Kathryn Tickell & Amy Thatcher

About

The intuitive musical interplay between Kathryn and Amy is born out of a long-standing creative friendship. Kathryn's pipes marry beautifully with Amy's exquisite accordion playing. A cascade of jigs, reels, heart-wrenching airs, together with percussive clog dancing makes for an irresistible mix.

Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian pipes, fiddle, voice
Kathryn is widely acclaimed as the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes. She is a composer, performer, broadcaster and recording artist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria. She has released 16 of her own albums to date and has also recorded and performed with Sting, The Chieftains, Penguin Café Orchestra, Jon Lord, Evelyn Glennie, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta and many others. She has twice won "Musician of the Year" at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and was awarded the OBE in 2015 for services to folk music. Kathryn is a regular presenter for BBC Radio 3's "Music Planet".

Amy Thatcher – accordion, voice, clog dancing
Amy is one of the UK's leading folk accordionists. Her musical roots are in Stockport's Fosbrook Folk Education Trust, where she trained from the age of eight on accordion, fiddle, piano and clog dancing. The Traditional Music degree course at Newcastle University took her to the north east where she subsequently joined The Shee, The Monster Ceilidh Band and Kathryn's ensembles The Side and The Darkening.