Biography
BBC Folk Award winner Ben Walker joins forces with highly acclaimed singer and pianist Kirsty Merryn to create a fresh take on a tradition ripe for rediscovery.
As Ben says ‘This project was born over a pint in the pub last September. We were talking about how it sometimes feels like we’re more and more disconnected from the land we live on, the food we eat, the people around us. We both wanted to explore how people have sung about their relationship with the seasons, with work, and with each other. It’s a huge pleasure to share this project with Kirsty, she loves the tradition but doesn’t only look back; she’s a fantastic interpreter of song.’
Kirsty adds ‘Traditional English songs carry so much history within them and really tell us where we came from. There’s a rich and beautiful tradition of celebrating the harvest, the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work and struggle. We wanted to recreate that idea of a harvest festival, the sheer joy of abundance, of a job well done. I’m so excited to be working with Ben on this, he is a formidable talent and I think our individual styles, skills and talents combined will make something remarkable.’
