Spotlight England Long-List Announced
20-03-2012
Spotlight England announces names of 24 artists in new live initiative to promote English folk music abroad through a special showcase at Celtic Connections Festival 2013
Twenty four folk singers, musicians and bands from across England have recently been long-listed for Spotlight England, a new initiative that seeks to raise the international profile of English folk music and its musicians. Created in collaboration with renowned Glasgow music festival Celtic Connections, and its industry showcase Showcase Scotland, England has been invited to be the international partner in 2013.
Spotlight England offers six of those now on the long-list the chance to perform a special showcase concert at this prestigious music festival in January 2013 in front of over 200 music industry delegates. Ranging from European and North American venues to promoters of Australian Festival directors, this represents an invaluable opportunity to promote English folk music as a thriving genre to rival any traditional music around the world to a far wider audience.
Arguably English folk music has rarely been in better health, with a flourishing live music scene and more young people than ever taking up traditional instruments, breathing new life into the English folk song repertoire or writing new material inspired by an incredibly diverse, distinct and rich source of folklore, legends and history.
Artists have been selected from written applications by a panel of industry experts. Details of the application process and of steering committee members can be found here.
Spotlight England is now happy to reveal an initial long-list of artists, whose music is clearly rooted in the English tradition.
Spotlight England Long-Listed Artists
Bella Hardy
Bellowhead
Belshazzar’s Feast
Coope Boyes and Simpson
Emily Portman
Time Gentlemen Please! featuring The Demon Barber Roadshow
Faustus
Fay Hield and the Hurricane Party
Jackie Oates
Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies
Jim Moray
Lisa Knapp
Lucy Farrell and Johnny Kearney
Lucy Ward
Mary Hampton
Megson
Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin
Pilgrim’s Way
Sam Carter
Seth Lakeman
Spiro
The Young Uns
Tom McConvill Band
Walsh and Pound
The Celtic Connections Artistic Director, Donald Shaw, is expected to make a final short list of six by Autumn 2012.
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