A NEW year of folk performances at The Witham, in Barnard Castle, kicks off this weekend with the visit of Emily Smith and Jamie McClennan.
They will perform their country-folk music at The Saturday, February 10, at 8pm.
Named as one of the most exciting country-folk duos on the folk scene today, Emily Smith and Jamie McClennan bring a sound influenced by the Scottish tradition, Americana and beyond with exquisite vocal harmonies and double guitars, fiddle and accordion.
Ms Smith is a former BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year and is now a leading figure in the Scottish folk scene.
She has picked up a bagful of awards including being twice voted Scots Singer of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards.
The pair have performed on the likes of Radio 2’s Bob Harris show and Radio Scotland’s Janice Forsyth Show.
Her long term musical collaborator – and husband – Jamie McClennan has accompanied her throughout her career on guitar and fiddle and in recent years produced several of her albums.
Mr McClennan was last at The Witham in October with Australian singer James Fagan in an antipodean themed duo The James Brothers.
Ms Smith and her husband celebrate 15 years of making music together this year.
Touring as a duo they are performing newly written material drawing inspiration from folk, roots and Americana. They bring the curtain up on The Witham’s new season of folk which features the finest quality, traditional and contemporary folk and roots music. Future gigs include the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc (March 10), Tannahill Weavers (April 10), Winter Wilson (April 19), Melrose Quartet (April 28), Daoiri Farrell (May 10) and Heidi Talbot and John McCusker (June 9).
Katy Taylor, director of The Witham, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Jamie back here and were very pleased at how keen he and Emily are to come to The Witham.
“We work hard to ensure all our visitors, including the artists who come, have an excellent experience while they are here and are proud of our reputation in the folk music industry as a go to venue.”
Tickets priced £14 in advance and £16 on the door are available at www.thewitham .org.uk or by phone on 01833 631107.
