Contemporary folk trio ‘Effra’ are Alex Bishop (guitar), Tom Newell (fiddle, mandolin) and Aidan Shepherd (accordion). Heralding from Bath, Shrewsbury and Canterbury respectively, they met in London in 2011. Although coming from rock, classical and jazz backgrounds, a strong connection was quickly formed, and they began meeting regularly to write and develop music that shared a common ground.

Early performances were well received, and the band soon grew an identity of its own, fuelled by innovative ideas brought to the table by all three members. In 2012 after only a year since their first meeting, the band won the Bath Folk Festival ʻNew Shoots Competitionʼ on the strength of their compositions and high- energy performance. In 2014 they released their debut album, ‘Lose An Hour’ and toured extensively through 2015 with performances at, BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’, Cambridge Folk Festival and EFEx/Homegrown festival.

In 2016 they are performing at folk festivals all around the country in preparation for the release of their highly-anticipated second album, recorded at The Pound, in Wiltshire.

“Stylish, high-energy brand of folk-minimalist music”
– fRoots

“An immersive, trance-like musical treat.”
– Songlines

“Striking instrumental folk.”
– The Independant