All photography by Michael Sreenan.
Back in the summer we worked with the lovely Saltburn Folk Festival to programme a Queer Folk showcase, introducing the Saltburn audience to some amazing artists – Malin Lewis, Alex Etchart, and Amy Thatcher.
All three artists play in various different bands and projects, but we wanted to introduce them as soloists to allow the audience to get to know them and their music a bit. It’s always fascinating to get an understanding of how artists tick, and where their music comes from, and this showcase was a lovely chance to share in some powerful music and stories as well as learn a little bit about each artist. We had some absolutely beautiful performances from all three musicians, and even squeezed in a last-minute group performance of a traditional queer folk song with George, who was introducing the artists.
Malin Lewis
Malin Lewis is a queer Bagpiper, fiddler, composer, instrument maker and BBC Young traditional musician of the year finalist 2022. Their long-awaited debut album, Halocline, is named for the layer between salt and fresh water, and is a sequence of compositions reflecting on the liminal spaces between Malin’s outer and inner worlds as a trans person. Malin plays a set of unique self-made two octave Smallpipes that help create their unique sounds.
Here’s an absolute banger of a tune, Trans, from their debut EP, Not For Everyone:
Alex Etchart
British Uruguayan folk singer Alex Etchart (they/them) mixes British, Irish & South American traditions with original writing to tell stories of queer love, diaspora dreams & intergenerational resilience, inviting audiences to join in singing spells of community joy, care & action.
Their new band, Vientos, brings together South American folk music, British and Irish folk music, glitchy electronica, and queer performance art. Here’s their debut single, Johnny Barnes – a lost folk song, an ancient love story on an epic journey to a queer utopia.
Amy Thatcher
Amy Thatcher is an accordionist based in the North East of England. Her 20+ years experience as a performer and composer in folk and traditional music has taken her to stages across the UK and beyond with the likes of Kathryn Tickell, The Shee and We Are The Monsters. Amy’s most recent project, Amy Thatcher and Francesca Knowles, started in 2021 – the accordion and percussion duo breaks with tradition while adopting it as a foundation for playful experimentation. Their live show has both raucous energy and sympathetic intensity – drums, synths, keys and vocals, for an unapologetic brew of colourful composition. The March 2023 album showcases the pair’s undaunted attitude to kicking off a genre revolution.
Here’s an amazing live performance from Amy and Francesca in 2022:
Special thanks to the lovely Michael Sreenan for taking some gorgeous photos of all of our showcase artists.
Get in touch!
If you want to come to a Queer Folk showcase, or if you want to work with us and host a showcase at your festival or venue, then get in touch via our contact form! We have a huge list of artists that we love, and would love to introduce to your audience!