Magpie Lane

Magpie Lane is a five-piece band from Oxford, specialising in traditional English songs and dance tunes, playing lesser-known material from the archives alongside well-worn favourites.

The band’s front man, Ian Giles, is blessed with one of the finest voices on the folk scene: warm and mellow, but with great power when required. With four lead vocalists the quality of the singing – whether individually or in harmony – is never in doubt. This vocal strength is matched by the band’s instrumental prowess, accompaniments being sensitive or rollicking as each song demands. And when it comes to playing dance tunes, the front line of Mat Green and Andy Turner on fiddle and concertina has few peers. Jon Fletcher and Sophie Thurman complete the line-up, with gorgeously-played guitar, bouzouki and cello. After 30 years of live performance, and with ten critically-acclaimed albums under their belt, this is the band’s Whitby Folk Week debut.