FolkWorld #78 07/2022
© Tønder Festival

Vi ses til Tønder Festival 2022!

Tønder Festival 2019

25 - 28 August 2022

Tønder Festival @ FROG

www.tf.dk

The final names have been added to the 2022 Tønder Festival roster. It’s hard to suppress our enthusiasm: all we had hoped for has become reality and the festival will roll! Almost 60 international and Danish bands and solo acts cover the time from Thursday 25 till Sunday 28 August 2022 on Tønder Festival’s many stages. Vi ses til Tønder Festival 2022!

Tønder Festival 2022: The Mavericks (USA), Madrugada (NO), Allison Russell (CAN), Keb’ Mo’ (USA), Cara Dillon (IRL), Eilen Jewell (USA), Cedric Burnside (USA), Michael McGoldrick (ENG), Red Hot Chilli Pipers (SCO), Katie Pruitt (USA), Tami Neilson (CAN/NZ), Lars Lilholt Band (DK), Siobhan Miller (SCO), The Ballroom Thieves (USA), Ian Noe (USA), Blue Rose Code (SCO), Blazin’ Fiddles (SCO), Bjørn Eidsvåg (NO), Dave Gunning (CAN), Saint Sister (IRL), The Henry Girls (IRL), The Once (CAN), Christopher Paul Stelling (USA), Sarah Hagen (CAN), Signe Svendsen (DK), Rikke Thomsen (DK), 9Bach (WAL), Ordinary Elephant (USA), Hymns from Nineveh (DK), Anna Tivel (USA), Jerron Paxton (USA), Del Barber (CAN), Jeffrey Martin (USA), Sean Rowe (USA), Rura (SCO), Hogslop String Band (USA), The Ghost of Paul Revere (USA), Ida Gard (DK), Som Os (DK), Calby (DK), Cóig (CAN), Connie Kaldor (CAN), Skerryvore (SCO), Efterklang med Sønderjysk Pigekor (DK), Irish Mythen (IRL), William Crighton (AUS), Hans Theessink & Knud Møller (NL, DK), Mick Flannery & Susan O´Neill (IRL), Amythyst Kiah (USA), Vincent Neil Emerson (USA), Margo Cilker (USA), Mike Elrington (AUS), Tide Lines (SCO), Fourth Moon (IT, FR, AT, SCO), Gumbo Grits & Gravy (USA), Niels Hausgaard (DK), MIKAEL K///KLONDYKE (DK), FolkBALTICA Ensemblet (DK, DE), Folk Spot Denmark (DK, SE, NO): Kajsa Balto, Barani, CPH Slim, Fionia Folk Brothers, Flach | Dillner, Grabow & Guldhammer, Jørgensen og Sørensen og Tone of Voice Orchestra.

Allison Russell

Artist Video Allison Russell @ FROG

www.allisonrussellmusic.com

Amythyst Kiah

Artist Video Amythyst Kiah @ FROG

www.amythystkiah.com

9Bach (WAL): “Music is a living thing, not a museum exhibit.” This from the Welsh group 9Bach, who, since 2005, have been delivering atmospheric music rooted in their local song traditions. The group was started by singer and pianist Lisa Jen and guitarist Martin Hoyland. The number 9 in the name – pronounced as in English – is a homophone for the North Welsh for grandmother. Lisa Jen’s songs are poetic blooms growing in a sound bed of rock elements mixed with electronic beats and loops. Lisa Jen has worked closely with Gruff Rhys from the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals, with whom Jen also has appeared live. 9Bach has made three studio albums on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label, and Gabriel himself sings on the track Deryn, on the 2016 album Anian. In 2015 the group’s Tincian album won the prestigious Best Album award at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their most recent release is the live album Ar Y 9 from 2019. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Allison Russell (CAN): It is not without a certain pride that Tønder Festival presents Allison Russell. In 2021, this Canadian songwriter and musician drew a deal of attention with her solo album Outside Child. Allison Russell was nominated for no fewer than three Grammy Awards in 2021, and she has won two UK Americana Music Awards, besides a series of other nominations, among them for the Polaris Music Prize and a Canadian Folk Music Awards. Outside Child, which has been seriously well reviewed, contains no-holds-barred songs detailing Allison Russell’s own experience of abuse as a child growing up in Montreal. Prior to releasing songs in her own name, Allison Russell, who sings, plays banjo and clarinet, has worked in several bands, such as Po’ Girls, formed in 2003, and the duo Birds of Chicago with her partner, JT Nero. Birds of Chicago appeared at Tønder Festival in 2019. Worth a mention, too, is the significant project Songs of Our Native Daughters, where Allison Russell played with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Leyla McCalla. Her only Danish festival appearance in 2022.

