For more details contact Andy Dwyer on 07709904836  or email dwyer40@yahoo.co.uk

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John and Barry are a unique collaboration. Coope is a member of celebrated acappella group CBS. Tams has won six BBC Folk Awards, and as Series Music Editor he collected a Sony Gold Award for the 2006 Radio Ballads and co-wrote the music. He appeared as Daniel Hagman in the entire five series of ITV’s Sharpe and is also is the Songmaker on the West End and Broadway smash hit War Horse. He had the additional honour of being invited to work as a Consultant alongside Steven Spielberg and John Williams for the movie. He reformed his band Home Service and played most of the major festivals in 2011, resulting in two nominations for Best Group and Best Live Act at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Together John and Barry bring experience, innovation and tradition to their humorous and captivating performances. In 2008 John and Barry won the prestigious Duo of the Year trophy at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

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One of folk music’s great partnerships, Nancy and James celebrate 15 years on the road in 2012. In that time they have won three BBC Folk Awards including the very first Best Duo award in 2003, a feat they repeated in 2011. In December 2011 Gareth Malone chose their arrangement of Dance To Your Daddy as his Radio 4 inheritance track. English fiddler and singer Nancy Kerr came to prominence in her groundbreaking duo with Eliza Carthy before meeting Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist James Fagan in 1995. They released their first CD in 1997 and have toured internationally ever since. They have played just about every folk club and festival in Britain on a regular basis, and are well-loved for their joyful and powerful live performances. Their fifth album Twice Reflected Sun was entirely self-written and was very well received.

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Miranda Sykes works alongside some of the finest musicians in the world. She has been performing with Show of Hands since 2004, augmenting their sound with her powerful double bass and rich harmonies. She slips easily between musical genres as diverse as folk, jazz and rock/pop and continues to build a repertoire of contemporary and narrative songs that are showcased to critical acclaim in her most recent, unique collaboration with Rex Preston. Rex was last seen on the folk and acoustic scene when his band Jane on Thunder reached the final of The BBC Young Folk Awards. Since then he has been building a strong portfolio of electronic music. This duo’s eagerly awaited debut album is a beautiful collection of 12 tracks released October 2011 and the unusual pairing of double bass and mandolin has a timeless feel and universal appeal.

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“Dougie MacLean is Scotland’s pre-eminent singer-songwriter and a national musical treasure” (SingOut USA) who has developed a unique blend of lyrical, ‘roots based’ songwriting and instrumental composition. Internationally renowned for his song Caledonia, music for Last of the Mohicans and inspired performances, Dougie performs in a favourite venue. His songs have been covered by Paolo Nutini, Amy MacDonald, Ronan Keating, Mary Black, Frankie Miller, Cara Dillon, Kathy Mattea and many other top performers. Recently received two prestigious Tartan Clef Awards, a place in the Scottish Music Hall of Fame and an OBE in the New Year Honours list!

“A musical hero” Wall Street Journal

www.dougiemaclean.com

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23rd April 2012 at 8:00 pm – FREE ENTRY but please contribute to the chosen charity the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Bring your own drinks. Arrive 7:45 for 8:00 pm start.

MORE NAMES ANNOUNCED:

James Vincent McMorrow (Fri) Nanci Griffith (Sat) Keb Mo Band (Sat)

Steve Tilston (Fri) The Destroyers (Fri) Phantom Limb (Sat)

Naomi Bedford (Thurs) Steamchicken (Fri) Polly Paulusma (Thurs)

 CLUB TENT SHOWCASES:

Lucy Ward (Fri) Rachel Sermanni (Sat) O’Hooley & Tidow (Sat)

Pilgrims’ Way (Sun) The Young’uns (Sun)

 THE DEN (EMERGING TALENT STAGE):

Skinny Lister (Thurs) Liz Green (Fri)

King Charles (acoustic) (Sat) Moulettes (Sun)

 PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED NAMES:

Clannad ♦ Joan Armatrading ♦The Proclaimers ♦ John Prine

Loreena McKennitt ♦ June Tabor & Oysterband ♦ Roy Harper ♦ Angelique Kidjo

Billy Bragg celebrates Woody Guthrie’s 100^th Birthday

The Unthanks with Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band

Seth Lakeman ♦ Nic Jones ♦ Lau ♦ Gretchen Peters ♦ Ruthie Foster

Karine Polwart ♦ Four Men & A Dog ♦ Dry the River

Benjamin Francis Leftwich ♦ Treacherous Orchestra ♦ Raghu Dixit ♦

Pine Leaf Boys ♦ The Unwanted ♦ Jim Moray’s Silent Ceilidh ♦

Tim Edey & Brendan Power ♦ Anaïs Mitchell ♦ JuJu ♦ Lazy Lester & Friends

Brian McNeill ♦ Megson ♦ Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party ♦ The Staves

Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson Band ♦ ahab ♦ Habadekuk

Blackbeard’s Tea Party ♦ Lera Lynn ♦ Ioscaid

 The latest names to be revealed for Europe’s most famous folk festival are brilliant Irish singer–songwriter James Vincent McMorrow ♦ renowned Texan storyteller and Grammy Award winner Nanci Griffith ♦ soul, blues, R&B and more from leading U.S. exponents Keb Mo Band ♦ English folk singer-songwriter Steve Tilston, recipient of this year’s BBC Folk Award for Best Original Song ♦ 15-piece megafolk band from Birmingham The Destroyers ♦ Phantom Limb, exploring the crossroads between country music and old-style R&B ♦ haunting vocalist Naomi Bedford, described as “An English Emmylou” by Justin Currie of Del Amitri ♦ jazz, folk and American hoe-down from Steamchicken, leading the children’s ceilidh ♦ Cambridge-based singer-songwriter Polly Paulusma.

Each year the Festival selects five up and coming artists it identifies as future stars of folk to play prestigious showcases in the Club Tent. Previous examples include Seth Lakeman, Newton Faulkner, Karine Polwart, Rachel Unthank, Julie Fowlis, Bella Hardy, Jackie Oates and Jim Moray.

This year’s selections are: Lucy Ward, Horizon winner at the 2012 BBC Folk Awards ♦ gifted young Scottish singer and songwriter Rachel Sermanni, playing an acoustic set ♦ pioneers of ‘chamber folk’ O’Hooley & Tidow, whose debut album made Mojo’s Top Ten Folk Albums of 2010 ♦ Pilgrims’ Way, who describe themselves as “refreshingly different, reassuringly traditional” ♦ close harmony 3-piece The Young’uns, from Teeside.

Acclaimed new, fourth stage The Den, introduced last year, will host emerging talent over the Festival weekend including: hotly tipped folk punk five-piece Skinny Lister ♦ sensational one-off talent, blues-inspired Liz Green ♦ alt-folk pop singer-songwriter King Charles, playing an acoustic set ♦ indiosyncratic, UK quintet Moulettes, blending folk, jazz, rock and classical music.

Online booking and information: www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk

Phone booking: 01223 357851

Tickets: Full Festival £120; Thursday £19; Friday £41; Saturday £52; Sunday £52. Camping: (Full Festival tickets only, per 2-3 berth tent) Cherry Hinton £52, Coldhams Common £36 (second site).

Online bookings subject to booking fee.

Cambridge Folk Festival is organised and promoted by Cambridge City Council.

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The Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, now in its 9th year of touring, is a band like no other. With a touring line up of 40 players this unique ensemble has an energy and power that is unrivalled; it has to be seen to be believed. Using players from the prestigious Birmingham Conservatoire ensures that the standard of musicianship is top drawer and being led by folk fiddler Joe Broughton means the music has the feel of a spontaneous folk orchestra and a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

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Les Barker writes strange poems and comes originally from Manchester, but he’s now Welsh. He’s written 77 books, which sell in large numbers at his gigs because people don’t quite believe what they’ve just heard. His poems have spawned a number of folk heroes: Jason and the Arguments, Cosmo the Fairly Accurate Knife Thrower, Captain Indecisive and Spot of the Antarctic, to name but two.

Les began his career as assistant to Mrs Ackroyd, a small hairy mongrel who lay around in folk clubs, bit people and became famous. The Mrs Ackroyd Band gradually evolved from an ever-changing who’s who of the folk scene into a tightly knit, well-rehearsed group. The band – supplemented by guest members such as June Tabor and Martin Allcock has released five albums and Les has several solo albums to his credit. His serious songs have also featured on albums by Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, and by June Tabor. June invariably includes a  mattering of his serious and comic songs in her live performances. The Kingston Trio and Tom Paxton have also recorded his songs.

He’s very diffcult to describe. But there’s only one of him. Come and see him (and buy some of his books).

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