When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 18 February 2026
Where: YES Pink Room, 38 Charles Street, Manchester, M1 7DB

We’re excited to be welcoming The Besnard Lakes back to Manchester!

The Besnard Lakes return with their seventh album The Besnard Lakes Are the Ghost Nation. In doing so confirming their status as one of the most peerlessly consistent bands over the 20 years plus of their existence – with a purity of vision and level of quality that is hard to rival in modern music.

“I feel like it’s a very formidable title, symbolic of the times,” says co-singer Jace Lasek. “It’s talking about the death of nations, the threat of Canada being the 51st state. There is the desire to be left alone, to let community be community, all of those things that feel like they might be under siege; that’s what the ghost nation is.”

The band confirms this was partly in response to their last album, 2021’s The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings. “The last record was so heavy,” reflects Jace. “There was so much weight and heavy themes, like my dad dying. It was just death everywhere on that record. This album doesn’t really seem to be that. To me, it seems very playful.”

They gathered in a gorgeous barn at Lost River Studios, deep in the woods of the Laurentians, to record the album. Spending 5 days compiling, experimenting and experiencing the creative solitude in the woods with some of the band’s family members there. The result is a playful yet thoughtful and heartfelt collection of psychedelic sounds and experiences, which was mixed by Lasek at the Rigaud Ranch Studio.

The first cut lifted from the album ‘In Hollywood’ dates back to 2010 and…are the Roaring Night era, recalls co-singer Olga Goreas: “It’s a melody that was circulating in Jace’s mind for many years. Unable to let it go, Jace sat with it and finally brought it to light. Written in a dropped D tuning, In Hollywood is atypical in the Besnard canon. Some very creative synth work from Sheenah in the outro. A beautifully bizarre guitar solo from Gabriel. This one shows off Jace’s vocal stylings and has an intriguing lyrical journey for the listener to discover.”

The Besnard Lakes Are the Ghost Nation is another fascinating trip and it might just be their best album yet; a strive for hope when it is needed most.

The Besnard Lakes are Jace Lasek, Olga Goreas, Kevin Laing, Gabriel Lambert, Sheenah Ko.

Tour support comes from The Thorn. The Thorn (formerly Large Plants) are a musical group from London, England who play psych-tinged heavy folk-rock with nods to jazz and soul that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Numero compilation of lost early 70’s fuzz jams. Initially formed in 2021 to play the solo recordings of founder Jack Sharp (Wolf People), the live band has since grown and changed, developing a life of its own. Joined by bassist Paul Milne (Hanging Stars, Green Seagull) and drummer Itamar Rubinger (Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats), they played many shows supporting the likes of Mudhoney, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Chris Cohen and Johnny Echols’ Love.

In 2024 they were joined by Cambridge singer songwriter Naomi Randall and were able to explore their love of British folk-rock pioneers like Trees, Pentangle and Fairport Convention. The new name The Thorn was chosen to mark the change whilst acknowledging a continuation of the spirit of the band.

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When: 7pm on Friday 20 February 2026
Where: Night & Day Cafe, 26 Oldham St, Manchester, M1 1JN

We’re delighted to welcome The Dears back to Manchester!

Formed in 1995, The Dears released their first, ultra lo-fi album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, in 2000. The orchestral, dark pop sound and dramatic live shows cemented The Dears at the foundation of the then-emerging Canadian indie-rock renaissance. Their live show was described as ‘the sonic equivalent of seeing the face of god’.

In 2001 and 2002, they released two separate concept EPs, Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique and Protest, respectively. In 2003 they released their second full-length album No Cities Left in Canada, and a string of highly anticipated shows at SxSW ‘04 prompted the international release of No Cities Left with Bella Union. Their third album, Gang of Losers, came in 2006, was well received by the press, and was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. In 2008, the band released Missiles, followed by Degeneration Street (2011), Times Infinity Volume One (2015), Times Infinity Volume Two (2017), and Lovers Rock (2020).

In 2024 The Dears partnered with Outside Music/Next Door Records and in the spring of 2025 completed their ninth studio album, with release details forthcoming!

