Heidi Talbot

Event information

Nominated Singer of The Year & Best Traditional Track ‘Willie Taylor’ BBC Folk Awards 2010

Ireland has long been a fount of great female singers, but Heidi Talbot’s breakthrough solo release, 2008’s In Love + Light, swiftly assured her promotion to the premier league. Its artfully chosen mix of traditional and contemporary material, reinvented classics and little-known gems, and above all Heidi’s achingly bittersweet, spun-gold voice, won glowing reviews across three continents, a US Indie Acoustic Award and a Best Female Vocalist nomination in the Irish Music Awards. With critics mooting comparisons as diverse as Björk, Enya, Linda Ronstadt, Norah Jones and Kirsty MacColl, the album received widespread radio airplay and has been followed by two years’ solid gigging, both as headline act and sought-after special guest.

“What an impressive record this is. Very highly recommended.” Billboard

Recent career highlights, in a schedule that numbered nearly 150 shows in 2009, include supporting Eddi Reader on her 45-date UK and Irish tour - having sung on the Scottish chanteuse’s latest album, Love is the Way. In between fronting her own trio line-up, with her multi-instrumentalist partner John McCusker and Boo Hewerdine on guitar, Heidi has also featured frequently as opening act and backing vocalist with folk/rock supergroup Drever, McCusker Woomble, meanwhile lending her radiant tones to a string of albums by other leading artists, including Michael McGoldrick, Idlewild, Kris Drever and Sandy Wright.

Most of the above - including her partner, renowned multi-instrumentalist John McCusker - plus such fellow folk luminaries as Karine Polwart, Ian Carr, Alan Kelly and Andy Cutting, have now lent their talents in turn to In Love + Light’s hotly anticipated follow-up, The Last Star. Marking Heidi’s debut foray into songwriting, it also sees her engaging afresh with her traditional roots, while seeking out rarely- or never-recorded contemporary material. It simultaneously reaffirms all the expressive and interpretative magic of its predecessor, and extends it in arresting new directions – the sound of an artist who’s constantly seeking alternative ways to inhabit a song.

“A voice that’s both awestruck and tender” The New York Times

Having moved to New York at age 18, Heidi settles amidst the city’s vibrant Irish musical community and eventually crossed paths with Joanie Madden, flute/whistle champion and founder/ frontwoman of celebrated Irish-American group Cherish the Ladies – who just happened to be looking for a new lead singer soon afterwards. Heidi spent five happy years with the band, touring coast-to-coast and beyond, acquiring a veteran’s road-skills along with seasoned savoir faire in performing to crowds of thousands. At the end of 2007, though, after a warmly received solo release, Distant Future, three years previously, and with In Love + Light due out early the following year it was time to go it alone. As outlined above, her feet have barely touched the ground since.

“Talbot is primed and ready for crossover success.” Colin Irwin, Daily Telegraph

Heidi’s new album The Last Star was released in 2010 to great acclaim with an extensive UK tour to support it. Produced by John McCusker and featuring Ian Carr, Ewen Vernal, Kris Drever, Roy Dodds, Eddi Reader, Andy Cutting, Phil Cunningham and more.