Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith are set to perform at the Black Swan Folk Club on Thursday 11th May 2017.

Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith first appeared on the UK folk scene in 2014 and soon began to make a name for themselves with their unique style of strong harmony singing, considered musical arrangements and lively stage presence.

Jimmy and Sid play a wide range of traditional and original folk songs, telling stories of hardship, joy, struggle and celebration, with driving banjo and guitar arrangements and close vocal harmonies.  They have been influenced by the songs and singers of East Anglia, where they both grew up, but their music also reflects the diversity of voices within the folk and acoustic world.  They weave traditional English folksong with Irish, Scottish and American tunes, and their own compositions draw on many different styles.

The duo’s first album in 2015 was described in reviews as ‘utterly absorbing’ full of ‘personal, empathetic stories told from the perspective of real people’ and over the last couple of years they have become festival favourites.  The Black Swan Folk Club’s veteran organiser Roland Walls saw them at one such event last autumn and was so impressed that he immediately invited them to make their York debut.

That York appearance forms part of a long spring tour promoting Jimmy and Sid’s second album release, Night Hours.  The songs on this new record have been picked up from sessions, singarounds, gigs, and recordings or learned from friends.  The stories are varied but there is a common thread of political struggle and resistance, and the decline of the industries that were the backbone of England for many generations.  Early reviews have been uniformly enthusiastic.

Catch up with Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith at the Black Swan Inn on Peasholme Green in York on Thursday 11th May.  Doors open at 7.45 and music gets under way at 8.15.  Tickets are £9 in advance at www.wegottickets.com or £10 on the door.