The Dears have toured the world over, including performances on Letterman (twofold), Jimmy Kimmel, Jonathan Ross and at Glastonbury, T in the Park, Wireless, Montreal Jazz Fest, Siren Festival, Coachella, Austin City Limits, V Fest, Reading and Leeds, Les Inrocks (France), Montreux Jazz Fest, Istanbul Jazz Fest, Pop Montreal, CMW, NXNE and countless appearances at SXSW. They have shared stages with Spiritualized, Broken Social Scene, Daniel Lanois, Rufus Wainwright, Zemfira, Bloc Party, Keane, Morrissey, The Tragically Hip, Metric and Death From Above, to name a few.

Tour support comes from Meg Lui. Meg Lui is a Northern California–born singer-songwriter, based in the Hudson Valley since 2015. In her songs, vivid lyrics and poignant melodies intertwine with a voice that feels both intimate and lasting. Through reflections on love, resilience, and the human experience, she offers listeners a window into her world. Over the past two years, Meg has lent her voice to records including Sufjan Stevens ‘Javelin,’ Sam Evian’s ‘Plunge,’ Dension Witmer’s ‘Anything At All,’ John Legend’s ‘My Favorite Dream,’ Liam Kazars ‘Pilot Light,’ and Keenan O’Meara’s ‘Bathe in the Everlasting Light.’ She sings and plays regularly with artists Keenan O’Meara and Hannah Cohen and occasionally in the country band Critter Bonus.

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When: 7pm on Friday 27 February 2026
Where: Low Four Studio, Deansgate Mews, Great Northern, Manchester M3 4EN

We’re delighted to welcome Iceland’s Eydís Evensen to Manchester!

Eydís Evensen is one of Iceland’s most remarkable musical exports — a composer and pianist whose deeply emotive soundscapes have quietly captivated audiences around the world. Classically trained, but led by instinct and emotion, Evensen creates music that transcends genre: flowing between modern classical, ambient minimalism, cinematic composition, and quiet introspection. Her work is as rooted in feeling as it is in technique — music that doesn’t just speak, but listens.

Raised in the windswept northern town of Blönduós, where the raw Icelandic landscape shapes every aspect of life, Evensen began composing at the age of seven, inspired by a snowstorm battering the windows of her childhood home. That first composition set the tone for everything to come: beauty wrapped in fragility, movement born from stillness, and a deep emotional connection to the natural world.

Her debut album Bylur (2021), released on Sony Masterworks imprint XXIM Records and named after the Icelandic word for “snowstorm,” is an intimate and moving collection of piano-led pieces and string arrangements that trace her emotional journey from childhood through adulthood. It’s a record shaped by solitude, displacement, and memory — a modern classical diary etched in sound. With her second album on XXIM Records, The Light (2023), Evensen expanded her sonic palette, introducing choral arrangements, subtle electronics, and — for the first time — her own voice. It’s a powerful meditation on healing and resilience, written in the aftermath of personal trials, global uncertainty, and her growing concern for the environmental fragility of her homeland.

Evensen’s music is guided by emotion above all else. Her compositions are raw, graceful expressions of what it means to feel deeply — to mourn, to hope, to reflect, to move forward. There is an honesty to her work that’s increasingly rare: she writes from experience, from memory, from pain and joy alike, with no attempt to dilute or disguise it. Each piece carries a story, and every performance is a new telling of it.

Live, Evensen’s concerts are quietly breathtaking. Her shows are immersive, intimate, and atmospheric — the kind of experience that holds a room in stillness, she creates a world that invites listeners in, allowing them to feel their way through the music rather than just hear it. Her presence at the piano is both gentle and commanding, and no two performances are ever the same — shaped by the space, the moment, and the energy of those present.

With millions of streams worldwide and a growing international following, Evensen has quickly become a unique and vital voice in the modern classical landscape. Yet what sets her apart isn’t just her technical ability or compositional flair — it’s her unwavering emotional clarity. Her music doesn’t strive to impress, it simply exists to connect.

This is music that lingers. Music that comforts. Music that heals.

This show takes place at Low Four – a recording studio situated on Deansgate Mews in the Great Northern warehouse. This intimate venue features a fully stocked Cloudwater bar.

This is a 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

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When: 7.30pm on Saturday 28 February 2026
Where: Kamera at Lloyd & Platt, 617 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, Manchester, M219AN

We’re delighted to welcome Robin Richards to Kamera!

Robin Richards, principal composer in beloved Manchester art-pop band Dutch Uncles, has released his long-awaited debut solo album, Taproots, on PRAH Recordings.

