The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music…
Their high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, and they have garnered praise from publications as varied as fRoots, The Telegraph and The Wire, where they were described as ‘melodically folk-rooted yet open and innovative beyond the constraints of genre’
Beginning life as a trio – with legendary Steeleye Span fiddle player Peter Knight being joined by percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack – the line-up has been expanded to form the Gigspanner Big Band, with acclaimed multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin – BBC Folk Awards ‘Best Duo‘) and Bellowhead co-founder and melodeon player extraordinaire, John Spiers, joining the fray.
While Peter Knight, as part of Steeleye Span’s classic 1970s line-up, helped invent a brand of folk rock that is still influential today, John Spiers, has had an equally profound impact on the landscape of traditional music over the last two decades.
Characterised by riotous inventiveness, technically gifted individual playing and subtle collaborative interaction, this coming together of several of the biggest names on the folk-roots scene, combines a deep knowledge of roots traditions with a ceaselessly boundary pushing approach.
Unsurprisingly, the superlatives have come thick and fast…
Having spent much of the past two years touring alongside best-selling author Raynor Winn (The Salt Path) with their massively successful prose and music collaboration SALTLINES, the Gigspanner Big Band return to their six-piece format for a UK tour which sees them showcasing material from their new album, due for release in 2025
Reviews:
“Spectacular” 5***** R2 Magazine
“Utterly thrilling” Northern Soul
“Totally blown away by the spellbinding Gigspanner Big Band. Lost for words…” Folking. Com
“What a fabulous team they make, together producing a startlingly new musical form with few, if any, antecedents. The flights of musical fancy are staggering in their natural invention”
Fatea Magazine
“With the Gigspanner Big Band, Peter Knight has assembled a group of musicians intent on making some of the most important and exhilarating art ever to sit under the banner of folk music” FRUK
