Inn
Joe Solo is an award-winning musician, writer, poet, activist, broadcaster and washing machine engineer from Scarborough. Solo has a growing reputation as both a performer and raconteur, being both thought-provoking, comical and punch-the-air political often in the same breath. He is not an artist you forget in a hurry.
Festival Sessions - Free Entry
Pete Dilley - Friday Evening and Sunday Afternoon, Fox & Goose Inn
Pete Dilley is a folk singer / songwriter from the North East of England. In the words of Steve Tilston, he ‘is one of the very best players / songwriters of this new generation’. Pete will be leading sessions at the Fox and Goose pub.
Small Venues - Free Entry
Touchstone - Friday Evening, The Famous Albert
Tom Martin is widely regarded as one of the finest guitarists to come out of Ireland, but primarily a brilliant songwriter of longstanding cult status. Easy to listen to, hard to define with a melodic touch of Paul Simon and lyrical insight of a John Prine, but with a sound and a songwriting skill that is undeniably his own.
Bernie Hartley's amazing songs are on the borders of jazz, rock, and folk. His inventive acoustic guitar style and complex lyrics make demands on an audience like few performers today, but its well worth the effort.
John Haycock - Saturday Afternoon, Muse Music and Love Café
John Haycock is a multi instrumentalist who has studied kora (21 string African Harp) closely for several years under the master Gambian griot Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh. He has also spent time In West Africa absorbing the culture. Performing an acoustic set for the Folk Roots Festival, John is also a live looping artist passionate about affecting acoustic sounds with electronics exploring new sonority. He runs his kora through a series of electronic devices creating lush soundscapes and solid beats and overlays it with woodwind instruments, bridging the gap between ancient West African Folk melodies and modern electronica.
Jon Coley - Saturday Evening, Muse Music and Love Café
Jon Coley is something of a cult underground figure in Manchester's music scene, counting many of the scene's leading lights as regulars at his performances. Combining soul and folk with intelligent original song writing, and admired for his unique virtuosic guitar playing (taking influence from performers such as Nick Drake, John Mayer, Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones and especially John Martyn. After many years of touring and independent releases, and cutting major recordings for Virgin, Jon released his first full album to critical acclaim on October 10th 2021, with a sell-out Manchester launch show and follow up tour.
dbh - Sunday Afternoon, Muse Music and Love Café
dbh is Daniel Bridgwood-Hill, composer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist based in Todmorden. As dbh, he plays live and records albums of solo instrumental music, primarily on acoustic and electric guitar. Incorporating elements of folk, jazz, pop and classical music, he weaves dexterous and emotional guitar lines into instrumental pieces. He is also well known for playing all manner of instruments with the bands of Kiran Leonard, Irma Vep and Jim Ghedi and also playing guitar for progressive experimental bands NASDAQ and FTSE 100. To date he has released three albums of solo instrumentals, Mass , Mood and Time Flies.
Bridget Hayden & The Apparitions - Sunday Afternoon, Muse Music and Love Café
This is the new project from singer, guitarist, piano player, and a visual artist Bridget Hayden. Traditional folksongs re-emerging from the mist as snail-slow funereal folk with haunting vocals, shimmering banjo and acoustic drones on violin and harmonium. Bridget spent her early life absorbing the sound of her mother singing melancholic folk and blues songs on a Spanish guitar. This three chord initiation, along with a handful of piano lessons, were the building blocks for Bridget's artistic output. Her improvised compositional style culminated last autumn with the release of “Pure Touch Only From Now On, They Said So”, which was described by Norman Records as “as pure a distillation of the human spirit into sound as you’re ever likely to hear.”