Positioning him alongside experimental electronic contemporaries Oneohtrix Point Never, Flying Lotus, Hinako Omori and Djrum et al, the album’s arc includes pieces about self-doubt, positive life changes, fatherhood and a suite of concept pieces about the life cycle of trees.

The album features the single Ossia. What starts with conventional bass guitar, Wurlitzer and drums, gradually expands into a meld of synths, distortions, jungle beats and prepared guitar (played with crocodile clips on the strings).

‘Ossia is the Italian musical term for “alternatively” and the shifts in dynamic within the piece represent the internal dialogues I have when making choices in life,’ says Robin. ‘The ongoing conversation between the bass guitar and bass synth reflect the bombardment of often contradictory online advice: about health, about nutrition, about wellbeing, about parenting… about seemingly everything, actually.’

Ossia follows previous single Flawwws, a track inspired by Richards’ bouts of self-doubt, overthinking and internet addiction, and Epoxy, an initial 74-second taster of the delights to be found on Taproots and backed by a music video starring experimental London dance duo ekleido.

Taproots features contributions throughout from pianist Chris Illingworth (of the Mercury Prize-nominated GoGo Penguin), flautist Ellen Beth Abdi (emerging Manchester solo artist). It was produced by Brendan Williams (James, Wu Lyf, GoGo Penguin, Dutch Uncles).

Experiments with manipulated acoustic sounds such as prepared pianos and guitar, combined with an orchestra of synthesisers, flutes and samples, are underpinned by live drums and Richards’ distinctive bass guitar.

In an arresting debut solo longplayer, Richards conveys personal and conceptional themes of growth and adaption through distinct motifs within each of the pieces, creating an aural journey intended to resonate with listeners’ life experiences.

Taproots is a departure from Richards’ work to date, which includes six albums with his band Dutch Uncles (‘Stockport’s answer to Talking Heads’ – the Guardian, 2023) and 2021’s double film soundtrack release The Earth Asleep & Birdsong (PRAH Recordings).

Special guest is Ellen Beth Abdi. Mancunian music-maker Ellen Beth Abdi crafts wonky, soul-infused pop with live loops, pokey drums and quietly subversive lyrics. A rising force in Manchester’s scene, she’s supported The Stone Roses, performed with New Order and A Certain Ratio, and shared stages with Olivia Dean, Hollie Cook and Angélique Kidjo. Her debut album dropped in May 2025 via her own label, Sweet Twenty-Three Records.

Kamera is the brand new venue upstairs at Lloyd & Platt (formerly The Lloyd’s) in Chorlton – by the team behind the Castle Hotel and Gullivers.

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When: 7.30pm on Tuesday 3 March 2026
Where: Hallé St Peter’s, 40 Blossom Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6BF

PLEASE NOTE: This show has sold out!

We’re excited to be working with Lisa O’Neill for the first time!

Rough Trade Records is excited to release a new six-track EP by Cavan songwriter Lisa O’Neill on 19 November. The first single from the EP, The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right, is a moving and powerful song for our times, which Lisa describes thus, “I began writing this song in November 2017 and I finished it in January 2025. My song is a reaction to the unsettled times that we live in.” The video, directed by Ellius Grace, features musicians Kae Tempest, Kevin Rowland, Spider Stacey of The Pogues and Iona Zajac plus renowned Nigerian/Irish poet Feli Speaks, actresses Olwen Fouéré and Hazel Doupe and actors John McArdle and Jack Walsh amongst many others.

The EP is comprised of a group of six tracks, they include the haunting rendition of Bob Dylan’s All The Tired Horses that Lisa recorded to soundtrack the closing scene of the final episode of Peaky Blinders, plus Homeless In The Thousands (Dublin in the Digital Age) featuring Peter Doherty, released as a stand-alone single in January of this year. It was not the first time O’Neill has written about social injustices on the cusp of a change. Songs like Rock the Machine about unemployment in the Dublin dock lands, When Cash Was King about the move to a cashless society and Violet Gibson about the Irish woman who attempted to assassinate Mussolini in 1926 – this new song was written in response to the growing issue of homelessness in Dublin and Ireland.

