The EFDSS Creative Bursary and Residency Programme, now in its 13th year, aims to support artists in exploring new creative ideas inspired by and sourced from traditional folk music relating to England. This programme provides artists with an opportunity to undertake creative exploration without the pressure of a final product.
Alan James, a former Chair of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, died suddenly in April 2019. We name these Creative Bursaries in his honour. In the spirit of Alan’s eclectic musical tastes and his ability to foster exciting artistic collaborations, we have encouraged applications which explore English folk music in the context of cross-genre or cross-art form collaborations and explorations.
Six projects have been supported this year to undertake creative research and development for new folk music and/or dance projects:
-Three bursaries at £2,000 together with use of rehearsal space at Cecil Sharp House or the Glasshouse International Centre for Music and access to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library; and
Three research bursaries of £500.
All of which are funded through the PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme. They come under the umbrella of our Artists’ Development Programme, which provides professional development support, both creative and business, to artists at all levels of their career.
Bursaries for 2025 have been awarded to:
Hannah James and Sonia Sabri
Sonia Sabri is a multi-award-winning dance artist, choreographer and movement director and Artistic Director. She is one of the world’s leading Kathak dance artists. Hannah James has been one of the key figures in the revival of English percussive dance in recent years. She is also an acclaimed songwriter, singer and accordion player.
Hannah and Sonia plan to make a new work which focuses on women in percussive dance and examines what it is to be a folk artist whose art form has a connection to a particular place and culture. The bursary will support time researching and developing ideas and repertoire with their respective skill sets - Kathak dance, clog/step dance, body percussion, vocals, storytelling and composition.
Johnny Campbell
Johnny Campbell emerged onto the UK folk scene writing self-penned material on connection (and disconnection) to the landscape. A Right to Roam (2022) is a collaboration with Commoners Choir & Skelmanthorpe Brass Band, which received the accolade of One of the Best Folk Songs of 2022. Being a long-time Right to Roam advocate, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Pennine Way, Campbell became the first to tour the route, walking 268 miles, carrying a guitar, performing 17 shows in 19 days.
The bursary will support the creation of an album exploring historical accounts of land access, land justice and environment.
Naomi Bedford
Naomi Bedford is an English folk and Roots singer and songwriter. Naomi sang and co-wrote a top 20 hit with the band Orbital and appeared with them on Later with Jools Holland. She has released six folk and country hybrid albums, three with partner Paul Simmonds, all to great critical acclaim.
Naomi is currently working on a new collaborative themed project with Ben Webb (Jinwoo), singer and songwriter of Bird in Belly, and she plans to use her research bursary towards researching traditional lyrics to incorporate into their joint project.
Heather Ferrier
With captivating musicianship and a sound that is unapologetically her own, Heather Ferrier is a force to be reckoned with. An “engaging talker and magnetic performer” (NARC magazine), the Stockport-born accordionist, clog dancer and composer is changing the perceptions of alt-folk on her own terms.
The research bursary will support research and development time as a trio, exploring how to incorporate new elements within the upcoming debut album creation and live set, including incorporating some traditional melodies into arrangements.
Danny Pedler and Dave Gray
Hailed the smiliest man in folk by Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe, Dave Gray is an enthusiastic and experienced melodeon player. He is also a highly skilled and committed educator, recently appointed Artistic Director of Folkworks at the Glasshouse, Gateshead. Danny Pedler is a folk musician and historian known for performing in New-Folk trio Tarren and with his project Field and Dyke with Greg Russell.
The bursary will fund two research days to support the creation of a new show celebrating the life of Dave’s great, great, great, great-grandfather Philip Gray, a shepherd and agricultural labourer from Lincolnshire from which Cecil Sharp collected songs. With a view to incorporating traditional material into theatrical composition to create soundscapes.
Howay the Lasses
Howay the Lasses is a vibrant North East collaborative celebrating notable women heroes from the region through original songs and arrangements. Formed during the 2021 lockdown, singer and accordionist Annie Ball, singer-songwriters Gareth and Bronwen Davies-Jones, and cellist Katie Tertell.
The bursary will support research and development of a second volume of songs rooted in the untold stories of remarkable and occasionally rebellious women from the North East of England. Explore stories of so-called ‘bad women’, those who broke the rules, subverted norms, or were vilified for it. The artists will be working at Glasshouse International Centre for Music.
Read more about the English Folk Dance and Song Society’s bursaries
Katy Spicer, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, said: ‘Our bursaries are designed to kick-start projects, giving artists time to bring their ideas to life. We are delighted to pay tribute to Alan James with these six exciting and eclectic projects and very grateful to the PRS Foundation for their continued support.’
Recent English Folk Dance and Song Society creative bursaries have kick-started ground-breaking and far-reaching projects such as Angeline Morrison’s The Sorrow Songs, Sophie Crawford and George Sansome’s Queer Folk, Stick in the Wheel’s Perspectives on Tradition, Rowan Rheingans’ Dispatches on the Red Dress, and many more.
For further media information please contact Sammie Squire (Director of Marketing and Communications): [email protected]
About the English Folk Dance and Song Society
The English Folk Dance and Song Society is the national development agency for the folk arts. It aims to place the traditional arts of England at the heart of our cultural life – preserving, protecting, disseminating and promoting English traditional folk arts. It delivers a dynamic national and local education programme, enabling and increasing access to the folk arts alongside celebrating diversity and promoting equality. It runs the acclaimed National Youth Folk Ensemble. It supports folk artists through a flourishing artists development programme. It manages the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library – England’s national folk music library and archive – which contains a vast collection of books, manuscripts, films and audio-visual materials. The national custom-built headquarters of EFDSS is Cecil Sharp House, a busy arts centre situated just north of Regent’s Park in central London. efdss.org
About PRS Foundation
PRS Foundation supports organisations from across the UK which have been selected as PRS Foundation Talent Development Partners. These organisations are working at the frontline of talent development in the UK, supporting a broad range of individual music creators across different music genres and UK regions. This reflects PRS Foundation’s commitment to supporting composers and songwriters of all backgrounds either through direct investment or by helping organisations which nurture music creators and promote their music to audiences at home and overseas. prsfoundation.com
Partners
