Miranda Sykes & Jim Causley

Two of the UK’s most iconic voices have finally combined as a duo.

Miranda Sykes & Jim Causley have known each other for nearly 20 years and united in 2024 to create a show celebrating pioneering folk song collector Sabine Baring-Gould.

They enjoyed working together so much and audience feedback was so positive that they have just released and toured their debut album.

“Everything Possible” features some of their favourite contemporary songs from the UK folk scene and beyond and brings their magical voices together.

Jim Causley

Live at Dartmouth Folk Festival 

Songs taster video

Spring Tour promo video

 Jim Causley is a folk-singer, award winning songwriter, musician, proud Devonian and all-round entertainer. He grew up in a wassailing village not far from Sidmouth Folk Festival and found his voice singing with local choirs. He studied Performing Arts and Jazz & Popular Music at Exeter College where he cut his teeth performing in bands on the Exeter music scene before heading to the University of Newcastle upon Tyne to study on their brand new degree course in Folk & Traditional Music. He rose to prominence singing with The Devil’s Interval and Mawkin:Causley as well as touring with Waterson:Carthy and David Rotheray. In recent years his work has focused on his musical settings of poems by his relative Charles Causley, penning his own songs and reviving lost gems from his home county.

Miranda Sykes started her career as a musician in 1996 at the age of 18, playing bass guitar in a country rock band. After 2 years touring and playing for line dancing in working mens clubs across Britain, folk-rock band Pressgang were looking for a bass player. Miranda spent the next 2 years touring internationally with them.  After a few years of musical promiscuity playing with Firebrand, Little Johnny England, Robb Johnson, Bill Jones, Steafan Hannigan, Reg Meuross, Kirsty McGee, The Phil Beer Band, Martyn Joseph and The Scoville Units; Miranda depped for Pete Zorn in the 2004 Show Of Hands festival band line up. She worked with them for the next 20 years. Miranda also found time for a short tour and album with the Miranda Sykes Band in 2005, duo album tours with mandolin player Rex Preston and 2 solo albums. 2024 brings a second tour with Hannah Martin, a new Baring-Gould Centenary project with Jim Causley, summer festivals with vocal group Daphne’s Flight, a tour with The Phil Beer Trio and a new solo album and tour “Out Of The Woods”. 

 Jim Causley “The Finest Singer of his generation” -MOJO MAGAZINE

 ''Miranda Sykes has spent so much time working with Show Of Hands it's easy to forget what a good solo performer she is...gorgeous and very compelling stuff'  - ROCK N REEL

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell are a two-man trad tornado tearing through the folk world with foot percussion, f iddle, guitar, vocals, and groove to spare. Kitted out with grooving basslines, tight harmonies, and offbeat charm, they’re just a couple of lads with a tangle of strings - yet they somehow summon the sound and swagger of a much bigger band. Their music blends original compositions with tunes and songs they’ve found in the wild, delivered with harmonies, tall tales, and a streak of serious silliness. Their shows mix clickety clacks, plucks and strums, with easy repartee and sharp turns - every piece crafted to keep toes tapping, faces smiling, and the whole room leaning in. It’s groove, grit, and guaranteed good times.  

Musically, they straddle tradition and invention, bridging the folk archive with a fearless modern edge. Some tracks glisten with clean lines and elegant harmonies - crystalline structures that shimmer in the light of contemporary trad. Others veer gleefully off course, hopping on the blues train for a whistle-stop tour of the Québécois folk line. One moment it’s reels and foot taps, the next it’s jazz chords, pop turns, and grooves that could jump the track and land somewhere between Vulfpeck and Le Vent du Nord. Arthur, a fiddler raised in Aberdeenshire, builds rolling, riff-heavy tunes grounded in his family’s musical traditions and shaped further by studies with Jonny Hardie (Old Blind Dogs). Kerran, a melodic schemer from Cumbria, draws on pop and choral training to weave in crisp harmonies and satisfying twists.

