“In come we! Quickbeam’s our name, vocal harmonies are our game.”

It’s my turn to host the Quickbeam practice this week, out in the Northern Fells. The kettle is on, the cake is cut and we’re gathered round the coffee table to finalise our set for Cumberlandia 2025. We started to design our song & story cycle at the turn of the year. This picture was taken in The Chancel, Ireby after spending a February weekend together during which we talked, sang, walked, danced (and laughed) the Cumberlandia set into being.

We think we’ve got it! Four short performances over the festival weekend taking you on a journey through the cycle of the seasons in song and story, exploring human traditions of gathering together as the year wheels round. Think of us as your seasonal tour guides or perhaps “four wyrd women who are here to take you on a trip round the sun; the four seasons through.”

For those of you who are encountering us for the first time, Quickbeam (Old English for a Rowan Tree) are four singers and musicians based in Cumbria: Alison Scott, Arwen Heaton, Jessie McMeekin and myself (Abigail Driver). We sing a mix of traditional folk songs and original compositions influenced by blues, gospel, folk and classical music.

Quickbeam L-R: Abi Driver, Alison Scott, Arwen Heaton, Jessie McMeekin

When researching the project, we were particularly taken by the tradition of the Need Fire. Need Fire was an old Cumbrian way of marking the transition of the seasons: Every homestead in a valley would be plunged into dark, then a single fire kindled and taken house to house, bonding communities together. Arwen crafted a spell-binding song to honour this tradition and this sparked a flurry of creativity, culminating in the final song and story cycle you’ll enjoy throughout the weekend.

We’ll be starting in the season of Autumn on The Glade stage at 6.15pm on the Friday. We’ll be back on Saturday with Winter in The Marquee at 12.45pm and we’ll pop up in The Cumberland Arms for Spring at 6.15pm. We’ll be back in The Glade on Sunday at 1.45pm at the start of the festival finale, celebrating the Summer.

Quickbeam were blown away by the feedback we received from festival goers last year and are delighted to be invited back for 2025. Cumberlandia is a special place - it connects, nourishes, uplifts and inspires creativity in community. We hope to see you all there.