Fay’s first two solo albums, Looking Glass (2010) and Orfeo (2012), were released by prestigious folk label Topic Records. They won Fay many accolades as well as a nomination for the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Fay’s choice of material and the delivery of it, reflect a rare sensitivity and appreciation of the tradition whilst remaining naturalistic and highly distinctive.
As well as her burgeoning performance career, Fay is also an academic, lecturing in Music at the University of Sheffield, specialising in the role folk music plays in the construction of communities. With her unique combination of performance and academic talents, it was perhaps inevitable that she would take the initiative with The Full English, a groundbreaking project sponsored by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. For the first time many of the finest early 20th century folksong collections can be found in the most comprehensive searchable database of British folk songs, tunes, dances and customs in the world. To mark the launch of the project, Fay assembled The Full English Band, pulling together half a dozen of the top talents on the English folk music circuit for an evening of songs and tunes drawn from these unique collections. They include legendary players Seth Lakeman, Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr, Sam Sweeney, Rob Harbron and double bassist Ben Nicholls. This super group toured for 2 years including many major festivals and released a self-titled album, again on Topic Records in 2013, winning Best Group and Best Album at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and earning Fay a nomination for Folk Singer of the Year.
Following on from the success of The Full English, Fay moved forward as a leading proponent of traditional songs and released a solo album titled. “Old Adam”. This fresh and original exploration of how we use songs, stories and music to understand what it means to be human combines vision, inspiration, dedication and outstanding musicianship to draw an act of tender poignancy.
Returning back to the live stage after a few years out, Fay teams up once again with Sam Sweeney and Rob Harbron to tour her new album, Wrackline.
Exploring ideas of the space between, Wrackline looks to ghosts, fairies, spirits and talking animals to understand what it is about the unknown that entrances us. Working with traditional materials and ideas, Fay explores the feelings they evoke and how they relate to her experience in the contemporary world. Universal ideas of death, love, motherhood echo through time and space. Playing with these difficult ideas through the eyes of an unobtainable other, whether that be the spirit of a dearly departed, a fairy from another realm, or the thoughts animals have, gives us space to work through very real social problems.
Shifting between lighthearted stories about drunks sitting with pigs, to darker questions about infanticide, Fay breaths life and meaning into old stories presenting them with a fresh twist and consummate musicianship from Sweeney and Harbron including fiddle, concertina, guitar and banjo.
Expect to be enveloped in music, woven through magical stories and teased into thinking about your relationship with the world around you.
£16
Please note, online bookings are subject to a booking fee. Tickets can also be bought by phone on 01729 825718, or in person at our box office. Opening hours are 10am-2pm, Monday-Friday.
Show end times given are an estimate only. Doors open 45 minutes before show start times.