It was lovely seeing people at Sharper Than concerts in June – we shared some cracking music, so many thanks for coming out and supporting.  The summer is always a bit of a quieter time … but not everyone goes away, so if you are within reach of The Hearth Arts Centre, Horsley on Friday 2 August, […]

Broom Bezzums have some exciting news! Their song, Keep Hauling, which appears on No Smaller Than The World, has been taken up by Fisherman’s Friends as the title track of their forthcoming album. And it’s no ordinary album too, as it is also the soundtrack of the upcoming feature film entitled  Fisherman’s Friends, based on […]

Dan Walsh and Alistair Anderson have just completed a Highlights rural tour taking in Northumberland, Cumbria and Co. Durham and the audience reaction  has been very enthusiastic. Most shows  sold out. A sample of audience comments from the first night in Wooler, Northumberland, showed people’s appreciation of being part of a community and being brought […]

Will Pound’s Through the Seasons  –  The Music of Morris and Folk Dance  with Will Pound, Ross Grant, Benji Kirkpatrick and Debs Newbold We’re delighted to announce that storyteller Debs Newbold will be part of this Arts Council-funded show, weaving in her spoken magic to the songs and tunes provided by Will, Ross and Benji. […]

Alistair Anderson & NORTHLANDS  featured on the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show in a live session on Wednesday  18 October! You can hear this again here  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b097ydt6 Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings and Georgia Lewis also feature live in this lovely varied show, which was heralding the brand new Manchester Folk Festival,  so it is well worth […]

Bottle Bank Band play 3 concerts  at the end of September, in Hexham, Thropton and Wark. Each venue is very different but all will resound with the warm and vibrant sound of the four fiddles in the band’s trademark sound of rich and complex harmonies. The band recently performed to a sell-out audience at The […]

Northumberland musical genius meets banjo wizard: Alistair Anderson and Dan Walsh launch their first CD The combination of English concertina and clawhammer banjo seems unlikely – but in the hands of Alistair Anderson and Dan Walsh it becomes a mesmerising force, concertina rising high over banjo riffs, or the two instruments keeping pace note for […]

Alistair Anderson & Northlands embark on a short  North East  tour  from 12 – 15 July and alongside them will be the sparkling youth folk ensemble Folkestra.   They visit Morpeth, Washington, Barnard Castle and Gateshead, performing public evening concerts and visiting schools during several of the day times. The tour, organised by Sage Gateshead, […]

Because I can’t resist the adrenaline rush (and nail-biting anxiety) of putting on live music events myself, I’ve got two coming up in the next few months featuring very different artists: Basco  – and Dan Walsh & Alistair Anderson. Friday 9 June  (day after the election so we will NEED this) sees Basco – the fiddle-scraping, […]

Very excited to announced that Alistair Anderson & Northland’s first CD is out Saturday 7 January.  It contains 12 tracks and is a fine mix of songs and instrumental sets. The short series of gigs the band performed in November were very well received by the audiences who got to hear all of the album tracks […]

Footage here from a session recorded earlier in the summer that wasn’t broadcast at the time as there was so much news happening!  Very glad they found a space to include it in September! http://www.thenordicfiddlersbloc.com/js_videos/appearance-on-the-andrew-marr-show-on-bbc/

Another hugely talented act has joined the Sharper Than fold.  Will Pound and Eddy Jay are one of the most exciting new duos performing at the moment and they come fresh from a busy summer of festivals where they have gained wide acclaim and many new fans –  and with a brand new album, Ignite, […]

Bottle Bank Band have launch their first CD in a series of sparkling concerts in June and they are looking for last minute gigs in November 2016 as well as further dates in February 2017 to bring their fabulous fiddle harmonies to a wider audience.   Several tracks can be found here http://bottlebankband.co.uk/index.php/js_albums/test-album/

The first artists are announced for Shepley Spring Festival 2017. Coope Boyes and Simpson, East Pointers, O’Hooley and Tidow, Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, Tim Edey. https://www.facebook.com/ShepleySpringFestival

Sharper Than artists feature in this year’s Allen Valleys Folk Festival taking place in Allendale, Northumberland from  Friday 30 September to Sunday 2 October. There’s a great line-up overall – from local young bands such as Reely Ceol to Kathryn Tickell’s Superfolkus, Scottish bands Awry and Wayward Jane, to the Turbans’ Eastern European dance grooves. Alistair appears on […]