Events
** PLEASE NOTE: This show will take place at our alternative home for the evening: THE WATER RATS, 328 Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross, WC1X 8BZ. Doors open 7.30pm. Music starts 8.15pm. **
RACHAEL McSHANE: Rachael McShane is a renowned folk singer, cellist, fiddle and viola player from the North East of England. She gained fame as an original member of the award-winning folk big band Bellowhead, touring with them extensively and making a number of television appearances. The band recorded five studio albums and, together, they won a staggering total of 8 BBC Folk Awards. Parting ways in 2016, the band returned in 2022 for a series of ecstatically-received performances that reminded audiences of their unique alchemy, energy and talent.
Away from her Bellowhead fame, Rachael is a much sought-after performer and record- ing artist. Her debut solo album, No Man’s Fool arrived in 2009 via Navigator Records, establishing impressive credentials that eventually led her to signing with the prestigious Topic Records, the oldest independent record label in the world. She also is the leader of The Cartographers, a band that have garnered a loyal following thanks to their impressive live performances and critically acclaimed debut album, When All Is Still (2018).
Uncharted, the long awaited new album from Rachael McShane & The Cartographers is due to be released in Spring 2025 and features the exceptional talents of guitarist Ian Stephenson (Kan, Baltic Crossing), and melodeon player Julian Sutton (Kathryn Tickell, Sting). Andy May (Andy May Trio, Jez, Lowe) joins them for a few numbers on piano and a host of friends from the folk scene add backing vocals along the way. Their music is a powerful blend of traditional folk and contemporary sounds, with Rachael’s stunning voice and instrumental skills leading the line.
With her extensive experience and formidable talent, Rachael McShane is a sought- after performer and workshop leader.
“You’re in the presence of something very special…what a voice” BBC Music
**** “A delight” R2 Magazine
**** “Delivered with such rebellious verve and wit – they are a life-affirming joy” Songlines
Support from HANNAH SCOTT: The best stories elicit profound personal reactions and in the 15 years she has been writing and performing, Hannah Scott has become a consummate storyteller. Her music is shaped by human stories, with family, in all its chaos and glory, sitting at the heart of her work. Her lyrics are powerful and poignant, and her voice feels strangely familiar, though you can’t quite put your finger on why. Her writing may be deeply personal but her music has a universal appeal that extends beyond the melodies you catch yourself humming days after listening to her songs.
Born in Suffolk and raised by an artist mother and an eccentric entertainer father, with music going back three generations to her songwriting great-grandmother, creativity was always destined to be an integral part of Hannah’s life. At the age of four, her father bought a second-hand piano for £70 from a friend in the pub and she didn’t look back, falling in love with both playing and listening to classical music. Picking up a guitar in her early teens as the influence of her peers and more contemporary music took hold, Hannah taught herself some simple chords that would lay the foundation for her earliest attempts at songwriting.
Career highlights include having her song No Gravity featured on the hit international TV series Grey’s Anatomy, recording a live session on BBC Radio 2 with Dermot O’Leary and opening for Madeleine Peyroux, performing to an audience of two thousand. She has also shared the stage with folk luminaries such as Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon and Fairport Convention and has performed at festivals including Cambridge, Sidmouth and Manchester Folk. Equally at home in small venues, she thrives on the intimacy of performing in spaces where she can look audience members in the eye.
“She reduces women and children to tears – in a good way…” The Guardian
“…and grown men.” Tom Besford, English Folk Expo & Richard Haswell, Liverpool Philharmonic
“This is beautiful.” Dermot O’Leary, BBC Radio 2
“Wonderful songwriting.” Seth Lakeman
“She screams class but in the quietest way possible.” Folking.com
