A MULTI-NATIONAL folk trio who found their sound during lockdown are performing tracks from their recently recorded album, Unanswered, at The Witham, Barnard Castle.
Ward Knutur Townes are three critically acclaimed singer-song writers (Lucy Ward, Svatar Knutur and Adyn Townes) from three separate countries (England, Iceland and Canada) who teamed up during Covid to take part in a virtual global music sharing experiment called Global Music match.
They spent lockdowns turning their stories into soft harmonies and intricate melodies, recording their debut album, Unanswered, in Iceland earlier this year. They will perform on Wednesday, November 22, at 7.30pm.
The Furrow Collective, fresh from recording their fourth full-length album, We Know by the Moon, are making a beeline to Barnard Castle on Friday, December 1, for the opening gig of their nine-date UK tour.
Usually a quartet – Lucy Farrell, Rachel Newton, Emily Portman and Alasdair Roberts – the critically acclaimed English and Scottish folk group will be touring as a trio as fiddle player Rachel is due to give birth.
Jez Lowe makes a return to The Witham in the new year. After four decades performing, writing and recording his songs of northern England, he has reached audiences all around the world. He will take to the stage on Saturday, February 14, at 7.30pm.
Then on Saturday, March 2, universally acclaimed folk and blues star Martin Simpson will be playing songs from his new solo album, Skydancers.
The virtuoso guitar player, who recorded his first album 40 years ago, is recognised as one of very finest fingerstyle players in the world.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
