Our virtual festival in October 2020 was a great success! Thanks to all those who tuned in, took a workshop, donated, commented, shared social media posts and completed the feedback survey! You can watch both concerts again at our YouTube channel: the Saturday concert is here and the Sunday concert is here. Massive thanks again to Arts Council England for the funding support.
SATURDAY 24th OCTOBER – RUNNING ORDER
The Honey Dewdrops – 7pm UK (Saturday)
With gorgeous vocal harmonies and exquisite musicianship on acoustic guitars, clawhammer banjo and mandolin, The Honey Dewdrops treat listeners to a raft of memorable, beautifully performed songs. This Baltimore-based duo is undeniably steeped in folk, bluegrass and old-time country, yet manages to gracefully encompass both traditional and modern elements in their music. With five albums to their credit, including 2019’s acclaimed Anyone Can See, The Honey Dewdrops have been touring for over 10 years. Their 2020 UK tour was postponed to 2021 and we’re so happy that they’ll be performing at our virtual festival.
Mishra – 7.45pm UK (Saturday)
Blending influences from UK folk, Indian music and Americana, Sheffield-based duo Mishra weave an enchanting web of intricate music. Led by Kate Griffin’s gorgeous voice and inimitable clawhammer banjo, Mishra’s sound is driven by Ford Collier’s instrumental skills on Indian tabla, African calabash, Irish whistle and guitar. Both Griffin and Collier have each been shortlisted for BBC Radio Two’s Young Folk Awards with previous projects, and their 2019 debut album The Loft Tapes received glowing reviews.
George Jackson & Rachel Baiman – 8.30pm UK (Saturday)
George Jackson is an exceptional fiddler, originally from New Zealand, who was due to make his UK touring debut with his full band this September. The George Jackson Band specialises in rollicking old time fiddle tunes and classic bluegrass songs. George is also a skilled tune writer, and the fiddle tune Dorrigo, from his debut album of originals, went somewhat viral in 2019, with people around the world learning, recording and posting their own versions of it. Rachel Baiman is an outstanding American songwriter, singer and musician who has toured internationally with her own band and as one half of the duo 10 String Symphony. Rachel and George will perform a mix of evocative songs and foot-tapping Appalachian tunes from their home in Tennessee.
Stillhouse Junkies – 9.15pm UK (Saturday)
Fun and fiery trio Stillhouse Junkies hail from Durango, Colorado and perform an entertaining mix of bluegrass, Western Swing and acoustic country. Combining outstanding musicianship with a lively stage presence, they’ve met with increasing success over the last couple of years, performing at venues and festivals across the USA and releasing their second album in early 2020. Stillhouse Junkies were also booked to perform an extensive UK debut tour this spring before the Coronavirus crisis hit. Fred Kosak (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Alissa Wolf (fiddle/vocals), and Cody Tinnin (double bass/banjo/vocals) have built up an eclectic catalogue of fine original music, much of it evoking the spirit of their corner of the Southwestern USA.
SUNDAY 25th OCTOBER – RUNNING ORDER
Vera van Heeringen & Jock Tyldesley – 7pm UK (Sunday)
Jock and Vera are acclaimed musicians both well known on the UK folk and bluegrass scenes. Dutch-born Vera van Heeringen is an exceptional guitarist, singer and songwriter who has released three solo albums to date and tours regularly with her own trio. Jock Tyldesley is an acclaimed fiddler in the Appalachian and Cajun styles as well as a skilled clawhammer banjoist. He toured for many years with the New Rope String Band and has performed and recorded with luminaries including Dirk Powell and Martha Scanlan. Together, Jock and Vera perform a compelling blend of folk, Americana, old time and Cajun music.
Jake Blount – 7.45pm UK (Sunday)
Jake Blount is an award-winning young African-American banjoist, fiddler, singer and scholar whose work shines a light on the major contributions that Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ artists have made to traditional music. He has toured internationally with his duo Tui and the band The Moose Whisperers, and recently released his debut full length solo album Spider Tales to great acclaim. Jake is a Board member of Bluegrass Pride, a California-based non-profit which seeks to make bluegrass and folk music more inclusive and welcoming to all. Just a few days ago, Jake was named as one of the 2020 winners of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, a prestigious award now overseen by the Freshgrass Foundation! Jake’s a rising star, and we’re so pleased to have him perform for us.
