A folk star who guested on Beyonce’s single ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ will exclusively appear at the Gate to Southwell Festival (GTSF) in the UK this summer.
With the 17th festival only weeks away, it’s been confirmed that GTSF 2024 will be the only chance to catch the incredible Rhiannon Giddens performing in the UK this summer.
The multi-Grammy award-winning Folk, Roots and Americana star — who guested on Beyonce’s recent 400 million streaming ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ single and ‘Cowboy Carter’ album — will fly in from Roskilde Festival in Denmark to perform with her full six piece band at the Kirklington Lakes site on Saturday, July 6.
“It’s a real coup and huge honour for us,” said GTSF director Mike Kirrage.
“She’s a great performer and entertainer and one of the most important Roots artists of her generation.”
Rhiannon has had an illustrious career in folk and roots music and is at the peak of her powers as a singer, fiddler and banjo player. Rhiannon’s band will include Francesco Turrisi (keyboards, accordion, percussion), Dirk Powell (keyboards, guitar, violins, accordion and vocals), Jason Sypher (bass), Niwel Tsumbu (guitar) and Attis Clopton on drums.
As well as offering Gate To Southwell Festival goers this exclusive opportunity to see Rhiannon’s only UK summer performance, there’ll be a host of other internationally-respected artists appearing this year including The Fugitives from Canada, Manran and Blue Rose Code from Scotland, Charm Of Finches from Australia, Daoiri Farrell from Ireland, Suntou Susso from Gambia, The Haar from Ireland, Lizzie No from New York and many more.
GTSF has always promoted both highly-respected international performers and up-and-coming UK artists over the four days and this year will be no exception. The first night of the festival — Thursday, July 4 — will be headlined by Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening from Northumberland and award-winning Dartmoor-based duo Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, but it will also showcase some of the best acts in the East Midlands.
Starscreen will headline The Frontier Stage on the Thursday, purveying “good old fashioned dirty rock and roll” and promoting their new album ‘A Dangerous Pursuit Of Bliss’. Highly regarded throughout the Midlands, they blend rock, folk, blues and pop with influences as diverse as Tom Waits, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and more, while Rochdale’s Julia Waldron has been branded “the Mae West of Folk and Americana”, with exceptional singer-songwriting skills inspired by the likes of Gretchen Peters, Boo Hewardine, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.
Littlewolf have released two self-penned albums and have played shows with various artists including Steve Earle, Lindisfarne and Dr Feelgood and Leicestershire’s Porterhouse will return to Gate To Southwell following their star turn last year.
Terrible Parents, a Southwell-based cello and acoustic guitar songwriting duo and married couple Huson-Whyte, are passionate, funny and energetic performers with songs about family life, the madness of the world and their experiences within it.
Five more skilled and experienced musicians from the East Midlands, The Levy Circus have come together over the last 10 years to produce music that creates a memorable melodic experience for their audience. Fronted by Miles Levy, their highly original, undeniably catchy songs are interspersed with well-chosen, unexpected covers. They embrace aspects of Pop, Soul, Rock, Americana and Folk.
Malc Slate, a singer-songwriter from Nottinghamshire, offers a fresh journey through life's highs and lows wrapped in rich, soulful sounds and a David Gray vibe. He’s recently released the first single from his debut studio album and received over 100,000 YouTube views.
Malc will be accompanied by Rhydian Wyn, a performer, band leader and session guitarist, with a growing reputation as a refined, jazz-tinged bluesman. Rhydian also leads a The Blue Fire, the house band at Southwell’s The Stage Blues Club.
