Iris Skipworth has been telling stories at festivals and clubs across the UK for over a decade. Twice Winner of the National Young Storyteller of the Year, she then established the Manchester based storytelling club, A Sting In The Tale in 2019. As well as curating a stellar monthly line-up for Sting. Iris also runs storytelling workshops for a variety of ages, in schools and mental health facilities. In January 2025 she helped to set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Continuous Storytelling Session, whilst performing at Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.

Ailsa Dixon is a traditional storyteller and musician deeply rooted in place and passionate about sharing traditional tales and unheard histories. She specialises in Scottish stories, particularly those from Aberdeenshire and Orkney. She is particularly interested in narratives with feminist and environmentalist themes, as well as international myths, legends and wonder tales. A traditional musician, she often incorporates traditional song and folk cello and clarsach into her performances, which range from engaging children’s shows to compelling contemporary work around themes of climate justice and bodily autonomy. Her collaborative work includes the critically acclaimed performance shows such as Land Under Wave and Hear Us and Hasten. Ailsa has performed solo and collaborative work at the Edinburgh Fringe, Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF), Glasgow Village Storytelling Festival, Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival, Orkney Storytelling Festival, Perth Soutar Culture Festival, Beyond the Border, Wigtown Book Festival and Festival at the Edge and many more

Ffion Phillips is a bilingual storyteller and folk musician with a passion for breathing new enchantment into old tales and reworking scraps of forgotten material into fresh stories. Ffion was young storyteller of Wales from 2021-2023 with much of her repertoire rooted deeply in the Welsh landscape of her native Eryri, while also adventuring to stories further afield. She has performed solo and collaborative work across the UK, from Celtic roundhouses to libraries and community centres as well as at festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Glasgow Village Storytelling Festival, Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival, Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival. Her work explores themes of place, animacy and often ventures into the otherworld.

Flying Cat are James Rhodes (melodeon/piano) and Caro Appleby (piano/sax/whistles). They collect the best tunes from various folk traditions and fuse them into vibrant, danceable ceilidh music.

Alex Cumming (Bellwether, Red Case Band, The Teacups) and Audrey Jaber (Free Raisins, Wake Up Robin, Gaslight Tinkers) are a dynamic duo in the traditional folk music scene, known for their captivating performances and deep-rooted passion for folk traditions. Together, Alex and Audrey create a unique and engaging traditional music experience. Their collaboration blends Alex’s traditional singing and rhythmic accordion playing with Audrey’s lively fiddling, resulting in performances that resonate deeply with audiences. Audrey played fiddle on Alex’s debut solo album, “Homecoming,” released in 2024 and the duo are working on their debut duo record in 2025. Their partnership is celebrated for its ability to connect with audiences through passionate and authentic performances, making them a beloved duo in the traditional folk music community

Trip Hazard are a new Contra dance band, featuring an unusual mixture of instruments. To help keep you dancing, our piano and bodhran do all the driving, and our multiple saxophones involve the operation of heavy machinery. Side effects do NOT include drowsiness!

Formed in 2002, Trinculo play a mix of original and traditional ceilidh tunes with drive and energy to get your feet moving! The line-up is Aisling Holmes on Fiddle, Jemma Eaton on sax and whistles, Lee O’Donnell on bass, Nigel Holmes on Guitar and Ray Cunningham on melodeon.

Thomas has been dancing and calling Playford and English country dances since his university days. This is his first visit to Whitby as a caller, although he’s been many times as a musician and dancer. He enjoys Playford for its variety of figures and its cracking tunes, and wants to encourage dancers to dance with the music and to think about those they’re dancing with … at the same time!

Sam Tetley Smith is a new caller to the UK festival scene, with an eye for fun and interesting modern contras

After years of playing together on the Oxford session scene and folk club, Louis Thurman (melodeons, vocals), Mitch Keely (guitar, vocals), and Joshua Newman (fiddle, viola, vocals) as The Oakstone Trio combine a nuanced improvisatory approach to tunes with energy and warmth, allowing seldom-heard melodies to escape old manuscripts and giving well-loved session tunes the space to find new directions. 

In 2023 The Oakstone Trio worked with the Bodleian Library to present performances and workshops as part of the library’s Playford exhibition “The Dancing Master”, and have bought lively Playford ceilidhs to Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Chester Folk Festival, and Oxfolk Ceilidhs.

Jack has grown up dancing at folk festivals and started calling whilst at Bristol University. With over five years of calling ceilidh and contra dances under his belt, he brings energy, clarity, and a deep love for traditional dance to every event.

Fran Bulpit (violin) and Philip Rowe (accordion/piano) have been making fabulous music together for longer than anyone can remember. Best known as members of Knotted Chord, they are Whitby regulars, playing for Playford and Contra dance. They enjoy dancing as much as playing and thoroughly understand what makes great dance music. Both play in numerous different bands, together and with others. They provide drive, energy, sensitivity and wonderful harmonies as the occasion demands

Descended from musical legends Buddy Holly and Aretha Franklyn, Drinks on the House consists of Patrick Rose and Joshua Webster, who came together quite by chance in a pub sixty-three years ago, and have been playing for dancing together ever since. Driven by their shared love of multi-storey car parks, vintage spaceships, and blatant lies, they attempt to bring something approaching seriousness to the folk dance scene, though they’re still several nautical miles away from doing that. And in fact aren’t actually trying

Flowers & Frolics took on recognisable form in 1975 to become the residents at The Islington Folk Club, then at The Florence pub, but soon to move to the, justly famous, Empress of Russia, where with Bob Davenport as MC and lodestar, they created what was described in Melody Maker as ‘the country’s most adventurous acoustic music venue’. Their lively, driving approach to traditional tunes was part of the growing interest in English Country Music and these two, complementary musics quickly created a very busy schedule of dances, clubs, concerts and festivals. Their dance tunes, all played in a fiercely English style drew from many very different origins and their songs were just as varied. They were always game for a bit of nonsense too, but never ever wavered from their commitment to musical quality and performance. In recent years they have been accepting some requests to reunite and are enjoying it with all the old energy! They have devised a further presentation which reflects on the exciting, yet controversial, days of the 1970 ‘Folk Scene’.

Whip the Cat are an inclusive and diverse team that can be found tip-tapping around the pubs of Nottingham and beyond, they are on the prowl in Whitby to provide exciting high energy performances.