Lady Maisery
Formed from three individually multi award-winning artists, Rowan Rheingans, Hannah James and Hazel Askew, Lady Maisery form a unified voice, carrying stories of sisterhood, human struggle, the joy of living and the vitality of song with the “freshest possible take on traditional music” (Folk Radio UK). Their long-standing effervescent collaboration has been described as “adventurous and beautiful” (Mark Radcliffe, Radio 2) “exquisite and thrilling” (The Guardian) with “a generosity of spirit and joie de vivre that seems to emanate from every minute of their recorded output as well as from their exuberant live shows” (Folk Radio UK).
Their fifth studio album Tender was released at the end of 2022 to far-reaching acclaim. An arresting record exploring the power in vulnerability, the tenderness of collective wounds and the strength in kindness, it was hailed “a beguiling blend of ancient and modern” (The Times) and “both nurturing and raw, a sensitive response to the times we are living in” (Daily Info).
Tender entered the Official Indie Album Charts at number 18, the Official Indie Album Breakers Chart at number 3 (rare accolades for British folk!) before spending a whole year in the Official Folk Chart Top 40.
For more information and upcoming tour dates visit:
The Askew Sisters
Emily and Hazel Askew have become known as two of the foremost performers and interpreters of traditional music from England.
Their live performances brim with the depth and connection not only of two sisters, but also of two musicians who have been immersed in folk music all their lives.
Together, they rework and reinterpret songs and balladry, creating breath-taking arrangements, which allow words that are hundreds of years old to resonate profoundly with contemporary audiences.
Alongside this, both women are also skilled multi-instrumentalists and expert players of dance music, using fiddles, melodeons, concertina and cello in their innate drive to bring old dance music to life.
‘Gifted multi-instrumentalists, singers and writers’
Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
‘Beautiful, uncanny and subtly political songs’
The Guardian
‘This mixture of the homegrown and the exotic, the old and the new, is revealing. It helps to explain just why the Askew Sisters are one of the most refreshing and exciting acts in folk music, and why Enclosure is set to be one of the albums of the year’
Folk Radio UK
‘A powerful new album’
The Independent
**** ‘The Askew Sisters have released some of the most striking folk music of recent years”
Songlines
For more information and upcoming tour dates visit:
Awake Arise: a Christmas Show for Our Times
In an unmissable collaboration, five of the English folk scene’s most inventive artists bring you Awake Arise – A Christmas Show For Our Times; celebrating the riches of our varied winter traditions and reflecting upon the hope and resilience in music and song that can bring joy to us all in the darkest season.
Award winning trio Lady Maisery (Hannah James, Rowan Rheingans and Hazel Askew) have for nearly a decade produced ‘some of the most exquisite, thrilling vocal harmony work in the English folk scene’ The Guardian
The beguiling musical partnership of Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith complete the powerful line-up, bringing the outstanding vocals, sensitive instrumentation and powerful social conscience that has won them widespread critical acclaim. ‘Rousing stuff’ The Observer.
Featuring traditional songs, folk carols, spoken word and newly written music to galvanise and brighten this darkest season, Awake Arise is a warm gift to the wintertime from five of the most engaging and celebrated performers on the English folk scene. True to the reputations of both acts as out-spoken voices on the folk scene, this collection is also a rallying cry to embrace the power of collective endeavour as a vital support during times of hardship and loneliness. In this most uncertain of winters, Awake Arise is more than just a great night out; these are essential songs which remind us who we are and why we matter to each other.
Wakefire: a Midsummer Celebration
Having bewitched audiences annually with their much-loved wintertime show, two of the most engaging and inventive acts on the English folk scene return with their hotly anticipated next alchemic collaboration: an essential incantation to the summertime.
Award winning trio Lady Maisery (Hannah James, Rowan Rheingans and Hazel Askew) have for nearly a decade produced “some of the most exquisite, thrilling work in the English folk scene” (The Guardian). The beguiling musical partnership of Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith complete the powerful line-up. With more folk songs collected about the month of May than any other time apart from Christmas, the charismatic supergroup embark on a journey to mark this season in song.
There is of course morris, mayday and magic. There is also ritual, rave and cider with Rosie. There are countryside cuckoos and city foxes. There is fear for our warming planet alongside the promise of ripening fruit. As with their extremely popular wintertime show, the Awake Arise midsummer offering is a multi-layered, surprising and essential incantation to long summer days and effervescent nights.