Anna Tivel

Artist Video Anna Tivel @ FROG

www.annativel.com

Amythyst Kiah (USA): A powerful, raw voice from Tennessee, original songs inspired by blues, country, oldtime and folk. Amythyst Kiah mixes traWith a powerful, raw voice from Tennessee, original songs inspired by blues, country, oldtime and folk, Amythyst Kiah mixes traditional music with elements of today’s R&B. “One of roots music’s most exciting new talents,” wrote Rolling Stone magazine of Amythyst Kiah. In the summer of 2021, she released her third album Wary + Strange, and she appears in the film documentary For Love & Country (Amazon Prime), about Afro-american country musicians and Nashville. One of the songs in the documentary is Black Myself, a song about identity and racism, Grammy nominated and written by Amythyst Kiah. It’s also on the album Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019), focussed on Afro-american women’s history and a cooperative effort with three other women singers: Rhiannon Giddens, co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leyla McCalla, who played Tønder Festival in 2017, and Allison Russell. Amythyst Kiah’s British tours have included performances at Celtic Connections and Cambridge Folk Festival. Here she is solo, her only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Anna Tivel (USA): Songwriter Anna Tivel comes from Portland, Oregon, USA and her original songs have attracted a great deal of attention. Music critics are taken with Anna Tivel’s knack of encompassing a lot of emotion in stories of quiet, ordinary lives, through characters her listeners recognise and remember. Anna Tivel has made five albums since 2014. The most recent is Blue World (2021), which is a re-recording of some of her previous releases. The songs on Blue World have gained a new lease of life, due to the altered reality of the corona lock-down. Anna Tivel’s last-but-one album, The Question, fra 2019, was recorded live in the studio by Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens) on the desk and produced by multi-instrumentalist Shane Leonard. This is the album the radiostation NPR called “one of the most ambitious folk records of 2019.” Of the recording process, Anna Tivel has said: “We just sat there and played together until the stories felt right. Then Brian pushed the ‘record’ button, and we tried to get the songs down in one or two takes.” Anna Tivel works closely with her colleague Jeffrey Martin, who also appears at Tønder Festival 2022. Jeffrey Martin joins Anna Tivel on stage, and she backs him at his concerts. Her only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Blazin’ Fiddles (SCO): When Blazin’ Fiddles began in 1998, the immediate plan was to demonstrate some of the many fiddle styles of the Scots Highland traditions. But the band met such approval that they decided to continue. As the name indicates, fiddles are to the fore, and in Blazin’ Fiddles they are played by Jenna Reid, Bruce MacGregor, Rua Macmillan and Kristan Harvey, each representing a traditional style from their respective home regions. On piano it’s Angus Lyon, on guitar Anna Massie, familiar from her previous appearances at Tønder Festival, supplying eminent back-up to Blazin’ Fiddles’ many violins. The repertoire covers both traditional and newly-composed music, delivered with an intensity and power that comes from four top violinists on stage. Blazin’ Fiddles have made seven albums, the most recent being The Key from 2017. The band has been on the concert trail, touring with, among others, Karen Matheson and Emily Smith as special guests. The band have won several prizes, among them three at Scots Trad Music Awards: Live Act of the Year, Album of the Year and Folk Band of The Year. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Blue Rose Code (SCO): Blue Rose Code is the Scots singer, songwriter and guitarist Ross Wilson. He taps into many styles – folk, jazz, pop and soul. Critics praise Blue Rose Code, comparing him to John Martyn, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Jackson Browne. The Water of Leith, from 2017, is studio album number four from Blue Rose Code, with guest spots by some of Scotland’s finest musicians, among them Julie Fowlis, Kathleen MacInnes and Ross Ainslie. The American songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is also on the list. His previous albums have drawn admiration, in particular The Ballads of Peckham Rye, which was nominated as Scottish Album of the Year in 2014. Ross Wilson has been very productive in recent years and has established himself as one of Scotland’s strongest voices. His most recent release is Live at Celtic Connections, recorded at the digital edition of the major Scots folk festival in 2021.With his Blue Rose Code band, he plays his only Danish festival concert at Tønder Festival 2022.

