With influences in blues, jazz and country Ma Polaine have drawn comparisons with many, with references to Billie Holiday, Tom Waits and a “moody Mary Margaret O’Hara”, yet Ma Polaine’s sound is very much their own. Beth’s distinctive, emotive vocals coupled with her evocative lyrics create a compelling mix of abstract tales, dark humour and raw beauty, whilst Clinton’s understated guitar style supports with rich chords and gritty riffs.

Their June 2020 album “City of Love” received wide-spread acclaim and earned the band “Best band/duo” award from Fatea Magazine, with MOJO magazine saying they “have evolved a pop-folk-blues-americana style that is warmly familiar yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you guessing”. The songs racked up airplay across the airwaves including 6 Music and Cerys Matthew’s Radio 2 Blues Show.

Playing live as a duo the songs become sparse versions of themselves, but the sound is a full one, Beth’s electric and double basses anchor the sound, with additional accordion and harmonica, leaving Clinton to play with the space in between.

MOJO Magazine – 4 stars. “Ma Polaine’s Great Decline have evolved a pop-folk-blues-americana style that is warmly familiar, yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you guessing…”

Morning Star – 5 stars. “Packer’s voice has a superb range, but it is her interpretative skill that entrances, with the effortless shifts that imbue her evocative lyrics with rare emotional charge”.

Folk Radio UK – “..an album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats around every corner”.

Blues Matters – “This is 21st-century music chock full of mystery and acute observation”.

Support from Hoverdonkey

After a number of years playing in bands more aligned with psyche and noise rock, a chance conversation revealed a shared love of accoustic folk guitar picking and Hoverdonkey was born. Taking inspiration from both older 70’s folk revival masters such as Jon Renbourne and amazing contemporary players on the current folk scene they spent 2023 writing and playing anywhere that would let them. They released their first single on Gardener’s Delight Records in June 2024 which quickly sold out.

They are currently working on an album due for release in late 2026. Hoverdonkey aim is to send listeners into a reflective state of relaxation with their music. As Gardener’s delight records put it, ‘Hoverdonkey conjure the vibe of meanderingly complex walks that always seem to end up with a superbly poured pint in a more than decent country pub’