Since first meeting at Sidmouth Folk Week in 2018 (one of them tipsy - you can guess who), Arthur and Kerran have grown from pub jam sessions to becoming festival favourites across the UK. As broadcaster Mike Blackburn put it: “One of the very best live acts I’ve ever seen - and I’ve seen a lot!” They’ve earned repeat invitations and enthusiastic followings at events like Sidmouth Folk Week, the UK’s longest-running folk festival; Purbeck Valley, known for spotlighting rising talent; and Edinburgh’s Scots Fiddle Festival, a cornerstone of Scotland’s traditional music scene. Their growing profile has also reached international audiences, with a 2024 tour of Québec and Ontario and a standout set at Festival Trad Montréal, one of Québec’s premier traditional music events. In 2025, they were named winners of the Robinson Emerging Artist Showcase at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, Canada’s leading pan-Celtic celebration. With performances in 2025 at the prestigious Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as well as FolkEast and Aberdeen’s Tall Ships Races, they’re quickly becoming one of the most talked-about acts on the circuit.  

After charming critics and crowds with their last album Music for Cows (2024), Arthur and Kerran have traded pasture for pyrotechnics. Their latest record, Controlled Burn (released February 2026), leans hard into original material - with foot-stomping grooves, driving tunes, and a few tracks that come in smoking hot. The name? It was inspired by chance encounters, good times on the road, and possibly a barbecue on Lake Huron - but that story’s for another time. As Folkworld put it, their sound is “powerful and dark, fresh and fun” - and this time around, they’re striking the match on something bold, strange, and entirely their own. Expect trad turned sideways, storytelling with soul, and grooves that smoulder, spark, and occasionally catch fire. 

Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell website

YouTube

Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

 Our round-the-room format is a relaxed and friendly affair. You can sing a song or play a tune, but  if you dance or are a storyteller then that adds nicely to the mix. There's also plenty of room for those who just want to listen, or maybe join in a chorus or an occasional session tune.

We have a half-time break for the re-charging of glasses, general chit-chat, and- of course- a raffle.

No need to book in advance.

“Sam Carter is a brilliant guitarist and songwriter who combines the observational with social comment and personal reflection”— Songlines

“Fans of acoustic music rejoice, the UK ‘s proud tradition of folk singer-songwriters is in safe hands.” — Guitarist Magazine

“Really wonderful” — Jools Holland

Midlands-born Sam Carter is a BBC Folk Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. Renowned for his lyrical storytelling, Uncut once described his songs as being “as penetrating as Richard Thompson’s best work”. For over 15 years, he has been stirring audiences from Camden to Canada, from major festivals to intimate clubs. Carter’s expressive fingerpicking led Jon Boden of Bellowhead to call him "the finest English-style fingerpicking guitarist of his generation," while Ivor Novello-winner Nitin Sawhney has praised his "killer voice."

With a discography that spans six solo albums and two releases with the folk-rock band False Lights, Carter’s music reflects a blend of traditional English folk, shape-note singing, and rock. Notable highlights in his career include a spellbinding performance on Later… with Jools Holland, where he played songs from his shape-note-inspired album The No Testament alongside renowned fiddler Sam Sweeney.

His latest album, the acclaimed Top 40 Folk Chart release Silver Horizon, cements his reputation as a skilful blender of ancient and modern, with songs that are impressionistic, dreamlike, and deeply human.

Sam Carter’s live performances are nothing short of captivating, filled with the raw honesty, humour, and skilled musicianship that underscore his standing as one of contemporary folk’s brightest talents.

Sam Carter website

 Long Time Travelling- official Video- YouTube

A Place to Call My Own- Live in Session- YouTube

This unique collaboration draws from the strengths of two of the UK’s most highly regarded folk acts: The Shackleton Trio and Christina Alden & Alex Patterson. With a shared passion for thoughtful songwriting and intricate arrangements, Kitewing brings a fresh and powerful voice to the contemporary folk scene, rooted in tradition but unafraid to explore new ground.

Kitewing brings together soaring harmonies and roaring fiddles, blending guitar, mandolin, and banjo to deliver songs steeped in stories of the sea, migration, and environmental struggle. At the heart of the band lies a deep connection to the natural world — its rhythms, its challenges, and its beauty. Energetic tune sets and evocative instrumentals thread through their performances, carrying audiences on a journey that is both grounded and uplifting.

For our December concert we are promised a 'festive show'; repertoire will be a mixture of traditional carols, self penned seasonal material with an environmental leaning, seasonal tunes, and re-workings of some East Anglian carols. There will also be a handful of material that is performed year round in the set.