Cara Dillon (IRL): One of Ireland’s great singers, Cara Dillon, who has sung at Tønder festival before, is a feted and cherished voice in Irish folk music. At the early age of 14 she won the prestigious All-Ireland Singing Trophy, recognising her shining talent. In the years that followed, Cara Dillon performed in many contexts, among them with the world famous band De Dannan. Aged 19, in1995, Cara Dillon joined the group Equation, with the Lakeman brothers Sean, Seth and Sam, and Kathryn Roberts. Though she did not stay long with Equation, Cara Dillon ended up marrying Sam Lakeman, who is also her musical partner. Cara Dillon’s solo debut album Cara Dillon from 2001 was a great success, leading to tours of Europe, USA, Australia, Japan and China. Subsequent releases established Cara Dillon’s musical achievements, including many awards and nominations up through the noughties, culminating in the album Hill of Thieves (2009), which was crowned Album of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. A BBC reviewer wrote, “Dillon’s crystalline, angelic voice is an instrument of rare beauty, capable of melting the hardest heart.” Cara Dillon with band and her only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Christopher Paul Stelling

Artist Video Christopher Paul Stelling @ FROG

www.christopherpaulstelling.com

Christopher Paul Stelling (USA): Songwriter and guitarist Christopher Paul Stelling (born in 1982) is an actual travelling troubadour. Currently based in North Carolina, he has previously lived in New York City, Seattle and Colorado, and has spent recent years touring in numerous US states and in Europe. Christopher Paul Stelling’s masterful, melodic finger-picking guitar style perfectly supports his sensitive song narratives. He has made six albums since 2012. In September 2019 he released a single, Have To Do For Now, produced by fellow songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ben Harper. Among many glowing reviews for this American songwriter is this from radio station WNYC: “Christopher Paul Stelling’s musical narratives are a long journey full of lush ethnic, mythological and religious pictures.” The album Best Of Luck, which came out in February 2020, was also produced by Ben Harper, and his newest release, Forgiving It All was released in September 2021. Solo at Tønder Festival – and his only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Còig (CAN): The energetic Cape Breton tunes dance out of violinists Rachel Davis and Chrissy Crowley, multi-instrumentalist Darren McMullen and guitarist Zakk Cormier. Còig is one of the most interesting groups from the Canadian island that has also given us Tønder favourites such as Natalie MacMaster and Richard Wood. The speedy reels get the feet a-tapping, and the Scottish origins of this Cape Breton music are unmistakable when Còig give us a set of the classic dance tunes known as strathspeys. Còig (Gaelic for ‘five’) formed for the 2010 Celtic Colours festival, and in 2014, the group released their prize-winning debut album Five. In 2018, their record Rove won an East Coast Music Award and was nominated for a prestigious JUNO Award. Còig’s most recent album is called Ashlar (2019), which includes a set From The Old Tapes, tunes collected by Còig from the playing of the old masters of Cape Breton music. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Tone of Voice Orchestra

