The Destroyers are a 15-headed conflagration of instrumentalists, vocalists and composers, specialising in turbo-folk mélanges of Gypsy, Balkan, Klesmer and beat poetry. They put on a riotous uplifting show, and get audiences really going– jumping around and that sort of thing.
Prego have been playing their vibrant take on European Roots music for quite a few years. They are a six-piece line up featuring Accordeon or Pipes, Fiddle, Saxes, Guitars, Congas and Bass. The have got subtle rhythms blended with the melodic tastes of Europe under-pinned by a very unique UK drive.
Spiro is an acoustic-folk four-piece band for people who can’t abide acoustic-folk four-pieces, and those who can. Guitar, mandolin, violin and accordion – if that’s enough for you, then enjoy your trad-folk ghetto. Intense and minimal, they roll out complex arrangements with such ease that you feel your heart lift a few inches above its normal resting place. This is folk music that would appeal to people who, on the whole, hate the very idea of folk music.
A UK based Alt-Americana quartet, with soaring vocals, infectious rhythms and blasts of slide guitar and banjo. Plying tales of lost love, revenge and rural homicide, The Cedars manage to straddle the divide between the dancehalls of the 20′s and 30′s and what’s going on in the scene right now.
The Scoville Units is a new celtic/bluegrass band featuring ex-members of Flook & Daily Planet. The combination of these internationally renowned Irish musicians and a more improvisational approach to traditional music proved a hit and took all involved into surprisingly uncharted musical territory.
Sheelanagig have been honing their eclectic blend of folk, jazz and world music since early 2005. The band have developed a devoted following with three album releases and a hectic touring schedule. The five members of Sheelanagig bring a wide range of musical backgrounds to the band’s unique sound, and are united by their commitment to energetic performance with the highest quality instrumental music.
Dogan Mehmet creates an Anglo-Turkish, Gypsy-Punk style mix of traditions and strong acoustic grooves. A diverse mixture of Southern English and Turkish folk songs, self-penned material and driven tunes from English Morris as well as Cypriot traditions give Dogan his own captivating sound. His talent and confidence belie his young age and he makes a storm wherever he goes with his effervescent personality and huge enthusiasm for life and for his music.
Accordionist Phil Cunningham and Shetland fiddler Aly Bain have recorded several fine albums together exploring the richness and variety of Scotland’s traditional tune heritage.
Monster Ceilidh Band is a Newcastle-based ceilidh band fusing the traditional with the modern. Beginning as a humble ceilidh band, they used their collected knowledge of different styles and genres to form new ways of playing traditional and contemporary music. Drawing on a wealth of combined knowledge they excite, uplift and entertain masterfully. Elegant traditional playing versus raucous rave-like rhythms reveals arrangements to ignite the dance floor.
Chris Wood plays fiddle, viola and guitar, and sings. He is an ardent enthusiast for traditional English dance music (with a background in English church music), including Morris and other rituals and ceremonies, but his repertoire also includes much French folk music and traditional Québécois material. One of his first recordings was playing bass and percussion on “Jack’s Alive” (1980) the first album by the Oysterband (at that time called the Oyster Ceilidh Band).
Mawkin:Causley is a collaborative effort made up of Jim Causley (folk singer, songwriter and musician from East Devon) and Mawkin (Essex instrumental quartet).
Over a 27-year career, Chumbawamba plays music ranging from anarcho-punk, pop-influenced dance music, a cappella/choral music and world music to acoustic folk music. They have taken influence from anarchist politics and exhibit an irreverent attitude toward authority, touching on issues such as domestic violence, religion, racism, fascism, war, homosexuality, information technology, pop culture, pornography, resistance, working class rights, and consumerism.
The Men They Couldn’t Hang (TMTCH) are a British rock band whose mixture of folk and punk is not dissimilar to that of The Pogues (in fact founder member Shanne Bradley was an original female punk artist and founder of Shane MacGowan’s first band, The Nipple Erectors).
