Described by MOJO Magazine as ‘a mouthwatering collaboration’, Alasdair Roberts, Emily Portman, Lucy Farrell and Rachel Newton are four successful soloists who share a mutual love of traditional song and an open, intuitive approach to collaboration. Their distinctive voices come together to create a sound that is uniquely beguiling and truly beautiful.
Best Group winners at the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, The Furrow Collective are delighted to announce their Spring 2018 tour. This will be a wide-reaching tour, from Bournemouth to Shetland and finishing on the 25th March at one of their favourite London venues - Kings Place. The band have gone from strength to strength since releasing their second album Wild Hog on Hudson Records. The album was described as a ‘winningly produced masterclass in folk tradition’ by the Observer and received several five star reviews, including fRoots and Songlines magazines. They are currently working on their third album and will be premiering some of the songs on the Spring tour ahead of its release later in the year.
Rachel, Lucy and Emily met when they studied on the Folk & Traditional Music Degree at Newcastle University. Emily was two years above Lucy and Rachel and asked them to perform on her final recital and later to play on her debut solo album. They performed together as The Emily Portman Trio for ten years.
The girls wanted to form a new band where they each took a solo role and could share their love of traditional folk ballads. The trio needed another musician and voice, so they asked Alasdair Roberts to join. Within The Furrow Collective they all take a lead on the songs to showcase their varied backgrounds and influences from both sides of the English/Scottish Border.
When they wrote their album Wild Hog, they rented out a holiday cottage and created new music. It is also a great way for the band to be together and rehearse.
“Winning best group was a shock at first, and we didn’t expect it…… We feel as if we have found our sound, and it was great. Winning has given us a higher profile and has brought us to a new audience who might not have been aware of us before” explained one of the band’s multi-instrumental players, Rachel (harp, fiddle, voice).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVpEH8VjgF8
For further information, and to purchase tickets, click here.