The Magpies

Folk at The Theatre - The Magpies with special guest Paul Armfield Sun 16 Jun 2024 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM BST Knutsford Little Theatre, 18 Queen St, Knutsford WA16 6HZ Closing this years Knutsford Music Festival Mark Radcliffe presents The Magpies with special guest Paul Armfield. Transatlantic folk band The Magpies are quickly becoming one of the most exciting acts on the UK roots scene. Combining sublime harmonies with exquisite musicianship and song writing, Bella Gaffney (banjo, vocals), Holly Brandon (fiddle, vocals) and Ellie Gowers (guitar, vocals) effortlessly meld Anglo and American traditions. Their latest album - Undertow - has been exceptionally well -received, garnering a quarter of a million streams on Spotify, a place in the Official Folk Chart Top 40 and a live session on BBC Radio 2. The trio have toured extensively, with UK festival highlights including Glastonbury, Cambridge and Shambala and internationally in USA, Canada and Europe. Fresh from a 3 week tour of Canada and midwinter UK tour, The Magpies return to the road this Spring for a tour of Scotland and Northern England. ‘One of those effervescent albums you’d be happy to recommend to people who might not consider themselves folk fans’ - The Sunday Times ‘Folk with finesse’ - The Daily Mail ‘Check that album out! Really good mix of songs and instrumentals - they’re great players!’ - Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Paul Armfield is a veteran performer with a warm, relaxed stage presence and a voice that Caitlin Moran described as being ‘as toasty and lovely as Christmas morning’. Following his most recent album 'Domestic' he was commissioned to write 5 songs about trees, and is now working on new material for release later this year. Selling books by day he is also an occasional funeral celebrant, a lino-cut artist, and a double bassist whose playing can be heard on the best-selling Michael Kiwanuka single ‘I’m Getting Ready’ as well as collaborations with jazz pianist Greg Foat. An accomplished musical-saw player, he has a busking alter-ego called the Stranger On The Saw. A spectacular night to bring this years festival to a melodic end that is not to be missed.