The real deal, a demon picker UNCUT MAGAZINE BBC Folk Awards Best Musician nominee Dan Walsh combines virtuoso playing and winning songwriting (MORNING STAR). Describing what Dan does is no easy task but at the heart of it is British, Irish and American folk music delivered with a healthy dose of funky grooves all performed with his unique and dazzling take on clawhammer style banjo helping to challenge all preconceptions about the instrument. Add to all that poignant songs, astonishing musical departures and lively humour and the result is a truly memorable live show which has wowed audiences across the world from intimate seated rooms to huge dancing crowds in festival fields. One of the most incredible musicians Ive heard in years Bruce MacGregor, BBC Radio Scotland If one name is synonymous with the revival of interest in the banjo, it's Dan Walsh Living Tradition A real world class banjo player Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Walsh has recorded five albums to much critical acclaim and he is an in demand performer with a hectic touring schedule in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and throughout Europe. Absolutely terrific Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

Pronoter EP Musician, singer, songwriter, and Lifetime Achievement Award winner at the inaugural RTÉ Folk Awards, Andy has had an amazing musical career over the past 50 years. At the helm of legendary bands like Sweeney’s Men in the mid 60s, to the enormous success of Planxty in the 70s, and then Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and recently Usher’s Island, Andy is both a world music pioneer and an icon for traditional music and musicians. Andy is one of the great Irish singers, his voice one of a handful of truly great ones that gets to the very soul of Ireland. He has been hailed as “a tradition in himself”. Musician, singer, songwriter, Andy has maintained his highly individual performing skills throughout his over 50-year career. As a soloist, Andy fills the role of the archetypal troubadour with a show and a travelling lifestyle that reflect his lifelong influence, Woody Guthrie. To quote the Irish Times, “Often copied, never equalled”, his repertoire consists of Irish traditional songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes and a compelling cannon of his own self-penned songs.

On her new album, Carnival, Americana/soul singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd showcases her signature evocative storytelling and raw honesty and powerfully emotive performance from start to finish, honed over more than two decades. Raised in rural New York in the US, Juliet was a classically trained pianist and jazz trumpet player from an early age before studying songwriting at Berklee College of Music. It wasnt long before she was a fixture in the Boston singer-songwriter scene, releasing two critically acclaimed albums, touring across the US, and garnering placements on MTV and VH1. Struggling with burnout, Juliet walked away from music completely in 2009 and got a lucrative corporate job. Fast forward ten years, and in the midst of a global pandemic, she returned to songwriting and performing. After winning a string of national songwriting awards and releasing her 2022 EP High Roadhailed as a top-tier singer/songwriter albumJuliet returned full force. Since then, she has performed 150+ shows a year, both solo and with her band, at clubs and listening rooms across the US. "evocative storytelling and raw honesty (Washington City Paper) "a powerfully emotive performance from start to finish (Lonesome Highway) "infectious and emotionally deep...At the center is Juliet's voice, perfectly suited for conveying the emotion and depth of the lyrics (Glide Magazine) "soulful, lightly twangy and pop-forward...unmistakably personal (CITY Magazine)

Though they grew up half a world apart, multi-award-winning songwriters Catherine MacLellan (Prince Edward Island, Canada) and Lucy Farrell (Kent, England) connect through the quiet brilliance of their songcraft and the warm clarity of their delivery. Suspending time with their musical storytelling, Catherine and Lucy's songs journal the characters, landscapes and situations that populate their lives and the broader world, unravelling and reweaving the threads of history and tradition with the deftness and surety that has made such notable touring and recording artists, collaborators and festival stage guests.

Steve Turner is known as a pioneer of highly sophisticated English concertina song accompaniments, stretching the boundaries of traditional forms, with one of the best voices in the business. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who also accompanies himself on the cittern, and also plays mandolin and tenor banjo. Steve began his career on the Manchester, UK folk scene at the end of the 60s, with the Geordie band Canny Fettle, touring with them for eight years and making two albums with them. In 1979 he won the UK Melody Maker's national Stars of the 80s competition, which persuaded him to turn professional, and for the next 12 years he toured solo, nationally and internationally, releasing four albums with Fellside Records during this period (Out Stack, Jigging One Now, Eclogue and Braiding).

