Hannah James to be Artistic Director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble
The English Folk Dance and Song Society is delighted to appoint the musician and dancer Hannah James as the fourth Artistic Director of its National Youth Folk Ensemble (NYFE). Hannah will lead the Ensemble from October 2026, succeeding Jo Freya (2023-2026), Sam Partridge (2019-2023) and Sam Sweeney (2016-2019).
Announced as the new Artistic Director for the National Youth Folk Ensemble, the musician and dancer Hannah James has been one of the key figures in the revival of English percussive dance in recent years. An experienced and committed folk music educator, Hannah has been performing and teaching professionally for 20 years, including guest tutor for NYFE in 2025. She has collaborated with musicians from many different traditions and cultures enriching her musicianship and giving her a broad and unique set of musical skills and ideas.
Renowned as one of the best accordionists on the British folk scene, her musicianship extends far beyond the tradition and incorporates beautiful vocal stylings with both classic and contemporary applications of English clog dance. Her one-woman show, JigDoll, showcased all of these, which was followed by The JigDoll Ensemble – heralded as “the highlight of the festival” at the Folk Expo Manchester when it debuted.
Hannah currently performs with French post-classical cellist Toby Kuhn, focussing on storytelling and weaving intricate rhythmic and harmonic textures with cello and percussive dance. The duo will perform at Cecil Sharp House on Thursday 19 March 2026. She is also part of Awake Arise / Wakefire – a five-piece collaboration with Lady Maisery and duo Sid Goldsmith and Jimmy Aldridge. This project combines music and spoken word with an emphasis on seasonal traditions from around England and offers the audience a chance to find their own version of seasonal traditions.
Her collaborative project, Songs of Separation, won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for Best Album. Her vocal trio Lady Maisery have produced three critically acclaimed albums and have also been nominated for the Horizon award at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, and a previous duo with Sam Sweeney gained a Best Duo nomination.
She has also worked with legendary folk Singer Maddy Prior in a trio, and danced with Seasick Steve on stage at Wembley arena to 10,000 people, and joined him again on Jools Hollands’ Hootenanny.
Her music is rooted in the English Tradition but is also influenced by her travels and collaborations with many international artists and her time studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
"I’m completely honoured and so happy to have been appointed as the next artistic director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. As a folk musician who has had many fantastic mentors over the years it feels important to be able to carry on that tradition of passing on skills and ideas to the next generation, and to be a bridge between these young musicians and the wonderful guest musicians and teachers who I intended to bring onboard. I can’t wait to be part of the NYFE team!" - Hannah James
