Described by Mojo as "one of the ultimate British songwriters" John Tams has made over 50 albums as singer, musician or producer, with a career spanning over five decades in every medium. A founder member of the Albion Band and Home Service he is perhaps best known for his role as Rifleman Daniel Hagman alongside Sean Bean in the Sharpe television series. Other TV and film roles have included Sons and Lovers, The Raggedy Rawney and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. A seven-times winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, his varied radio work has included being Executive Music Director on the critically acclaimed six-part Radio Ballads for Radio 2, which won two prestigious Sony Academy Awards. He is particularly renowned for his work at the National Theatre including songmaker for the stage production of Warhorse, where he was a member of the original creative team and continues to guide its production in London and touring. He was Musical Director and acted in Bill Bryden's company on productions including The Mysteries, Larkrise to Candleford and A Midsummer Night's Dream and may others, several of which transferred to the West End or toured. His performance of 'Only Remembered' at the Royal Festival Hall in 2014 has garnered over 200,000 YouTube views to date, and a 2010 performance of 'Over the Hills and Far Away' over 700,000 views, and growing! In April 2025, he will be one one of a number of stellar guest performers at Ashley Hutchings 80th birthday 'Million Dollar Bash' celebrations at Birmingham Town Hall. As well as his songs, Tams likes to 'shoot the breeze' with yarns and tales from his decades performing in film, theatre, tv, radio and concert stages. On his fourth visit to Alstonefield, expect a highly engaging and entertaining evening, with songs to make you think, and laugh-out-loud anecdotes. His performances are selective and pretty rare these days, so book early! Licensed bar, seasonal nibbles

Adam Holmes is a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominee and three-times nominee for Scottish Album of the Year. His latest (6th) album is even titled 'The Voice of Scotland'. His songs have featured widely on Radio 2 and Radio 3, BBC Scotland, Edith Bowman's BBC Scotland Quay Sessions show and Virgin Radio, amongst many others. One of 8 children raised by his mother in a small flat in Portobello, he crafts lyrics that resonate like old folk songs, set to melodies rooted in the haunting slow airs and church hymns that echoed throughout his childhood. His masterful songwriting and enchanting voice has, over the years, seen him work and share stages with renowned musicians including Karine Polwart,John Prine, Graham Coxon, Becky Unthank, Eddie Reader, Laura Marling and Richard Thompson, among many others. Licensed bar

As part of 20th year celebrations, The Unthanks scale back for some intimate shows, supporting today's best small venues and including memorable ones from their early days. The shows will draw from all parts of their repertoire. How many artists have covered as much musical ground and journeyed so far at The Unthanks over the past two decades BBC 6 Music regulars, but equally to be found on Radios 2, 3 and 4, the Tyneside band are like magpies, picking up undiscovered jewels, reframing history and drawing on the worlds of folk, jazz, orchestral, electronica and art-rock to create their own unique truth and beauty. They have won Mojo Magazine Folk Album of the Year twice, they were the only British folk representation in The Guardian's and Uncut's Best Albums of the Decade (worldwide, all genres), and count amongst their admirers, fellow storytellers including Elvis Costello, Maxine Peake, Michael Sheen, Rosanne Cash, Martin Freeman, Robert Wyatt, Martin Hayes, Nick Hornby, Ben Myers and Dawn French. Using the traditional music of the North East of England as a starting point, the influence of Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Wyatt, Antony & The Johnsons, King Crimson and Tom Waits can be heard in the band's 16 records to date, earning them a Mercury Music Prize nomination and international acclaim along the way. The Unthanks are constantly evolving. They have scaled up for orchestral and brass band shows, drawing on the arranging and composing skills of self-taught band leader Adrian McNally, and paired right back for the unaccompanied live record, Diversions Vol 5, drawing on the traditional singing backgrounds of Rachel and Becky Unthank and Niopha Keegan. Theyve created song cycles from Emily Bronte's poetry, site specific theatre with Maxine Peake, soundtracks for Mackenzie Crook's Worzel Gummidge, had music used on HBO's True Detective, Peaky Blinders, Vera, and The Dectectorists, and a string of Diversions interpreting the work of Molly Drake, Anohni and Robert Wyatt. Their 15th record, Sorrows Away, was described as a masterpiece of nuanced drama (Uncut Albums of the Year), "a landmark album by an extraordinary band that will resonate for generations to come." (Record Collector). Licensed bar