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FOLK SINGER OF THE YEAR

JULIE FOWLIS

Ìý Watch Julie Fowlis and KT Tunstall Video Interview

With two acclaimed solo albums to her name, ethereal and charming Gaelic singer and multi-instrumentalist Julie Fowlis has travelled the world and won fans including Björk and Ricky Gervais.

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ALSO NOMINATED:

Jez Lowe


Kate Rusby
Ìý Watch Kate Rusby and Graham Coxon Video Interview

Artist Profile | |

Martin Simpson
Artist Profile | |

BEST DUO

JOHN TAMS & BARRY COOPE

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Singer and musician John Tams has been a guiding light of the British folk community for over thirty years. Barry Coope is one-third of ace acapella trio Coope Boyes and Simpson, his engaging vocal and keyboard skills making him the perfect duo partner for Tams.




ALSO NOMINATED:

Show of Hands
Artist Profile |

Spiers & Boden
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While & Matthews
Ìý Watch Chris While and Julie Matthews Video Interview

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BEST GROUP

LAU

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The teaming of Kris Drever (guitar and vocal), Martin Green (piano accordion) and Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle) has fused three of the most innovative exponents of modern traditional music on today’s scene.

Artist Profile | |


ALSO NOMINATED:

Bellowhead
Artist Profile |

Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
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Tunng
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BEST ALBUM

PRODIGAL SONÌý- MARTIN SIMPSON

Ìý Watch Martin Simpson Video Interview

So confident with the blues that some assume he’s American, yet an equally superb interpreter of English traditional music, Martin Simpson is no stranger to award nominations and successes.


ALSO NOMINATED:

Lightweights & Gentlemen - Lau

The Bairns - Rachel Unthank & The Winterset

The Imagined Village - Various Artists

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

NEVER ANY GOOD - MARTIN SIMPSON


ALSO NOMINATED:

Bitter Boy - Kate Rusby

Dad's Gonna Kill Me - Richard Thompson

Three Black Feathers - Bella Hardy

BEST TRADITIONAL TRACK

COLD HAILY RAINY NIGHT - THE IMAGINED VILLAGE

Ìý Watch Martin and Eliza Carthy VideoÌýInterview

With its top-rank line-up (including Billy Bragg, Martin and Eliza Carthy, Paul Weller, Benjamin Zephaniah et al) and brave arrangements, Simon Emmerson’s project to reinvent the traditional British music for a multi-cultural 21^st century received much critical acclaim.


ALSO NOMINATED:

Andrew Lammie - Martin Simpson

Blacksmith - Lisa Knapp

John Barbury - Kate Rusby

HORIZON AWARD

RACHEL UNTHANK & THE WINTERSET

With their debut scooping Mojo magazine’s Folk Album of 2005 and their 2007 follow-up causing a sensation with its original and empathic arrangements, the Northumbrian quartet have already established themselves in the folk hierarchy.




ALSO NOMINATED:

Bella Hardy
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Jackie Oates
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Lisa Knapp
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MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

ANDY CUTTING

One of the most in-demand English musicians working today, Andy is a melodeon player (and composer) par excellence, known for his influential duo work with Chris Wood and his work with countless artists and bands including Kate Rusby, June Tabor and Blowzabella.




ALSO NOMINATED:

John McCusker



Martin Green


Martin Simpson
Artist Profile | Ìý

BEST LIVE ACT

BELLOWHEAD

The eleven-strong big band’s sinister and funky take on English folk music has now secured them a hat-trick of Best Live Act awards, as well as Best Group in 2007.

Artist Profile |


ALSO NOMINATED:

Lau
Artist Profile | |

Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
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Show of Hands
Artist Profile |

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

JOHN MARTYN

John Martyn has been a unique character on the British music scene for more than forty years. From his straightforward folk work as the first white artist signed to Island records, through his recordings with then wife Beverley, to his more muscular jazz experiments and beyond, his heartfelt performances have either suggested or fully demonstrated an idiosyncratic genius. In a special message, Eric Clapton described Martyn as, "so far ahead of everything, it's almost inconceivable."

• Watch John Martyn Video Interview
  
  
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GOOD TRADITION AWARD

SHIRLEY COLLINS

Shirley Collins MBE was a major contributor to the English folk revival of the 1950s and '60s, fusing a deep understanding of England's folk heritage with a contemporary attitude to musical settings. Following her work with famous American folklorist Alan Lomax, she introduced many innovations to the revival via collaborations with guitar maestro Davy Graham, David Munrow’s Early Music Consort, the 'father of folk-rock', Ashley Hutchings, and her sister Dolly. Billy Bragg has called Shirley, "one of England's greatest cultural treasures."

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