Get your dancing shoes on

Over the past few months, Ballymoney Borough Arts Committee’s programme has featured a number of excellent musicians and this month is no exception as we can look forward to welcoming the dynamic English folk duo Spiers and Boden to Ballymoney Town Hall on Tuesday 22 March.

One of the most popular duos on the vibrant English folk scene, John Spiers (melodeon, concertina) and 2010 BBC Radio 2 ‘Folk Singer of the Year’ Jon Boden are truly at the forefront of the new folk revival. Loud, proud and with just a few acoustic instruments, they create a multitude of textures upon which they present traditional stories and storming pieces of music, which are as much at home on the main stage of a large festival, as they are at a lock-in at a local pub!

Described by The Guardian as “the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene” Spiers & Boden have made the genre of English folk very much their own stomping ground. Twice winners of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for ‘Best Duo’ Jon and John are also founding members of supergroup Bellowhead and are long–term collaborators with Eliza Carthy.

With his theatrical style, Jon Boden follows in the footsteps of the great folk-singers. As well as forming half of Spiers & Boden and singing lead vocals in Bellowhead, Jon has also found time to release his own, self-penned album of contemporary indie rock-songs and is currently involved in the ‘Folk Song A Day’ project, whereby everyday (since 24 June 2010) he has posted a traditional song online to promote the art of ‘social’ singing!

John Spiers has carved his own space in the folk scene, by uniquely blending traditional squeezebox styles, with contemporary dance music to create acoustic grooves, which provide the infectious rhythm of Spiers & Boden.

The performance begins at 8pm in Ballymoney Town Hall. Tickets £9, concessions £7 are available from the Tourist Information Centre at the Town Hall Tel 028 2766 0230.

The perfromance is presented by Moving on Music in association with Ballymoney Borough Arts Committee. The event is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council and PRS Foundation for New Music. For further information, please visit www.movingonmusic.co.uk.

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