Bella Hardy (GB)

About

Bella Hardy has a way of making traditional English folk feel alive rather than archived. The Derbyshire singer and fiddle player blends centuries old material with her own songwriting in a way that critics have compared, somewhat breathlessly, to Lennon and McCartney. Her 2007 debut Night Visiting drew a four star Brilliant rating from Mojo, and her follow up In The Shadow of Mountains only raised the bar further. She has nine solo albums to her name, including Eternal Spring, which grew out of a residency in Yunnan, China for the British Council. Her profile got a serious boost when she performed at the first ever Folk Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008, broadcast on both BBC Four and Radio 3. The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards have recognised her twice, for Best Original Song in 2012 with The Herring Girl and Folk Singer of the Year in 2014. She has also worked alongside Eliza Carthy in the group Carthy, Hardy, Farrell and Young, and contributed to The Elizabethan Session with John Smith and Martin Simpson.