Added to these are a new song and recent live favourite Mother Jones about the Irish activist who emigrated to America and became a union organiser, Mary G. Harris Jones, who in 1902 was called ‘the most dangerous woman in America’ – following her organising of miners against mine owners leading directly to the introduction of America’s first child labour laws. The EP is completed with a stunning version of the seasonally topical The Bleak Midwinter and a moving reading of the James Stevens poem Autumn 1915.

In recent months Lisa has been touring extensively both in her own right and also with The Pogues, celebrating the band and Shane McGowan’s legacy across the UK and North America.

It’s been a remarkable few years for Irish songwriter O’Neill. Her acclaimed recent album All of This Is Chance reached number 1 in the Irish Indie Charts and ranked highly on many critics 2023’s Albums of The Year Lists. Amongst the wealth of praise, Gideon Coe at BBC 6 Music picked it as his Album Of The Year. It was No. 3 in Mojo Magazine’s Folk Albums Of The Year, and No.24 in their main Albums Of The Year List. Bob Boilen at NPR deemed it his No.3 Album of The Year and it was one of Songlines’ Top 10 Albums Of The Year and Uncut Magazine’s No.17 Album Of The Year and at No. 33 with The Quietus. May 2023 saw Lisa make a memorable appearance on Later with Jools Holland.

A raconteur in the truest sense of the word, O’Neill is a five-time BBC Folk Award nominee and her previous album Heard a Long Gone Song was named the Guardian’s 2019 Folk Album of the Year. She had two songs feature in Peaky Blinders – Blackbird, her own composition, and an adaptation of Bob Dylan’s All the Tired Horses soundtracked the final scene of the epic TV drama.

All Of This Is Chance took O’Neill’s inimitable voice to greater heights, or depths, depending on which way you look at it. Throughout all eight songs on this album, it feels like she is writing in a constant state of wonderment. Not only a portrait of the artist in love with nature, but one perplexed by the ever-expanding gulf between it and modern society. O’Neill sings across that divide while simultaneously digging deep into the land, eyes transfixed on a universe of colourful birds, and beyond them stargazing into the atomised constellations of outer space of which we ourselves are fragments.

Support comes from Kú Kilian – a young traditional/folk singer and songwriter from Dublin.

This is a 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

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When: 7pm on Wednesday 4 March 2026
Where: Low Four Studio, Deansgate Mews, Great Northern, Manchester M3 4EN

We’re delighted to welcome Jana Horn back – this time, to Low Four Studio!

Jana Horn is an American songwriter whose work traces the quiet edges of experience with rare precision. On her self-titled third album (out in January 2026 via No Quarter), recorded at Sonic Ranch in the West Texas desert, she sharpens her minimalist language to its most elemental form – dry air, open space, spoken-sung lines that land like observations overheard in a dream.

Working as a trio with bassist Jade Guterman and drummer Adam Jones, Horn creates a friction between her stark delivery and the band’s melodic pull, while clarinetist/flutist Adelyn Strei and pianist Miles Hewitt add ghost-tones and grounding figures. The music evokes early Cat Power or the sparse poetics of Loren Connors – but ultimately feels entirely its own: distilled, searching, quietly intense.

Written during a disorienting first year in New York, the album captures a period of upheaval and re-formation. Songs emerge like field notes from a life in motion – city fragments, desert clarity, letters between friends, glimpses of renewal. What remains is a voice that cuts through the noise by refusing it, shaping a world from silence, detail, and the unguarded moment.

‘Jana Horn is a singing magic eye picture somewhere between the scratchy emotional static of early Cat Power and itchy Talk Talk Spirit of Eden jazz. Unfocus and see’ – MOJO

‘The Texan songwriter paints in every shade of a sigh on this richly despondent return, where the slightest touches of piano and woodwind colour her weary disappointment’ – the Guardian

Local support comes from Adjustments. Adjustments play noisy pop with diary-like lyrics, honey-soaked hooks, and gravelly guitars that makes your heart sing and ears ring in equal measure. The trio, based in Manchester but hailing from Cardiff and Bradford, met through the Corduroy Appreciation Society on 11/11, where they bonded over wales and Wales and strong cups of decaff. Soon after, they formed the band and found themselves a creative home in Islington Mill; a rehearsal space and recording studio shared with local institutions W. H. Lung and The Orielles. Adjustments’ eclectic songs reflect dynamic influences: Television, Sonic Youth, The B-52s, Pixies, Acetone, Mazzy Star, Horsegirl and many more unnamed.

