Hands Of The Heron Play Oundle

Event information

After first seeing this fabulous trio play live at the Summers End Festival I knew we had to book them for Oundle. And, then, when Friend Anth also saw them and recommended them it had to be done.

So, here they are performing at the Talbot on August 14, 2025. Tickets are £15 in advance and £17.50 on the door. We also are offering a special price of a Fiver to anyone under the age of 18.

Please note that due to the age of this building where the venue room is located that there is no accessible entrance and a short flight of stairs needs to be navigated in order to reach the area where the performance will take place.

"There isn’t anyone else quite like them... Hands of the Heron unveil a profound sense of tranquillity and aesthetic allure – a soothing balm for the contemporary world." - KLOF Mag

“Some of the most amazingly layered music that we play on the show… the vocals, strings, drones, everything they pull together to make their music is awesome.” - BBC Introducing

“Quiet Light offers a celestial dreamscape for any willing ears to join their already considerable following.” 
- Irish Music Magazine 

Bristol-based psychfolk trio Hands of the Heron is a long-running collaboration between Bec Garthwaite, Beth Roberts & Claire Vine , each of whom brings a signature songwriting style to the band. Moving effortlessly between sparse choral folk and shimmering instrumental textures, their interlocking vocal harmonies are a constant thread running through the various hues of their dreamlike, mercurial songs. Their third album Quiet Light (Cuculi Records, 22 Nov 2024) is a seamless expression of blend and balance that explores the tension between tending for yourself and connecting with others. 

“A positive, soul-enriching experience… with intimate, sublimely detailed arrangements that create a strong sense of continuity… tender & hypnotically precise. An album of quiet light and not-so-quiet beauty that makes a striking impact, proving spiritually as well as musically rewarding.” - Folk London

“One to spend time with in quiet contemplation and let their charms bewitch." - Folking

Hands of the Heron have performed at major local music events including Bristol Folk Festival, Outlandish Nights and a performance in Bristol Cathedral beneath Luke Jerram’s Gaia installation, appearing on bills alongside The Breath, Lisa O’Neill, tlk & Frankie Archer. Other festival gigs include Fire in the Mountain, Purbeck Valley Folk, Green Man, Summer’s End Prog Festival and Fanny’s Meadow. In 2024, they played The Harrison Folk Festival and headlined prog event Eppyfest, before launching their third album Quiet Light with an 18-date tour including gigs as far-flung as Cornwall’s Endelienta Arts, Newcastle’s Cobalt Studios, The Locks Inn in Norfolk, Red Door Club in Glasgow, Exeter Library and Green Note in London.

Esteemed jazz critic Ted Gioia recommended their second album 13 Moons as one of his top recordings for 2021, which has also been described as “a wondrous collection of curious story-songs, choral singing and carefully layered instrumentation” (Joyzine) with “exquisite versatility and insight” (God Is In The TV Zine) and “songwriting mastery that perfectly delivers reverberating folk-pop” (Tap The Feed). In 2020, the band founded Cuculi Records together as a DIY space to release their own albums, as well as music by friends & collaborators from the grassroots alt-folk community including Fritillaries, Thomas Calladine & Anna Anise. 

“Like The Unthanks, Hands of the Heron’s Bec Garthwaite, Beth Roberts and Claire Vine share a near-telepathic gift for unaccompanied singing… fabulously transporting and hypnotic. Like the best folk music, Quiet Light also radiates a sense of community and mutual support, Garthwaite, Roberts and Vine operating as a diversely gifted sisterhood.” - PROG Magazine