AN innovative trio making the most of the UK’s thriving folk scene are to play in Staveley’s Village Hall at the end of the month.

With their unique approach to harmony singing, intelligent and thoughtful arrangements of both traditional repertoire and original compositions, multi-instrumentalists and singers Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans harness and celebrate their united voice.

Over the last five years, the trio have toured widely, performing sell-out shows across the UK and Europe and have released three critically acclaimed albums.

Underpinning every performance are Lady Maisery’s distinctive harmonies. The trio are also one of the foremost English proponents of mouth music, or “diddling”.

Once common in England, and still found across parts of southern and northern Europe, this form of singing without words is a perfect showcase for their sheer musicality.

Each also an accomplished instrumentalist, many songs are expertly accompanied by Rowan’s fiddle, banjo and bansitar, Hazel’s harp and concertina and Hannah’s accordion and foot percussion.

Since the release of their debut album in 2011, ‘Weave and Spin’ (named Album of the Week by the Independent newspaper),

Their second album ‘Mayday’ was released in 2013 and third album ‘Cycle’ was released with a sell-out 23 date tour in 2016 after three creatively charged years working extensively as a trio, as well as separately on a range of successful projects.

One of these was ‘Songs of Separation’; the English/Scottish supergroup featuring all members of Lady Maisery whose debut album went straight into the indie album charts top 20 and won the coveted ‘Best Album’ award at the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

In the last few years, Lady Maisery have toured across Europe, visited the USA as an Official Showcase artist at Folk Alliance International and performed a contemporary classical secular requiem composed especially for them by award-winning composer Emily Hall. They have also been 2017’s ‘Artists in Residence’ at Halsway Manor Centre for Folk Arts.

Lady Maisery’s members are all highly respected performers in their own right: Hannah James is currently touring her solo show ‘Jigdoll’ and also plays in folk legend Maddy Prior’s trio ‘3 for Joy’; Rowan Rheingans is a respected songwriter and performs with ‘The Rheingans Sisters’; and Hazel Askew performs duo Askew Sisters.

Lady Maisery play in Staveley on March 31.

Tickets are available on WeGotTickets, where a booking fee applies (£12 + booking fee).

The alternative is to purchase tickets from Staveley Pharmacy or by contacting me on lakedistrictfolkandacoustic@gmail.com or phone 07813 403808