AWARD-WINNING folk duo Spiers & Boden will visit the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton following the release of their new album Fallow Ground.
John Spiers and Jon Boden won several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards when they entered the music scene in 2001 and went on to become one of the best-loved duos on the English folk scene and beyond.
John and Jon also founded and fronted successful 11-piece folk band Bellowhead.
After exploring solo projects, the duo returned to their roots with the release of Fallow Ground.
They followed up their album release with festival appearances and a 23-date comeback tour in October 2021, which included a sold-out Spiers & Boden Festival at Cecil Sharp House in London.
The album's title referred to their decision to put Spiers & Boden to one side for a while and the impact the pandemic had on live music.
Their decision to return with an album in 2021 was made before the pandemic and the album ended up being recorded between lockdowns.
The result was an album bursting with ideas as well as a new-found confidence to let the material speak for itself.
Jon said Fallow Ground features “traditional songs with a joyous edge”.
He said: “I guess we were looking for songs during lockdown with a sense of fun and light relief.
“I realise that there are zero songs about death on this album, which is probably a first and may get us expelled from the English Folk Dance & Song Society.”
The album has received positive reviews in the national press, with The Observer describing it as “all exquisitely played”.
The Scotsman gave the album a five-star review, with their reviewer writing: “Boden’s impassioned singing brings fresh life to little-heard songs, along with the perfectly-balanced pairing of his fiddle with Spiers’s melodeon.”
The pair are set to embark on a new tour of England and Wales starting on Wednesday, July 1 in Lincoln.
They will perform at the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton on Thursday, June 9 from 7:30pm.
Standard tickets for the 110-minute performance cost £21.
To book tickets, visit the venue's website or call the box office on 01823 283244
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here