Nancy Kerr & James Fagan: live at the United Reformed Church, Abbey Hill

We are thrilled to have top folk duo Kerr Fagan coming to Kenilworth!

Nancy Kerr and James Fagan are one of the best-known and most experienced folk duos on the British circuit today. Outstanding musicianship, a lifelong grounding in traditional singing and instrumental playing, acclaimed original compositions but most noticeably a visceral chemistry between these two make Kerr and Fagan a perennial favourite at festivals, venues and clubs across the country. They met in December 1995, and formed the duo and life partnership that has become the backbone of their professional career in music ever since.

They won the inaugural Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2000, and were also the first ever recipients of the “Best Duo” Award, which they won in 2003, and again in 2011.

Nancy Kerr is the daughter of London singer-songwriter Sandra Kerr and Northumbrian piper Ron Elliott. Nancy is a simply outstanding writer of songs, one of England’s best-known folk fiddle players and in 2015 won “Folk Singer of the Year” at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She is in constant demand as a songwriter, performer and teacher. As well as the duo with James, her recent work has included the multi-award-winning “The Full English” band, “The Elizabethan Session”, Melrose Quartet and the trio Simpson Cutting Kerr (with Martin Simpson and Andy Cutting), and now folk-rock supergroup “The Magpie Arc. She is co-director of the Soundpost fiddle and singing workshop weekends in Sheffield. Her duo in the 1990s with Eliza Carthy saw her shoot to international prominence on the folk scene in her teens and she hasn’t looked back. She was Honorary Professor of Composition at Leeds Conservatoire and now is a lecturer in music at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 

James Fagan was born in Australia and raised in a folk-singing family The Fagans. He is a multi-instrumentalist and singer, specialising in bouzouki, guitar and mandolin. As well as working side by side with Nancy for nearly two decades, James is part of Melrose Quartet and The James Brothers. James is constantly in demand as a session player and appears on albums by Cara Dillon, Martin Simpson, Brian Finnegan, Eliza Carthy and Spiers & Boden. He was part of Bellowhead for their Hedonism tour in 2010 and has been a regular member of the Cara Dillon Band, having played bouzouki on three of her key albums. He is a vocal tutor on the Newcastle University Folk Music Degree Course.
As a duo, Nancy and James have toured internationally, most notably in the British Isles, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They have thousands of fans and despite now having two children, they continue to work and tour constantly from their home base in Sheffield. Their duo shows are now special and sought-after events.

Twice winners “Best Duo” BBC RADIO 2 FOLK AWARDS (2003, 2011)
Nancy Kerr was the 2015 “Folk Singer of the Year” (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards)
“Stunning – Five Stars”. R2
“A songwriter steeped in the tradition, but casting it anew.” Songlines
“Quite breathtakingly beautiful.” Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2.
“The sheer abundance of distilled poetry on display is inspiring. And when it unravels in such a moving lyrical way, such as this, it will remain in the audience’s minds for a long time.” Spiral Earth
“Quite simply the most refreshing, impressive and compelling combo I’ve seen for ages”. John Kirkpatrick
“A real example of virtuosity being put to the service of the music.” Living Tradition
“The telepathic and sympathetic interplay of Kerr and Fagan never fails to amaze.” Pay the Reckoning
“Kerr and Fagan have that magic quality of stage presence… they are consummate professionals and a joy to deal with.” Warren Robinson, director, Goderich Celtic Festival, Ontario

This gig is at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.
7pm doors, music starts at 7.30pm.

There will be a bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks.

Organised by The Tree House Bookshop, supported by Kenilworth Arts Festival

Refund policy: we will only give refunds if a gig is sold out, and more than a week before the event. If you request a refund in the 7 days prior to the event, we will try to resell your tickets and refund your purchase if we are successful.

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