There is a reason that Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys have the longest CD queues, the wildest audience reactions, and one of the busiest festival calendars of any UK band: their high- octane performance, soaring harmonies and breathtaking instrumentals are infused with an infectious exuberance that leaves crowds everywhere calling for more.
The meteoric rise of Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys is quite astonishing. Since playing their first ever show as a band in May 2016, they have risen from fringe stages and beer gardens to barnstorming headline sets at festivals all over the UK and Europe.
Sam Kelly has gained a reputation as one of the finest singers to come out of the UK folk scene in recent years and has pulled together some of the best, most innovative musicians the UK has to offer to form a genre-defying line-up that seamlessly pulls together traditional folk ballads and tunes, heavy rock-tinged Americana and blues, beautiful original pieces, and the occasional surprise of a pop classic.
“Amazing, thrilling music” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 & Radio 4
Supporting Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys are Gnoss, and Katie Doherty & The Navigators
A dynamic four-piece of fiddle, flute, guitar and percussion, Gnoss tackle energetic tune sets and driv-ing folk song with a ‘maturity of ability many of a greater age will envy’ (The Living Tradition). As cur-rent and former students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Graham Rorie, Aidan Moodie, Connor Sinclair and Craig Baxter have been tipped as ‘ones to watch’ by Songlines. With international touring complimenting the release of their debut album in 2019, all eyes are firmly on this young quartet as they continue to stride forth from the pack.
Award-winning songwriter Katie Doherty has toured with Kathryn Tickell and supported Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Karine Polwart, Ray Davies and Nitin Sawhney. With fiddler Shona Mooney (Former BBC Scotland Young Trad Musician of the Year, founder member of The Shee) and the smiliest man in Folk, Dave Gray on melodeon, Katie formed Katie Doherty and The Navigators. Their sound is much bigger than their component parts, the positivity in the music is contagious and their shows are inti-mate and joyful.
This event is part of Manchester Folk Festival – an urban folk festival. It takes place from 15-20 October 2019, in and around HOME and the city centre. Over the autumn weekend, they present an exhilarating range of events, with the spotlight on contemporary and traditional English folk music.