This show takes place at Low Four – a recording studio situated on Deansgate Mews in the Great Northern warehouse. This intimate venue features a fully stocked Cloudwater bar.

This is a 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Book tickets now.

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When: 7.30pm on Thursday 5 March 2026
Where: YES Pink Room, 38 Charles Street, Manchester, M1 7DB

We’re excited to be welcoming The Wave Pictures back to Manchester!

Emerging from the quiet village of Wymeswold, nestled on the border between Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, The Wave Pictures formed in the late 1990s as a group of school friends with second-hand instruments, a love of American indie rock, and an instinctive DIY ethic. Over three decades the Wave Pictures have grown into one of the UK’s most singular and enduring cult bands.

The group honed their sound through covers of Velvet Underground, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Pavement, inspired by long nights listening to John Peel and taping his shows to cassette. It was during these formative years that Tattersall began to write songs of his own — idiosyncratic, literate, and melodically rich — setting the band on a path toward an eclectic and prolific career.

The early days were marked by experimentation and home recording, leading to a series of out-of-print CDRs that captured the raw energy and charm of their lo-fi beginnings. Albums such as Just Watch Your Friends Don’t Get You and More St. Less T.V. chart the journey from curious students to committed artists. Together, they developed a sound that defied easy categorisation — part garage rock, part indie pop, part classic rock and roll — and a reputation for witty, unpredictable lyrics and masterful musicianship.

Upon relocating to London in the early 2000s, The Wave Pictures quickly established themselves as a band apart. Eschewing the fashion codes and posturing of the indie scene, they let the music do the talking — a move that, while sometimes misunderstood, cemented their status as outsiders with integrity. Early support from figures such as Nick Lowe, who described Tattersall as “a man who harbours no ambition to be seen hobnobbing with Dido at the Met Bar,” set the tone for a career that would be defined by independent spirit and artistic curiosity.

Their debut album Instant Coffee Baby (2008), released via Moshi Moshi Records, introduced a wider audience to Tattersall’s vivid songwriting and the band’s spirited playing. Subsequent albums such as If You Leave It Alone, Long Black Cars, and the emotionally raw twin releases Brushes With Happiness and Look Inside Your Heart demonstrated their range, from tender balladry to joyful rock.

Collaborations followed, most notably with Medway icon Billy Childish on Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon, recorded with engineer Jim Riley. This fruitful partnership continued with Bamboo Diner in the Rain and culminated (for a time) in 2022’s sprawling double album When The Purple Emperor Spreads His Wings — a critical and creative high point that showcased the full breadth of the band’s songwriting and sonic ambition.

Throughout their career, The Wave Pictures have maintained a fierce independence and relentless work ethic, releasing dozens of albums, side projects, and one-off recordings, both in the UK and internationally. While their early years were marked by misunderstanding and misfit status, time has vindicated their vision. Their blend of classic American influences, British lyrical sensibilities, and unpretentious authenticity has earned them a loyal following across Europe and beyond.

Now, with over two decades behind them, The Wave Pictures continue to evolve while staying true to the spirit that first inspired them: music made for the love of it, songs that are full of poetry and joy. The Wave Pictures are a band that — against all odds — has never stopped being themselves.

Special guest is Turner Cody. Turner Cody is a songwriter in the American tradition and a poet laureate of the millennial generation. He came up in NYC’s anti-folk scene. He currently lives in St. Louis MO.

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When: 7.30pm on Thursday 5 March 2026
Where: The Lending Room, 229 Woodhouse Lane, Woodhouse, Leeds LS2 3AP

We’re excited to partner up with the Brudenell and Please Please You to welcome The Cords to Leeds!

The Cords are the brightest new indiepop band from Scotland. Comprising sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, they started playing drums when they were little kids. They found that they liked 80s and 90s indie music more than their peers did, and so formed a band, just the two of them, with Grace on drums and Eva on guitar – and the songs started to flow.

Starting out with a cassette and a flexi single released (both of which sold out in a matter of hours), Eva and Grace honed their skills by playing a whole series of gigs with some of the biggest names in Scottish pop. Their first show was with The Vaselines, and since then they have played with Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian, BMX Bandits and others, while also sharing stages with the new generation of indiepop stars: the Umbrellas, Chime School, Lightheaded. They are embraced by established stars and adored by their contemporaries.

