The Betsy Trotwood, Clerkenwell
Saturday 11th November
Doors 7:30pm, Live Music 8:15pm
Advance tickets £12, £14 on the night
Joe Danks & Rowan Piggott were introduced in 2021 and bonded over a shared passion for Old-Time Appalachian music. An initial campsite session turned into living room jams, sharing lifts to sessions and ultimately the creation of a new old-time duo – ‘Old Spot’. Expect foot stomping old-time music on fiddle, banjo, gourd banjo & guitar. Influenced by contemporary musicians like Rayna Gellert and Jake Blount as well as first-wave recording artists like John Hartford and Bill Monroe, they create contemporary Appalachian music with modern audiences in mind. Old Spot sees two musicians from different traditions to explore a shared musical love, creating traditional music that is bursting with joy and imagination.
Joe Danks is a multi instrumentalist, singer and Morris dancer based in Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Joe released his debut solo album Seaspeak in 2021 to critical acclaim and national press coverage. Tracks from the album were featured on BBC Folk Shows across the UK, Wales & Scotland and it was described ‘a sumptuous and adroitly crafted collection’ (FRUK) and ‘an outstanding debut’. Despite being best known in the English folk scene, Joe grew up surrounded by the patchwork of American folk musics played by his parents, and found himself drawn home to these traditions in the confusion of lockdown. Five string banjo became Joe’s place of solace and is now the beating heart of Old Spot. His trademark rhythmic intensity and energy is more present than ever.
Rowan Piggott is a folk fiddler, traditional singer and tune collector who grew up in the foothills of the Burren on the west coast of Ireland, surrounded by traditional music. His debut album, Mountscribe, was met with critical acclaim, as was his Songhive folksong project to raise awareness of the current plight of our bees. Rowan is best known for performing and writing with his folk trio, The Wilderness Yet. Their latest album was released in 2022; called a “timeless and heady mix of traditions” by Folk Radio; and featured regularly on the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show. Rowan brings his studious passion for international folk traditions to Old Spot, and his inventive 5-string fiddling pulls in melodic elements of the Swedish and Irish traditions to ornament traditional Old-Time grooves.