Steve Tilston has been a much respected songwriter on the British folk scene since the seventies so it was little surprise he picked up a best original song gong at the BBC Radio 2 awards.
The judges loved his brilliant guitar playing and typically astute lyrics on the title track of his critically acclaimed new album ‘The Reckoning’, which is a real return to form.
Steve has long been resident in folk capital Hebden Bridge, and to celebrate his win he plays a gig with the equally legendary New Orleons troubadour Chris Smither at the Pennine town’s Trades Club on Thursday 8 March
Chris Smither also made his name in the seventies as one of a top class group of American songwriters that emerged in that period, but he is a live performer with his own very distinctive musical style that crosses the lines between blues and folk.
The Trades Club was an outpost of British folk putting on acts when this very British idiom was in the doldrums, and are now reaping the rewards for keeping the faith as Radio 2 Folk Award winners, young and old, flock to the venue.
Next up is Tim Edey and Brendan Power’s powerful blend of passion and virtuosity that is notoriously infectious on stage, so it was wasn’t a massive shock when they won the best duo at the Folk Awards. Accordion and guitar virtuoso Tim also picked up an extra prize as musician of the year, and they’re at the Trades on Thursday 16 February.
One the main reasons they won was because unlike many folk/Celtic acts they take a free-wheeling approach to live performance, loving to improvise, which means that every time they do a piece it sounds different and fresh.
Lucy Ward’s blue hair certainly sets her apart from the folk establishment who were still happy to hand her the Horizon Award for best newcomer, and she plays an intimate show at the club on Thursday 12th April.
She might have been voted best newcomer but Lucy’s success is based on hard graft around the live circuit supporting top folk artists including Seth Lakeman, Chris Wood, Dave Swarbrick and The Oysterband,
Lucy has now gone on to become a headline act in her own right at festivals and clubs all over the country. She crowned a hugely successful 2011 festival season with a stand-out performance and a standing ovation from a full house at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival.