Cumberlandia...

Cumberlandia...

Who’s performing at Cumberlandia?

Scroll down to find out more about our performers:

Lady Maisery

  • "Exquisite, thrilling” - The Guardian

  • "Ambitious and beautiful" - Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

  • ‘Lady Maisery are women with ideas, purpose and urgency.... powerful, enthralling work’ Songlines * * * * *

The combined vocal and multi-instrumental talents of Rowan Rheingans, Hazel Askew and Hannah James make up the uniquely captivating band Lady Maisery who have for well over a decade enraptured audiences throughout the UK and Europe.

Individually three multi award-winning artists, Lady Maisery form a unified voice, carrying stories of sisterhood, human struggle, the joy of living and the vitality of song with the "freshest possible take on traditional music" (Folk Radio UK). Their long-standing effervescent collaboration has been described as "adventurous and beautiful" (Mark Radcliffe, Radio 2) "exquisite and thrilling" (The Guardian) with "a generosity of spirit and joie de vivre that seems to emanate from every minute of their recorded output as well as from their exuberant live shows" (Folk Radio UK). 

Their fifth studio album Tender was released at the end of 2022 to far-reaching acclaim. An arresting record exploring the power in vulnerability, the tenderness of collective wounds and the strength in kindness, it was hailed "a beguiling blend of ancient and modern" (The Times) and "both nurturing and raw, a sensitive response to the times we are living in" (Daily Info).

*Tender* entered the Official Indie Album Charts at number 18, the Official Indie Album Breakers Chart at number 3 (rare accolades for British folk!) before spending a whole year in the Official Folk Chart's top 40. 

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Merry Hell

Multi-award winning Merry Hell offer joyful, uplifting folk-rock, with a message for troubled times.  Native to the North-West of England, the 8-piece musical charabanc was built from the embers of the much loved folk-punk band The Tansads, developing a life and feel all of its own.  Their energy and passion is are complemented by their love of what they do and desire to share hope and togetherness with as many people as are willing to listen. With chart hit album releases, positive press and radio reviews and plays, major festival appearances and a host of sell out gigs, everything points to a band not to be missed!

*Tender* entered the Official Indie Album Charts at number 18, the Official Indie Album Breakers Chart at number 3 (rare accolades for British folk!) before spending a whole year in the Official Folk Chart's top 40. 

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The Brothers Gillespie

“Our music is inspired by the still wild soul of the land in which we live, a land alive with presences, not owned by anyone. It is about seeing with the eye of the heart and recovering our imaginations. It is about finding home, belonging and each other in a world which is singing to us as we sing to it.”

Described by Folk Radio UK as ‘weaving an especially compelling magic’, and 'showing British acoustic music in its best possible light’, Northumbrian duo The Brothers Gillespie make music that is animated by lyrical songwriting, fine fingerstyle guitar playing, multi-instrumental musicianship and ‘the glorious tones of their blood harmony’ (Sam Lee). 

Brothers James and Sam Gillespie found their sound growing up in the fells and valleys of Northumberland, their songs often describing relationships with wild places and the experience of finding oneself in a world alive with soul. The music comes to them most strongly when walking in the borderlands with their packs and instruments which remains a regular practice for them. This spirit is channeled into their live performances which have a rare and intimate energy, both ethereal and earthy, romantic and radical. The brothers have travelled far and wide with their music and have played at Cambridge and Sidmouth Folk Festivals and opened for Lankum and Sam Lee. In 2021 they featured in the English Heritage ‘Songs of England’ recording series that appeared on BBC Radio 4. The release of their new album ‘The Merciful Road’ (‘pure magic’, Living Tradition) in Spring 2022 saw them embark on their most extensive national tour to date.  

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