Artist Video Tone of Voice Orchestra @ FROG

www.fredriklundin.com

Dave Gunning (CAN): His latest album Up Against the Sky was nominated for four Canadian Folk Music Awards 2020, emphasising his position as one of Canada’s finest songwriters. Dave Gunning comes from Pictou County in Novo Scotia, and this is the backdrop for Up Against the Sky. Gunning’s concerns include a papir mill polluting coastal fisheries which the local Pictou Landing First Nation people depend on for their livelihood. Dave Gunning’s inspiration comes from folk singers like Pete Seeger and Stan Rogers and local hero John Allen Cameron, the subject of Gunning’s A Tribute to John Allen Cameron record from 2010. Gunning excels at both protest songs and more melancholy ballads, and his love of new country music and old legends like Stompin’ Tom Conner cannot be denied. In 2017 Dave Gunning made Two with J.P. Cormier, a previous Tønder Festival guest musician. On this record, the two musicians apply themselves to more traditional folk material. Dave Gunning performs solo at Tønder Festival, his only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Eilen Jewell (USA): Eilen Jewell has a good grasp of the americana style, with its elements of alternative country and roots rock. In 2016, Eilen Jewell and her band played at Tønder Festival, and many doubtless recall their fine concert on the Open Air Stage. The American songwriter and singer Eilen Jewell (born in 1979) has firmly established her name internationally. She comes from Idaho and began her musical career while at college. After a sojourn in Los Angeles, she moved to Boston, where she joined in the lively folk roots music scene. This is where she made her first album in 2006. A series of studio and live albums has followed, the most recent being the studio album Gypsy from 2019. One reviewer described Eilen Jewell’s singing voice as “somewhere between Billie Holiday and Neko Case”, while another has written that she is “a reincarnation of Johnny Cash.” The Los Angeles Daily News writes of Eilen Jewell: “Sometimes she is dark and moody, like Lucinda Williams, other times wilful and teasing like the early Peggy Lee; but always authentic americana, in the Gillian Welch tradition.” Eilen Jewell with her band play their only Danish festival concert at Tønder Festival 2022.

Folk Spot: Tone of Voice Orchestra (DK, SE): In Tone of Voice Orchestra, people from all corners of the Danish-Scandinavian scene meet – five women and five men, Danish Music Award-winners from all genres, experienced musicians and brand new talents all come together. With this band, Trinelise Væring and Fredrik Lundin blend their Scandinavian roots with inspirations from eastern european vocal groups, nordic folk music, americana, north african atmospheres, jazz, indie-folk and alt pop – hereby delivering a unique take on Scandinavian world music! Tone of Voice Orchestra: Vocals: Trinelise Væring, Maria Kynne, Tine Refsgaard and Lise Kroner. Hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern: Christian Mohr Levisen. Fiddle: Emma Kragh-Elmøe/Arendse Nordtorp Pedersen. Saxophones and flutes: Fredrik Lundin. Double bass: Joel Illerhag. Drums & percussion: Jesper Uno Kofoed and Anders Provis. An export drive for seven Scandinavian bands and soloists starts on 26 and 27 August during this year’s Tønder Festival. Since 2012, Folk Spot Danmark has presented Danish folk/roots bands aiming for a wider audience, both nationally but in particular internationally. The drive is organised jointly by SPOT Festival and Tønder Festival, the ambition being to give a lift to Danish folk/roots-music at home and abroad. The SPOT Festival has years of experience exporting Danish music, while Tønder Festival’s expertise lies in the folk and roots genre. Once again this year, eight Nordic folk/roots groups have been chosen by the international jury.

Fourth Moon

Artist Video Fourth Moon @ FROG

www.fourthmoonmusic.com

FolkBALTICA Ensemblet (DK, D): When they are assembled, they talk Danish, German and English, but their true lingua franca is music. The FolkBALTICA Ensemble consists of around 50 young musicians from southern Denmark and the bordering German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The orchestra began at the annual folkBALTICA Festival, which takes place in mid May. The FolkBALTICA Ensemble is the festival’s youth orchestra, which breaches frontiers both geographical and musical, crossing between traditional and contemporary folk music. Violinist Harald Haugaard is artistic director at the folkBALTICA Festival and leads the ensemble, whose aim is to develop young talent and maintain and rejuvenate the folk music traditions in the border country. Tønder Festival is an active supporter of talent and the supply chain in folk music, and it has become a tradition that the FolkBALTICA Ensemble plays at the festival, giving both a concert in their own right and contributing to the big school concert for pupils at schools on both sides of the Danish-German border. Once again, Tønder festival’s audiences can enjoy the fresh vitality of this youth orchestra.

