WEIRDSHIRE presents Steve Ashley

Steve Ashley is one of the best singer songwriters around. And original folkster from the 60s who played with Shirley Collins, Ashley Hutchings, Ragged Robin. Taking his inspiration from English traditional songs, Ashley has developed a songwriting style which is contemporary in content while reflecting traditional influences in his melodies, poetry and vocal delivery. His songs, old and new, still relevant in today's society. Expect humour, great guitaring, and beautiful songs.

ALULA DOWN (Kate Gathercole & Mark Waters) make music that is born of relationship, exploring connection with the land and with the magical and ordinariness of our human-being - treating the ecology of place as a point of communion. They make use of collage, improvisation and field recording. Their explorations of folk song and their own self written songs are underpinned with drone and textured soundscape. Recognising that many traditional / vernacular (folk) songs illuminate dispossession and inequality, Alula Down explore these divisions between self and other.

Recent musical collaborations include work with multi-award winning author Max Porter, and playing with celebrated banjo player Jacken Elswyth on her album At Fargrounds.

Jude Rogers, The Guardian, Folk Album of the Month, August 2020: Echoing rain blends with shuddering drones and lyrics. Post-rock and ambient fans will relish the shape-shifting textures. Gathercole's voice is featherlight and meaningful, recalling Vashti Bunyan and late 60s private-press folk, tethering the listener to every syllable.

Byron Coley in The Wire, October 2024, reviewing here i am where i must be : gorgeous folky brunt. Brilliant music.