Arts & Culture

Belshazzar’s Feast start with traditional folk music, add a touch of classical and jazz, throw in a bit of pop and music hall, and top it off wry humour for a unique live experience that has made them one of the most popular duos in English folk music.

Now in their twenty-third year together, Paul Sartin and Paul Hutchinson of Belshazzar’s Feast bring a wealth of talent to the stage in Oxford’s Folk Club May 18.

Paul Sartin is a former member of the multi-BBC Radio 2 Award-winning big band Bellowhead and a current member of pioneering folk trio Faustus who formed the core band in The Transports, the revival and reworking of Peter Bellamy’s ballad opera playing to full houses across the country. Consultant and Director of the Andover Museum Loft Singers, he is author of ‘Community Choirs Collection – Folk’ published by Faber Music, an editor of music publications, and a BASCA-nominated composer whose commissions include works for the Central School of Speech and Drama, the Choir of Somerville College, Oxford, and Streetwise Opera.

While Paul Hutchinson is the founder member of the innovative and progressive folk band, The Playford Liberation Front. His highly successful folk trio Hoover the Dog has recently morphed into the quartet Pagoda. Paul’s own compositions were published in 2012 (Food For Thought) and a second volume is in the pipeline. He is the resident accordion tutor at Cecil Sharp House and is a seasoned tutor at Folkworks and Halsway Manor and leads ensemble workshops far and wide, and is gaining impressive media coverage from his new band Pagoda Project.

Belshazzar’s Feast received a coveted nomination for the Best Duo Award at the 2010 BBC Folk Awards and are regulars at folk festivals across the summer, with touring including a popular annual Christmas tour of seasonal songs and tunes.  They have released a series of critically acclaimed albums across their career, the latest being The Whiting’s On The Wall (2014/Unearthed), a live album recorded over the course of two concerts at The Pound in Corsham.

They are thrilled to be at this year’s National Folk Festival in Canberra, Australia in April, where they will be performing as a duo and taking individual Masterclasses; Paul Sartin; A Capella Singing; Paul Hutchinson; Piano Accordion.

For further information, and to purchase tickets, click here.