Fourth Moon (IT, FR, AT, SCO): Traditions meet and meld when Fourth Moon take the stage. The band’s musicians, of different nationalities but with a shared love of Scots and Irish folk music, are Italian violinist David Lombardi, who has seen service as lead fiddler in the world famous dance show Riverdance, and Scot Andrew Waite, on accordion, also plays in Dallahan and Eliza Carthy’s Wayward Band. Austrian Géza Frank plays flutes and has toured with Carlos Núñez. Fourth Moon’s French guitarist, Jean Damei, plays in a duo format called Event Horizon with Géza Frank. In 2018, Fourth Moon were joined by Scots singer and dancer Ainsley Hamill. Fourth Moon formed in 2014 at the Willie Clancy Festival in Miltown Malbay in Ireland. Fourth Moon have tourned in France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the British Isles, thrilling audiences with speedy tunes and spellbinding them with slow airs and thoughtful songs. Their debut album Ellipsis appeared in 2018, and November 2021 saw the release of the album Odessey. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Hans Theessink & Knud Møller

Artist Video Hans Theessink @ FROG

www.theessink.com

Hans Theessink & Knud Møller (NL, DK): The Hans Theessink and Knud Møller duo is known and loved by many Danes, since they have toured the country many times. Now Tønder Festival’s audiences can enjoy the company of the two well-travelled gentlemen and their superb brand of blues and roots music. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Hans Theessink, who turned 70 in 2018, has appeared at Tønder Festival many times and is one of the musicians who was in at the festival’s start in the 70s. Hans has performed at Tønder Festival in many different contexts, most recently in 2017 alongside the late American singer Terry Evans. Netherlands-born Hans Theessink lived in Denmark in the 1970s and in Vienna since the 80s. He is constantly on the road, has released 30 albums and won several awards, among them the Austrian Amadeus Music Award twice. Knud Møller (born in1958) is well-known in Denmark as the distinguished guitarist in the Johnny Madsen Band and a musician with a sure grasp of blues, country and roots rock. Knud Møller has worked both as guitarist and producer with Ester Brohus and Peter Belli.

Irish Mythen (IRL): Irish Mythen has performed at Tønder Festival several times, and toured Denmark, winning audience appreciation for her powerful singing, her fine songs and her intense performance. Originally from Ireland, Irish Mythen has been based in Canada for many years now. The date of her arrival in Canada is tattooed on her arm to show how she feels about her new homeland. Irish Mythen tours extensively in Canada, USA, Europe and not least in Australia. Irish Mythen’s voice ranges from the silken to the rusty metallic, backed by her guitar-playing, which has been described as rustic and rhythmic. She has won prizes and nominations for both her live perfomance and her recordings. Her 2014 album Irish Mythen was crowned Roots Album of the Year by the East Canadian Music Association (ECMA). Her album Little Bones from the autumn of 2019 won three awards in Canada, among them Solo Artist of The Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards 2020, and a series of nominations at the Music PEI Awards and Juno Awards. One critic described Irish Mythen with the words, “She is a force of nature sent from above.” Irish Mythen will perform solo at Tønder Festival.

Keb’ Mo’ (USA): A genuine bluesman also recognised for his songwriting, 70 year old Keb’ Mo’ has a solid base in old-fashioned country and delta blues, but has never shied away from venturing outside his comfort zone. His variations on the central tenets of blues music are inspired by rock, country, folk and jazz. Keb’ Mo’, real name Kevin Roosevelt Moore, is a recent recipient of an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Americana Honors & Awards. He has won five Grammy prizes and been nominated 12 times. His album Oklahoma, with guest spots by Robert Randolph, Rosanne Cash and Taj Mahal,won the Best Americana Album award. Working with Taj Mahal is nothing new for Keb’ Mo’. In 2017, Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal made the album TajMo, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, and took the duo on tours of both USA and Europe. Through the years, Keb’ Mo’ has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill, Jackson Browne and Lyle Lovett, and has appeared three times at Eric Clapton’s famous Crossroads Festival. His Tønder Festival concert, where he will be backed by his band, is his only festival concert in Denmark in 2022.

Michael McGoldrick

Artist Video Michael McGoldrick @ FROG

bandcamp.com/...

