Description
This is a hybrid gig hosted in association with Folk Weekend: Oxford and The North Wall. The gig will be taking place at The North Wall in Oxford, and if you’d like to attend in person, you can book tickets here.
Emily Portman & Rob Harbron both have award-winning reputations as performers, composers and recording artists. Now they have formed an inspired new collaboration in which they delve into English folk traditions, creating a boldly exposed and intricately woven contemporary folk sound.
Emily (voice, banjo & piano) is best known as an original songwriter and for her work with the acclaimed folk band The Furrow Collective. Rob (concertina, guitar, voice) tours with Leveret, Fay Hield, Jon Boden and many more, being in great demand as one the finest multi-instrumentalists in the UK.
Together they take a fresh approach to exploring the traditional music they are both steeped in, drawing out the contemporary relevance in their repertoire with master craftsmanship. Emily’s spellbinding storytelling and unaffected voice combines with Rob’s sympathetic musicality to create an unforgettable and intimate live experience, brimming with a focused subtlety, depth and a shared love of the music.
Their highly anticipated debut album ‘Time Was Away’ was released on 25th November 2022. Comprising of eight English folk songs and two 20th century poems set to music, the album was recorded and produced by award-winning Andy Bell of Hudson Records. A quietly powerful masterwork that deftly treads the tightrope between contemporary and timeless.
“English folk comes no more enchanted than Emily Portman’s delicately sung tales” – The Guardian
“Rob Harbron is a musical hound, showing an endless energy and a fine nose for a melody” – Songlines
Photo credit: Camilla Greenwell