The Cords were invited to record a session for Riley and Coe on 6 Music on the back of their early releases, and have now released their eagerly awaited eponymous debut album – a co-release by Skep Wax (in the UK and Europe) and Slumberland Records (in America). Like all great pop bands, The Cords have taken familiar ingredients and created something utterly fresh. Older indie fans will hear echoes of The Shop Assistants, The Primitives, Tiger Trap and Talulah Gosh, but they will hear something else too: a yearning, dreamy melodic power that takes the songs into darker, stranger places.

Younger pop fans won’t care about these old reference points: what they will hear is the sound of two young women doing something utterly exciting: playing loud guitar and loud drums, taking analogue instruments and hitting them hard in the service of immediate and infectious pop tunes, and not giving a second thought about the digital world that wants to own everything we do. The Cords sound free: they remind us that pop music, played right, is expressive, liberating, joyful and deeply personal.

First single Fabulist is a sweet and catchy pop song that races along, so headlong and hooky that, on first listen, you could miss the fact that it’s a wholehearted take-down of people who lie for a living. And the album is a rollercoaster from that point onwards. Just Don’t Know (How To Be You) turns the jangle-meter up, quickly giving way to October, which pushes it higher still. A lot of the songs are short and sweet, but the album is full of surprises. Yes It’s True comes in with real swagger, then softens you up with Lush-like vocal harmonies. Closing track When You Said Goodbye is a dreamy tearjerker.

The album was produced by Jonny Scott and Simon Liddel, and it respects the band’s stripped down DIY approach. There is some bass guitar (played by Eva and Grace) and occasionally a keyboard pokes its head above the surface. But these elements are simply doing their job: the real stars of this record are Eva’s sinuous guitar and silky vocals, and Grace’s clattering, expressive sing-song drums. It’s the sound of two sisters having an intense musical conversation with each other, pushing each other on to greater heights, exhilarated by the set of perfect pop songs they have magicked up.

This show is a co-promotion with the Brudenell and Please Please You.

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When: 7.30pm on Friday 6 March 2025
Where: New Mills Art Theatre, Jodrell St, New Mills, High Peak SK22 3HJ

PLEASE NOTE THIS MESSAGE FROM THE CARTHY FAMILY AND THEIR AGENTS:

ABM and the Carthy family had hoped that the planned 2026 tour and festival dates with Martin Carthy, alongside his daughter Eliza, would offer a graceful and dignified exit from touring for him: one in which he could celebrate his amazing legacy and leave audiences with fond memories. Sadly, Martin’s health has rapidly declined in the last few weeks. As such, we have made the incredibly painful decision that Martin will be unable to fulfil these duo bookings.

A message from Eliza Carthy:

‘Dear everyone,

‘A month ago, Martin, at 84, was diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimers Disease. While his doctor initially suggested that Dad would and should be able to tour in the Spring, and we were hoping to use the tour to say goodbye to Dad’s many fans, it now appears that this won’t be possible or advisable for his health.

‘Dad sends his love and regrets to everyone hoping to see him one more time. Eliza will fulfil these shows, and will try to honour his legacy as much as possible. Our family thanks you for your patience and love.’

We’re delighted to welcome Eliza Carthy and special guests to the Art Theatre in New Mills!

In the wake of Martin Carthy’s unexpected recent retirement, Eliza has drawn together a community of varied and talented musicians, all of whom have played a role in Martin’s outstanding career. These artists will share the stage with Eliza, honouring and celebrating Martin’s immense legacy and musical back catalogue.

This evening will present a rolling cast of admirers, colleagues and surprise guests, performing an entirely new set featuring some of Martin’s best loved work from all eras of his career, spanning from his debut to final albums, via Waterson:Carthy and beyond. This rolling cast will include Nick Hart and Finn Curran Carthy.

Eliza Carthy is undoubtedly one of the most impressive and engaging performers of her generation. Twice nominated for the Mercury Prize and winner of innumerable other accolades over her career to date, Eliza has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists including Paul Weller, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Patrick Wolf and Bob Neuwirth.

More than most, Eliza has revitalised folk music and captured the most hardened of dissenters with intelligent, charismatic and boundary-bending performances.

Eliza grew up immersed in the world of traditional music. She still divides her time between touring and recording as well as engaging in numerous pioneering solo and band projects, most recently, The Restitution.

