BELLA HARDY & CARA LUFT UPSTAIRS AT THE SHAKESPEARE SHEFFIELD

Event information

BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2014 Bella Hardy reunites with Juno award-winning singer-songwriter guitarist Cara Luft for an eight-date tour, following their creative residency in Alberta, Canada, in 2013. Promoted by the English Folk Dance and Song Society, in partnership with Music PEI (Prince Edward Island) and Folk Music Canada, these tours are borne out of a developing relationship between England and Canada, which supports artists’ development and collaboration.
As well as performing solo material on the tours, the musicians will showcase new music that they written collaboratively during the first leg of their exchanges.

About Bella Hardy
With a Masters degree in Music from Newcastle University, Bella Hardy first came to widespread public recognition when she was nominated in the Best Original Song category at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2007 for Three Black Feathers – the first song she ever wrote. In 2012, she won that same award for her powerful and moving account of life as a 19th century Stornoway Herring Girl. A fixture on the festival and folk club scene, Bella has sung in at the Royal Albert Hall during The Proms, co-written with former Beautiful South guitarist David Rotheray, for his concept album The Life of Birds, and composed the music for Radio 4’s The People’s Post – a documentary on the history of the Post Office.  2013 saw the release of her latest album Battleplan and a new release with Brit folk trailblazer Eliza Carthy and friends Lucy Farrell and Kate Young and 2014 saw her crowned as BBC Folk Singer of the Year. www.bellahardy.com

About Cara Luft
Singer-songwriter-guitarist extraordinaire Cara is that rare artist steeped in folk and traditional roots music almost from birth. Her third solo album, Darlingford, is a stunning collection of songs drawn from her recent life experiences informed by her indomitably optimistic spirit and impeccable musical instincts. Recorded primarily in old wooden churches and home studios across the Canadian prairies, the album shines a bright light on Cara’s skill at turning personal heartbreak into resonating universal themes. Cara deserves her reputation as one of Canada’s finest live performers whose engaging, down-home style comes wrapped in a warm and delicious sense of humour. A co-founder of The Wailin’ Jennys, Cara was the spark behind the group and since leaving has wowed audiences and critics across North America and Europe. www.caraluft.com

We are delighted that Bella & Cara are able to visit The Shakespeare as part of this exciting tour. The evening promises to be a special, memorable event.