After more than 50 years “on the road” and with 30 albums, an instruction video, a songbook and a DVD to his name, Hans Theessink has become a roots and blues institution. With his sonorous baritone voice and unmistakable guitar work Hans is in great demand. He tours Europe, Britain, North-America, Australia and New Zealand. He is one of the few Europeans to perform at the biggest Blues, Jazz and Folk Festivals in America, the homeland of the blues. The US blues press called him “An international blues treasure” and “One of the world’s pre-eminent pickers”. The legendary Bo Diddley called him “One helluva guitar player”. He’s a modern day troubadour and entertainer who keeps on spellbinding audiences all over the world with his rich and emotional sounds. In 2009 Hans was nominated for the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, TN for “Best Acoustic Album Of The Year” for the album VISIONS (Hans Theessink & Terry Evans). 2018 Hans was inducted into the Dutch Blues Hall Of Fame. Double CD / single vinyl album 70 Birthday Bash (release 2019) was recorded live in Vienna at Hans’ 70th birthday celebration. An unforgettable night of fun and music with musical friends. Hans’ latest album PAY DAY is a beautiful acoustic collaboration with american singer/songwriter Big Daddy Wilson.

Musical variety has always been Hans Theessink’s trademark. Whether he plays solo or with other musicians, Theessink is a sure guarantee for heartfelt blues & roots music on a high emotional and technical level. His extensive roots repertoire is the tour guide for a musical journey that takes the audience on a trip through a mix of Blues, Folk, Roots and Gospel – a celebration of infectious “handmade” music.

Fatea Magazine –Band of the Year 2022

Latest release Tradition II – included inFolk Radio UK Top 10 albums 2022

Ranagri is an award winning folk band from Ireland and England. With a unique blend of instruments that includes voices, guitar, bouzouki,flutes, whistles, harp/electric harp, and bodhrán/drums, they create a sound that is both mesmerising and unforgettable.

The band has recorded five studio albums to date, with their latest release,”TRADITION II,” receiving critical acclaim upon its release in July 2022. Folk RadioUK placed the album in their top 10 albums of 2022, cementing the band’s status as one of the most exciting and innovative folk bands in the UK today.

Previous critically acclaimed albums, “Playing For Luck,” “Fort of the Hare,” and “The Great Irish Songbook” (with pop legend Tony Christie), were recorded at the Grammy Award-winning Stockfisch Records label.

The band’s third album,”VOICES,” was recorded at Real World Studios and produced by Grammy-nominated producer Graeme Pleeth, and the album “Tradition” were released on GoatsKin Records.

Ranagri has established themselves as a standout act, drawing in crowds from around the world with their captivating live performances and exceptional musicianship.They have performed at some of the most prestigious venues & festivals across the UK and Europe, including Cambridge Folk Festival, Bloom festival (Dublin), Montelago festival (Italy),  Towersey Festival, a headline slot at Costa Festival Ibiza2023, Birmingham Symphony Hall, The Union Chapel, Kings Place London alongwith regular tours of Scotland and Europe.

We are very excited to welcome the wonderful Detta Kenzie who will be performing songs from her new EP, accompanied by Temperance favourite Tobias ben Jacob (Jacob and Drinkwater and his own Bob Dylan project) on guitar.

Detta Kenzie is an English folk singer creating original songs alongside reworking traditional music. With both Irish and Scottish heritage, Detta is committed to collecting, restoring and sharing songs passed down in the oral tradition.

In her original work, a deep connection to the natural world is ever present. Inspired by place names, specific references to locations in Britain, Ireland and Australia bring a strength to Detta’s creations. Themes of womanhood, grief, rebellion and rage can be found in her deeply narrative based songs.

Having worked as a Secondary English Teacher before transitioning into music, Detta’s love of language shines through in her storytelling. Her words capture the diversity of the landscape and its ability to both mould and reflect human experience.

