Festival Launches Its 2013 Season With A Top Rate Bill

Beverley’s folk festival starts off 2013 with a concert featuring one of this country’s most popular guitarists and multi-award winner Martin Simpson.

The festival is delighted to present Martin, who has performed at its main June event many times. Having been nominated an astounding 29 times in the eleven years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – more than any other performer – in 11 consecutive years he was a nominee for Musician of The Year, which he has won twice.

2008 saw an incredible 5 nominations for “Prodigal Son’ and 2 wins, whilst in 2010 he had an unprecedented 6 nominations for his CD, “True Stories” and a win for Best Traditional Track, “Sir Patrick Spens”. ‘One of our finest traditional musicians….’ **** 4 Stars Uncut ‘Sounds better than ever’ **** 4 Stars The Guardian.

His distinctly transatlantic style of playing and singing, along with his love of traditional English ballads, have earned him admirers across a wide range of musical genres, from blues and guitar fans, to the traditional English folk enthusiasts.

He will be the headline artist on an exciting bill which will also feature an increasingly popular trio, The Jaywalkers, who were BBC Young Folk Award finalists in 2009. During the summer of 2012 they cemented their place as one of the most exciting, virtuosic and entertaining young bands working on the British folk scene, performing at over 24 festivals. There was just enough time to fit in a quick trip to Europe, where the band were placed 3rd at the European World of Bluegrass in Holland (making them the 3rd best Bluegrass band in Europe).

Creating a unique sound based on their collective and individual musical backgrounds, the band takes influence from folk, bluegrass, country and western swing music in the form of virtuosic instrumentals, three part harmony and occasional slap bass. Add good humour, tasteful arrangements and exceptional musicianship to the mix and they are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Finishing off the line-up is the ever popular guitar duo from Hull, Farino, who specialise in fast and frenetic rhythms fusing latin, jazz and rock styles. “Traversing whole continent’s in the space of just a few chord changes might have previously have been the stuff of science-fiction but FARINO can do this with nothing more than a couple of acoustic guitars. An eclectic Tour-de-Force of World-Music can be expected from this virtuoso instrumental duo.” Off the wall, urban artz.