Michael McGoldrick: Fused 20th (ENG): If Celtic music were to have superstars, Michael McGoldrick might be one. Tønder Festival audiences know him well, since he has played here many times, most recently at a sell-out concert in Schweizerhalle / Tønder Culture Centre in August 2021 with John Doyle and John McCusker. Michael McGoldrick is now coming back with a special concept concert, celebrating that twenty years have passed since the release of his album Fused from 2000. The album was exceptionally finely reviewed when it appeared twenty years ago. They called it a masterpiece, Michael McGoldrick mixing with supreme confidence traditional folk music with trance, jazz and world music. The band at this anniversary concert, besides Michael McGoldrick himself, is Donald Shaw, accordion; Dezi Donelly, violin; James Mackintosh, drums; Ewen Vernal, bass; Ed Boyd, guitar; Karen Matheson, vocal; Alan Kelly, guitar and vocal and Neil Yates, trumpet and tin whistle. Michael McGoldrick is a multi-instrumentalist, virtuoso on flute, tin whistle, uilleann pipes, bodhrán, guitar and cittern, as well as composing and producing. He was born in Manchester in 1971, helped start Flook and has played in Lúnasa, Capercaillie, Kate Rusby, Afro Celt Sound System and with Mark Knopfler. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Ordinary Elephant (USA): Their most recent album Honest (2019) is carrying the Texan duo Ordinary Elephant towards the top of the American folk world. Pete and Crystal met up in 2009 at an open mic session in College Station, Texas, and subsequently became Mr and Mrs Damore. Musically, the pair harmonise perfectly, Crystal’s guitar and Pete’s clawhammer banjo laying down a solid, folky foundation for their often socially critical songs. In 2017 Ordinary Elephant were hailed as Artist of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards. The couple then chose to quit their full-time jobs and pursue their musical dream. Honest, which came out last year, crowd-funded via Kickstarter, was praised by Associated Press as “one of the best Americana albums of the year.” Their colleagues, Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier, among them, have praised this duo’s convincing work and their grasp of the musical traditions. Ordinary Elephant have toured through most of USA, and now you have your first opportunity to enjoy this intense duo in Europe, when they hit the Tønder Festival stage. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Rura

Artist Video Rura @ FROG

www.rura.co.uk

Red Hot Chilli Pipers (SCO): This is no typo: not only are Red Hot Chilli Pipers just as hot in their native Scotland as the tattooed, funky rockers; but they have the Americans’ full permission to use the name: the Yanks dug the difference. Red Hot Chilli Pipers broke into the limelight in 2007, when they took part in the BBC talent show When Will I be Famous. The band’s trademark is bagrock: cover versions of rock and pop classics played on bagpipes, with march drums and rock band backing. The musicians wear kilts and provide a stage show without parallel before or since. When Red Hot Chilli Pipers became famous via their tv show, they toured far and wide, getting audiences in USA, China, New Zealand, Dubai and India dancing and screaming the chorus to We Will Rock You, Don’t Stop Believing and Highway to Hell. Red Hot Chilli Pipers played Tønder Festival in 2017, and now you can join in at the top of your voice when the Scots band hit the stage with a concert that could go anywhere, with 100% guarantee for a wild party. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Rura (SCO): This Scottish band did a great job at Tønder Festival 2015 and 2016, where they met an ecstatic audience response. Not an isolated event: in December 2015, Rura won Live Act Of The Year at Scots Trad Music Awards in Dundee. Songlines magazine has called Rura ‘one of the most exciting bands on the Scottish folk scene.’ Since 2010, Rura have been working their way up, armed with highland pipes, fiddle, bodhran, guitar, flute and their fine singing voices. These four young musicians, Steven Blake, Jack Smedley, David Foley and Adam Brown, broke ground at Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow in 2010, and their debut album Break It Up from 2012 boosted their efforts, winning critical praise and award nominations. Singer and songwriter Adam Holmes was a member of Rura for some years, and has performed at Tønder Festival with his own band The Embers. Rura’s second album, Despite The Dark, appeared in April 2015. The new EP “Our Voices Echo” (2022) adds special guests: Michael McGoldrick, Julie Fowlis, Duncan Chisholm, Ross Ainslie og Hannah Rarity. Rura’s only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Siobhan Miller (SCO): “One of the best Scottish traditional singers on the planet,” is the magazine fRoots’ considered opinion of Siobhan Miller. There is good reason to come and hear this 33 year-old Scots singer and songwriter at Tønder Festival. Siobhan Miller grew up in Penicuik, south of Edinburgh, in a family active on the Scottish folk music scene. As a child, she attended folk festivals around the country with her family, and was not shy: she was soon up on stage, giving a song. At 13, she won two singing competitions at the Auchtermuchty Festival. Siobhan Miller graduated from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2009. She has worked with violinist Jeana Leslie and the band Salt House. But it is as a soloist Siobhan Miller has established her name, as a songwriter, singer and innovator of traditional Scots music. She has released four solo albums and won numerous nominations and prizes. Three times winner of the title Best Singer at the Scots Trad Music Awards, in 2011, 2013 and 2017. Her latest album is All Is Not Forgotten from 2020. In Tønder, Siobhan Miller appears with her band. This is their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