Rachael McShane is a renowned folk singer, cellist, fiddle and viola player from the North East of England. She gained fame as an original member of the award-winning folk big band Bellowhead, touring with them extensively and making a number of television appearances. The band recorded five studio albums and, together, they won a staggering total of 8 BBC Folk Awards. Parting ways in 2016, the band returned in 2022 for a series of ecstatically-received performances that reminded audiences of their unique alchemy, energy and talent.

Away from her Bellowhead fame, Rachael is a much sought-after performer and record- ing artist. Her debut solo album, No Man’s Fool arrived in 2009 via Navigator Records, establishing impressive credentials that eventually led her to signing with the prestigious Topic Records, the oldest independent record label in the world. She also is the leader of The Cartographers, a band that have garnered a loyal following thanks to their impressive live performances and critically acclaimed debut album, When All Is Still (2018).

Uncharted, the long awaited new album from Rachael McShane & The Cartographers is due to be released in Spring 2025 and features the exceptional talents of guitarist Ian Stephenson (Kan, Baltic Crossing), and melodeon player Julian Sutton (Kathryn Tickell, Sting). Andy May (Andy May Trio, Jez, Lowe) joins them for a few numbers on piano and a host of friends from the folk scene add backing vocals along the way. Their music is a powerful blend of traditional folk and contemporary sounds, with Rachael’s stunning voice and instrumental skills leading the line.

Threaded are an acoustic crossover outfit that create and perform original music inspired by world folk culture, nature, stories and personal experiences. Described as ‘beautiful, refreshing and charming’ (Songlines); their compositions fuse influences from traditional and contemporary folk, classical music and world soundscapes, which has culminated in their unique and distinctive sound.

Threaded features the ‘super talented’ (Bright Young Folk) Midlands based musicians: Jamie Rutherford (guitar/lead vocals), Ning- ning Li (violin/vocals) and Rosie Rutherford (clarinet/bass clarinet/ vocals). The trio have released 4 studio albums, with their most recent album ‘as it always was’ being produced by their very own Jamie Rutherford and released in Summer 2024.

As well as touring the acoustic music circuits, their love for collaborative writing and devising has seen them create and perform and tour nationally within the theatre sector too. Their music has received great critical acclaim, and they feel so privileged to be able to create and share the music from their hearts to audiences all over!

In 2015, Benji Kirkpatrick presented his ‘Bendrix’ project; an exploration into the songwriting of Jimi Hendrix. Known for his pioneering and influential guitar work, Hendrix’s skill as a songwriter was often overlooked and the project (an hilarious amalgamation of respective names…) aimed to peel away the layers of guitar, psychedelia and the era to uncover the lyricism of Hendrix in a stripped back setting.

10 years on, in 2025, Benji reprises the project marking 55 years since the death of the ground breaking musician. Being his first real musical icon, Hendrix has been a big influence on Benji’s work, albeit in a somewhat subtle way as Benji is known for his exploits on the UK folk scene!

The full album, ‘Hendrix Songs’, released with the project will be performed live, with a little reworking here and there and a generous helping of newly worked up material from the guitarist’s catalogue.

“Songs like The Wind Cries Mary, May This Be Love and Angel reveal Hendrix as a sensitive writer, which balances out his reputation as an axe wielding showman. Some of the songs are a real challenge to bring into a solo acoustic setting but the journey of doing that is very rewarding and the material stands up to this kind of reinterpretation.” – BK.

As well as solo, Benji performs with Bellowhead and Seth Lakeman; was a member of Steeleye Span and Faustus and has worked with a plethora of musicians across the wider folk, roots and acoustic scene.

The second Thursday of every month, The Quiet Men turn Temperance into a Cork bar!

Gabriel Moreno is a Gibraltarian singer-songwriter, currently based in London. An irresistibly engaging performer, he combines a latin exuberance and passion with a rare lyrical calibre (he is also an accomplished poet, with 12 books published to date). Performing on nylon string guitar and often accompanied by The Quivering Poets, he creates a live experience that has been described as ”Taberna Folk” – at once both energetic and intimate, anarchic and absorbing.