‘Eliza Carthy is one of the figureheads of the English folk revival … compelling’ – Evening Standard

Nick Hart is an award-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist whose work with English folk song has earned him a reputation as one of the most acclaimed performers of his generation. His considered approach to accompaniment is informed by a deep respect for the nuances of traditional song and his captivating live performances are a testament to the importance he places on story-telling.

Finn Curran Carthy is the grandson of Martin Carthy, son of Eliza, and the latest in the lineage to take to the stage. He will be make his first ever stage appearances here, playing his grandfather’s guitar.

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When: 7pm on Thursday 12 March 2026
Where: The Yard, 11 Bent St, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M8 8NF

We’re delighted to welcome Seamus Fogarty to The Yard!

London-based alt-folk alchemist Seamus Fogarty is delighted to announce the release of his new album Ships on Scottish label Lost Map Records, in partnership with Swedish label Sing A Song Fighter.

Packed with poignant and funny slice-of-life vignettes touching on everything from Geoffrey Chaucer to DIY coffins, and existing in a wonderful new sonic realm where songs and stories coexist peacefully with fragmentary electronics, drones and field recordings, Ships is his most expansive and uplifting collection of music to date. The first single from the album I Passed Your House has already made waves since its release, getting picked up by BBC 6 Music presenters Huw Stephens and Gideon Coe, and Radio 2’s Marc Radcliffe. It also spent 2 weeks on RTE Radio 1’s Recommends list in Ireland.

Born and raised on the west coast of Ireland but living in London since 2010, Seamus released his debut full-length God Damn You Mountain on cult Scottish label Fence Records (King Creosote, Jon Hopkins) in 2012. This was followed by a pair of exceptional albums released via Domino Records – 2017’s The Curious Hand (‘magical amplified folk journeys through modern life’, 5* – the Guardian) and 2020’s A Bag Of Eyes (‘a gloriously trippy journey’ – The Sunday Times). His most recent release, the Hee Haw EP, was released on Lost Map Records in 2023 with the lead single They Recognised Him receiving high praise from a range of DJs and personalities across the BBC and beyond including Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy who singled it out for recommendation on his Limited Edition show on 6 Music (‘just brilliant’).

He has maintained a busy live schedule through 2025 opening two sold-out shows for Portishead’s Beth Gibbons in London’s Roundhouse and Luxembourg’s Neumünster Abbey and sharing the stage with Mike Heron in Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank, and at End of the Road festival, as part of an all-star band assembled to celebrate the music of The Incredible String Band. He also completed a sold-out Irish tour to celebrate the vinyl reissue of his debut album in the spring.

He has toured extensively around the UK, Ireland and Europe, both solo and with a range of artists including Lisa O’Neill and This Is The Kit, and has appeared at many notable festivals including the main stage of Green Man, Eurosonic, Latitude, Electric Picnic, Mosely Folk and Haldern Pop. He has also appeared on Other Voices in Ireland and recorded live sessions for Mark Radcliffe on BBC Radio 2 and Cerys Matthews on BBC 6 Music.

Recorded at studios in London, St Leonards-on-Sea and Margate and fine-tuned in his own home studio in Walthamstow, Ships boasts an incredible list of collaborators and musicians including string-arranger and multi-instrumentalist Emma Smith (Pulp, Beth Gibbons), drummers Chris Vatalaro (Anohni, Radiohead) and Aram Zarikian (Grasscut), and horn player Joe Auckland (Madness, Oasis). Additional production and engineering comes from by Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Jon Hopkins) and Mike Lindsay (Tunng, Lump).

‘Magical journeys through fable and modern life & back again, often in the same song’ – the Guardian

Local support comes from Quincey May Brown – a Manchester-based solo artist. She creates harp-led music combining elements of folk, jazz, drones and playful lyrics. Her debut album, Basic Surgeon, was featured as a Record of Note on BBC Radio Scotland’s The Roddy Hart Show and was also ranked #27 in cult chamber-pop radio show The Curve Ball’s top 30 albums of 2023.

The Yard is an accessible and unique creative hub based in a regenerated old school building in North Manchester just a 10-minute speed walk from Shudehill tram stop. They programme an eclectic mix of intimate seated gigs like NQ Jazz, silent film and improvisation nights, dance nights, and more.

This show is a co-promotion with Big Badger Music.

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