Henry Girls

Artist Video Henry Girls @ FROG

www.thehenrygirls.com

Skerryvore (SCO): The return of one of Tønder Festival audiences’ favourites: the Scottish band Skerryvore, whose many visits to Denmark have attracted a solid Danish fan base. Appearing at Tønder Festival in 2014, 2015 and 2018, and now again in 2022, Skerryvore are among the finest exponents of Scottish folk rock. The band build on some of the same proud musical traditions as Runrig and Wolfstone. Skerryvore mine not only the Scots music tradition, but also cajun, country and rock in various forms. Skerryvore was formed in 2004 by brothers Daniel Gillespie, accordion, Martin Gillespie, accordion and pipes, Fraser West on drums and singer Alec Dalglish. The band also numbers Craig Espie, violin, Scott Wood, pipes and flute, Jodie Bremaneson, bass, and Alan Scobie, keyboards. Skerryvore has won the title of Scotland’s Traditional Music Live Act Of The Year twice, in 2016 and 2011. Latest album is Live across Scotland from 2020. Skerryvore spend much of 2022 on a long US tour, then their European tour will bring them to Tønder Festival. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

The Henry Girls (IRL): The Henry Girls are sisters Karen, Lorna and Joleen McLaughlin from Donegal in Ireland. They named their trio for their grandfather, and have been making music and touring together since 2003. All three sisters have studied music and are well versed in traditional Irish music, which they blend with elements of country, bluegrass, world and americana. These three talented musicians are multi-instrumentalists, playing fiddle, ukulele, banjo, guitar, mandolin and piano, and they have at their command voices which meld into multiple harmonies of exquisite quality. We hear the purest Irish traditional tones and fine bluegrass phrasing. The Henry Girls’ first album, Between Us, came in 2003. Their latest, Far Beyond The Stars, from 2017, has been highly praised in the international media. The trio has seen great success in USA, where they tour frequently. The Henry Girls have worked with Dónal Lunny and Moya Brennan and are featured on Mary Black’s album Stories from the Steeples. Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.

The Once (CAN): An acoustic trio from Newfoundland in Canada, The Once have been on the go since 2009, furthering Newfoundland’s proud songwriting, musical and poetic traditions. The trio have built their reputation on their fine interpretations, and are noted for their talented vocal harmonies. Their latest album Time Enough, which came out in 2018, has the trio driving their sound with their trademark harmonies, and widening their musical boundaries. The Once have been nominated for the Canadian East Coast Music Awards as well as JUNO Awards. In 2010, they won two prizes at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. The Once supported British band Passenger on tours of USA, Canada, Europe and Australia in 2014. One reviewer described The Once as follows: “Perfect vocal harmonies. Think of an ideal mix of Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch with The Chieftains backing, and Daniel Lanois stirring the music.” Their only Danish festival concert in 2022.



Photo Credits: (1) Tønder Festival, (2) Allison Russell, (3) Anna Tivel, (4) Amythyst Kiah, (5) Christopher Paul Stelling, (6) Tone of Voice Orchestra, (7) Fourth Moon, (8) Hans Theessink & Knud Møller, (9) Michael McGoldrick, (10) Rura, (11) The Henry Girls (unknown/website).


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