He has thrilled audiences across South America, the USA and Europe, including recent sets at UK festivals Wilderness, The Great British Folk Festival, Malmesbury Roots and Folk Festival, Costa Folk Festival, Gibraltar Music Festival, ELY folk Festival, Broadstairs Folk Festival, Rochester Sweeps Festival and Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, and has been championed by the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews, with his sonorous baritone and poetical lyrics often seeing him compared to such luminary wordsmiths as Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Bill Callahan.

Moreno’s unique artistic voice lies in the meeting and fusion of different identities. Born and raised in Gibraltar, a British territory bordering southern Spain and just 8 miles from Africa, he has since lived and performed across the world, absorbing influences from music, literature and art everywhere he went. Now considered one of the most compelling and distinctive artists in London’s thriving folk and roots scene, he was previously the longtime curator and host of the legendary Lantern Society folk club, and in 2022 was awarded the title of Cultural Ambassador of Gibraltar.

Moreno has written five albums since 2015 which have been received with acclaim by most Roots publications in the UK scene. 2025 will see the release of his sixth album, ‘Nights in the Belly of Bohemia,’ with an accompanying packed touring schedule across Europe, as well as a thirteenth book of poetry in that time entitled ‘Gibraltar.’

Evocative and distinctive, folk duo Suthering (Julu Irvine & Heg Brignall) transport audiences with their exquisite vocal harmonies and their message of hope during hard times. Described at “Two excellent singers” by BBC Radio’s Genevieve Tudor, their harmonies soar above the cascading piano and delicate, fingerstyle guitar. It’s the duo’s beautifully matched voices and their fresh approach to folk which makes their songwriting stand out.

They made their full-length studio album debut with If We Turn Away in 2022, co-produced with Lukas Drinkwater, which was heralded for its distinguished sound and “Hard-hitting, beautiful songs” (Folk Wales Magazine).

2024 marks the release of their second studio album Leave A Light On. Produced by BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winner, Sean Lakeman (Levellers, Seth Lakeman), the album is a bold new direction in sound for the duo. A poignant and powerful exploration of themes affecting the social and political landscape, Leave A Light On is a collection of personal reflections, captivating stories and modern-day songs of protest and unity. The album will be released on Bessie Records on October 4th 2024 and will coincide with a UK tour.

Known for their chemistry and humour on stage, they effortlessly intertwine their important messages about the state of our climate, social conscience, and the importance of community and connecting with nature. They champion female characters, creating new narratives for women and unearthing the female heroines of folk.

Suthering found their duo name in a book called Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane. The word, meaning “the sound of the wind through the trees” comes from a John Clare poem and it perfectly captures the duo’s love of nature, a theme which can be found woven into their music.

They moved from Bristol to Devon in 2019, just before the pandemic hit, in a bid to create a more connected life on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. The wild expanse and history of Dartmoor, influences and inspires their music, which is rooted in the landscape that surrounds them.

Suthering have toured extensively since the release of If We Turn Away, playing at venues and arts centres across the UK and have received recognition and features from the BBC, R&R magazine, FATEA Magazine, Folk Wales, Folk Expo, folking.com and more. They were featured as artists at the EFDSS concert series at Sidmouth Folk Festival in 2022 as well as appearing at many festivals across the country in 2023. They have previously appeared at Costa Del Folk, Priddy Folk Festival, Beardy Folk Festival, Fire in the Mountain, Green Man Festival and many more. In August 2022 the duo took part in the second instalment of the Songs of Separation project called All Sing! on the Isle of Lismore, recording a cappella versions of the original 2015 Songs of Separation album. They have also been selected for the Rural Touring and Applause schemes, taking gigs to rural locations across the country.

Alongside their duo, Julu and Heg they delight in bringing communities together; they run two community choirs (Wheelhouse Folk Choir and The Great Sea Choir) and they also run their company Suthering Singing Retreats which offers singing workshops for adults.

In 2022, they made history by setting up the first-ever pride event in their hometown. Tavistock Pride received acknowledgment from national and local press, radio and received an endorsement from Olympic athlete Tom Daley. Tavi Pride continues as an annual event which includes a large parade and festival.

Julu and Heg are passionate about advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and for the rights of women and other marginalised people, through their music and through community engagement.