Bill and the Belles (duo) – 8.30pm UK (Sunday)
Performing here as a duo, Bill and the Belles are influenced by classic country, bluegrass and old time music. Featuring smooth vocal harmonies and exquisite musicianship, their vintage persona is rooted in the music of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Kris Truelsen (lead vocals/guitar) is an outstanding musician, songwriter, organiser and radio producer and presenter. He was awarded the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2020 Industry Involvement award for his wide-ranging music and community work. The equally talented Kalia Yeagle is an exceptional fiddler and singer. Alaska-born Kalia is also a lecturer in old time music at East Tennessee State University.
The Horsenecks – 9.15pm UK (Sunday)
Talented transatlantic duo The Horsenecks comprises the UK’s Barry Southern (banjo, guitar) and Oregon-born Gabrielle Macrae (fiddle, clawhammer banjo, guitar). They often tour in a four-piece band format and performed a brilliant concert for us here in Huddersfield back in 2017. Both Gabrielle and Barry are exceptional musicians, great singers and experienced music tutors, and are steeped in old time Appalachian and bluegrass traditions. Their third album (their first duo release) is due out later this year. Gabrielle is a top class fiddler and clawhammer banjoist, and Barry is the master of the five-string banjo (both bluegrass and clawhammer styles) and a great guitarist too. We’re delighted to have them as part of our programme.
Fall into Autumn Virtual Festival – participatory workshops
One of the things we really miss about real-life music is the life-affirming human connection, whether it’s jamming knee-to-knee at a festival, singing along at an intimate gig or learning at the feet of a musical master. We can’t wait for those days to return but in the meantime, the internet provides the next best thing – the opportunity to gather together (safely) and connect virtually! We are delighted to present three workshops for you to participate in over the course of our Virtual Festival weekend, to learn from some of the finest music and dance practitioners we have the pleasure to know. All workshops will be delivered on the Zoom platform, and tickets are available now via Wegottickets (see links below).
Please note timings – clocks change in the UK (but not the USA) THIS weekend, so UK time is 5 hours ahead of Eastern USA on Saturday, and only 4 hours ahead of Eastern on Sunday.
Songwriting with The Small Glories
(Sat 24th Oct, 4pm -5.30pm UK/11am-12.30pm EDT)
Hailing from Canada, Cara Luft and JD Edwards have built up a faithful following in the UK with their powerhouse Americana/folk duo The Small Glories. Their awards include Contemporary Album of the Year and Ensemble of the Year at the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards and Folk Alliance International’s 2019 Artist of the Year. These two impressive singer-songwriters will break down a couple of their songs and discuss the songwriting process, with opportunities for Q&A by the participants. A great chance to pick up songwriting tips from two of the best!
Flatpicking guitar with Charlotte Carrivick
(Sun 25th Oct, 2pm – 3.15pm UK/10am – 11.15am EDT)
Gifted multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Carrivick has been performing since a young age and has been a fixture on the UK folk and bluegrass scenes for over a decade, performing with her projects The Carrivick Sisters (2010 BBC Young Folk Awards finalists), Midnight Skyracer, Cardboard Fox and her duo with fiddler Kieran Towers. Midnight Skyracer were signed to Island Records earlier this year and have been nominated twice for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Band Momentum Award, the first non-USA artist to achieve this recognition! Charlotte is an experienced tutor and has taught both individual and group lessons for many years. Her workshop will look at the flatpicking technique used in bluegrass and how to play fiddle tunes on the acoustic guitar.
Percussive dance with Evie Ladin
(Sun 25th Oct, 4pm – 5.15pm UK/12pm noon – 1.15pm EDT)
Evie Ladin is a multi-talented clogger, banjoist, singer and songwriter, and a leading practitioner of body percussion along with her husband and duo partner Keith Terry. Evie and Keith have run the International Body Music Festival for over a decade. Evie is also the leader and choreographer of all-female California percussive dance company MoToR/dance. She will lead a percussive dance workshop based on MoToR/dance’s fantastic piece The Storm, the short film of which is coincidentally being featured in the San Francisco Dance Film Festival in the same week as our event!
With funding support from Arts Council England
We also want to acknowledge the generous support of Arts Council England who have awarded us some funding from the Project Grants: Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund. Huge thanks to them for this support, which is absolutely vital to help True North Music to survive this time of no real-life tours and concerts, and adapt to producing online events. It will enable us to pay all participating musicians a reasonable guaranteed fee. We’ll also be requesting donations to enable us to balance our budget and pay the artists as much as possible – so please make a donation if you have the means.