LONDON: The Betsey Trotwood

Friday 11th November, 2022

7:30pm

Event information

The electrifying sound of 6 piece (un)traditional folk band Bonfire Radicals is both intensely creative and irresistibly fun. Expect the unexpected, with global grooves, instrumental fireworks, rich vocal harmonies and delicate a cappella emerging from a melting pot of original and traditional tunes from the British Isles to the Balkans. Emotive vocals, textural washes, intricate woodwind and fierce fiddle are woven together over a pulsating backdrop of guitar, bass and drums. Bonfire Radicals’ music dares their audiences not to dance.

The band have built up a strong fan base following their intense high-energy live performances across the UK including Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Beardy Folk Festival, Moseley Folk & Arts Festival, Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, selling out Birmingham’s legendary Hare & Hounds and Kitchen Garden Cafe, and airplay on BBC Radio 3.

This tour celebrates the release of Bonfire Radicals second album The Space Between. This new album captures the adventurous breadth of their musical imaginations, revels in enthusiasm for folk traditions from around the globe and delivers it with the effortless dynamism that permeates their live shows. From brooding vocals to raucous woodwind and fiery fiddle, driven by a punchy backline, The Space Between takes you on a journey through time and place with its dedication to intertwining traditional music with contemporary imaginings. It urges you to dance with abandon, ears wide, hairs raised.

The album features a collection of original, traditional, and borrowed tunes all arranged by the band and given a new life and direction. It positions well known tunes such as Brenda Stubbert’s Reel by Jerry Holland and klezmer favourites Sha, Sha, Di Shviger Kumt (Shh, the mother-in-law is coming) and Freilacher Nashele, alongside quirky originals. Despite the joie de vivre evident here, Bonfire Radicals are not afraid to hit hard and tackle tough issues with an emotional adaptation of the true stories of two Birmingham women in the murder ballad Mary Ashford.

"Boldly raucous … Quite staggeringly special.” - Fatea Magazine

"Birmingham's finest progressive folk band". – Tradfolk

"Raucous and eclectic... sheer merriment bundled into a gorgeous set of ideas and influences - Songlines ★★★★

"This is tradition woven into an uninhibited gathering of inspired originality". – FolkWords

56 Farringdon Road
Clerkenwell
London
EC1R 3BL

www.folkonmonday.co.uk