Jez Lowe’s band, The Bad Pennies, have been one of the high points of the international folk scene for over a decade, frequently touring to the USA, Canada, Australia and beyond! This time they are touring Jez Lowe’s new studio album ‘Jack Common’s Anthem’ as well as a prestigious back catalogue of classics.

Jez Lowe was recently described as ‘one of our best songwriters’ by BBC Radio 2 and his songwriting work for the BBC ‘Radio Ballads’ series was honoured by a SONY Radio Academy Award. In December 2007 he was nominated for the BBC Radio Folk Awards as ‘Folksinger of the Year’.

His lively, toe-tapping melodies and bittersweet lyrics are complemented by the excellent band line-up of Kate Bramley (fiddle/ duet vocals), Tyneside champion Northumbrian piper Andy May (pipes, whistles, piano) and fretless bass supremo David de la Haye (bass/ vocals).

Bad Pennies pic by Alan Bennington

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Gerry Ryan performs solo but most often appears around the Greater Boston area in the folk duo, Ryan & Ortolani. Performing together since the turn of the century, R & O are a versatile group who combine decades of musical experience to produce some of the sweetest harmonic and rhythmic sounds around. You may hear catchy original tunes, American acoustic classics, country blues, Celtic covers, swing and jazz standards . . . depending on their mood and what their audience wants to hear.

Some of the greatest contemporary English folk songs since early Richard Thompson are coming from the pen of Jez Lowe. Boston Globe

the best songwriter to come out of England in a long time Richard Thompson

first rate musicians combine to produce the special moments that are difficult to define but easy to experience The Living Tradition

musical variety, passion, intelligence, keen observation and instantly memorable tunes F-Roots