One of the most exciting duos to emerge from the UK in recent times, Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow combine heartfelt musicality, unparalleled virtuosity and vocal harmony. Using the folk music of the British Isles as a catalyst, Kit and Aaron create dynamic and effervescent interpretations of centuries-old material as well as original songs and compositions, all the while celebrating the timeless aural quality of a guitar, fiddle and vocals duet. Studio albums The Fox (2016) and Pill Pilots (2019) have been met by wide critical acclaim, receiving five star reviews and local and national airplay. The duo tour extensively in the UK and internationally across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. BBC 2's Mark Radcliffe is a champion of their work, saying Kit and Aaron are reminiscent of the late Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy I can give them no higher accolade. They are at the top of their game. Fleet fingered and ingeniously arranged. .....deserve to be thought of as up there with the best of them" - Songlines Such dexterity, energy and passion.....mightily impressive - R2 Magazine The pair demonstrate an eclectic approach that lifts them head and shoulders above the rest- Acoustic Magazine Never a dull moment, with imagination firing throughout and an abundance of creative energy - Living Tradition

Alongside a glittering session career (David Byrne, Ray Davies, Morcheeba), piano player and songwriter Dom Pipkin has been described by Blues in Britain as one of the world's greatest exponents of New Orleans piano. He first discovered the New Orleans style in the early 90s, and has gone on to become a regular visitor and performer in that city, with appearances that include the highly acclaimed Piano Night and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. He is a regular fixture on the European blues and boogie-woogie festival circuit having played 1000's of club and theatre, radio and TV dates in a career spanning nearly three decades. Jazz star Jamie Cullum says I cant hold a candle to this guy.

With a blend of dreamy acoustic duets, foot-stomping folk and bluesy murder ballads, New Zealand-formed and Nashville-based South for Winter's sound is as eclectic as their origins. The band is composed of New Zealander Nick Stone and Coloradan Dani Cichon, and together the two multi-instrumentalists and songwriters combine elements such as finger-tapping guitar, mandolin, foot percussion, poetic lyricism, and haunting melodies into a genre-bending sound described by American Songwriter as impeccable. "An ethereal, dreamy, journey sharpened with an underlying aggressive blues-edge...A journey well-worth taking" - AmericanaUK

RUTH THEODORE Since signing an exciting new record deal with Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records, Theodore has been performing solo around the USA in celebration of her fifth studio album, which received consistent five-star reviews in highly respected music press publications, describing Ruth as 'an institution'. I Am I Am is a sublime album. Un-ostentatiously intelligent. Seamlessly interweaving the political and the personal. Rock n Reel Magazine ★★★★★ (2024) Her uniquely original material, virtuoso off-the-cuff guitar and piano style, and incredibly deep and provocative story telling, has been going down a storm in the USA where Theodore has been introducing audiences to her latest album, the fruits of her ongoing collaborations with Grammy and Tony award winning bassist/producer Todd Sickafoose (Anais Mitchell / Hadestown) and Swiss-American percussion virtuoso Mathias Kunzli (Regina Spektor / Lauren Hill). Ruth also performs selections from her critically acclaimed back catalog, which is archived in the British Library, celebrated for its contribution to British music. GIULIA MILLANTA Giulia Millanta is an Italian-American Indie-Folk and Americana singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. A vocalist and guitarist, she also plays upright bass and ukulele and sings in four languages (English, Italian, Spanish and French). She has been described by Michael Greenblatt of The Aquarian Weekly as "deeply evocative with a dash of Piaf, a sprinkle of Lady Day, a pinch of Norah Jones and a teaspoon of Madeleine Peyroux."[1] "She has been called smart, eclectic, adventurous and cool, and credited with psychedelic grooveability whilst 'baring her clairvoyant soul' to 'deliver musical mojo'".[2] She has released eight solo albums to date and regularly tours throughout the US and Europe.

Authentic and heartfelt playing weave together with a love of American bluegrass, old-time and folk music to form the unique sound of Blue Lass. A combination of original, traditional and contemporary material creates striking sets, with both songs and instrumental pieces transporting listeners with genuine and encapsulating stories. Their debut EP, Skylines & Coal Mines, was released in September 2024. The all-female lineup features acoustic guitar, mandolin, and clawhammer banjo, and they are often accompanied by additional fiddle and double bass. Each member steps forward to lead songs and contributes to strong three-part harmonies around a single microphone - just as it was done in the fifties. Their choreography around the single mic gives performances an authentic vintage feel, displaying a raw and authentic approach to their music, with a friendly and fun on-stage manner bringing a lively atmosphere to audiences.