Folk Fiddle Teacher & Workshop Leader for Ely, Cambridge, Newmarket & Suffolk
Coming from a background of mixed traditional and contemporary Irish fiddle playing and singing, Erin first performed in the trailblazing young group No I.D in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards Competition back in 2002. The group went on to make two CDs and played at the Cambridge Folk Festival four times sharing the stage with the likes of Show of Hands, Sharon Shannon and Martin Simpson in the Saturday Big Session on Stage Two.
Over the past 20 years Erin has played with a number of ceilidh and barn dance bands but most recently has been one of the lead musicians with the formidable Stumpy Oak Ceilidh Band, who are one of the busiest and best ceilidh bands in the country.
Erin is a fiddle teacher and folk music workshop leader who specialises in folk styles and techniques from England, Ireland and Scotland.
Erin regularly performs with the following bands and morris sides…
Stumpy Oak - Ceilidh Band
Cambridge based, dancefloor-packing band of professional, experienced ceilidh and barn dance musicians. Stumpy Oak boasts an unusually large sound. Fiery fiddle, accordion and guitar are complimented by guitar sub-octaves (giving a bass guitar sound) and a stompbox (like a bass drum). Options for further instruments include a bodhran and second fiddle. Lighting is included with every booking, adding to the atmosphere. A friendly, patient caller completes the line-up to talk guests through the dance moves prior to/during each dance so that everyone knows what to do and can have fun.
Erin Brown & Barry Watson
As a new, exciting side project to compliment their work with the popular Stumpy Oak ceilidh band, just-south-of-Ely residents Erin Brown & Barry Watson offer lively renditions of traditional folk music featuring vocals, fiddle, stomp box and accordion (plus occasional appearances from whistles and bouzouki). Songs and tunes are taken from England, Ireland, Scotland and further afield, but the accompaniment is typically stompy and English, with the odd syncopated Breton rhythm thrown in for good measure.
The Brown Family
The Brown Family have been performing together since the ‘children’ were old enough to hold instruments! They started doing public gigs in the late 90s when they started performing concerts in care homes and churches in the Newmarket area. Their influences are mainly Celtic in origin and they perform well-known chorus songs and tunes from around the British Isles.
Parents Roger and Marian have been interested in folk music for more years than they care to remember and Roger was a founder member of East Anglian folk bands Don’t Forget the Donkey and Clutching at Straws. Unfortunately The Brown Family don’t often perform as a four-piece band as Adam has now moved to Glasgow – he can now be seen on stage, TV and in concert around the world with his two internationally renowned bands – RURA and Ímar.
Sutton Masque
Sutton Masque morris dance in the tradition taken from the Welsh/English border counties. Although founded relatively recently, the group continues to build a reputation for being one of the best border morris sides in the country.
In their first five years they have performed and led workshops at some of the country’s leading festivals including Towersey Festival, Chippenham Folk Festival, IVFDF, Ely Folk Festival, Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival and Lobster Potties in Sheringham, as well as attending the Joint Morris Organisation (JMO) Day of Dance. You will also find them during the summer months dancing at some of the finest ale establishments around the Fenland area, and entertaining the crowds at local beer festivals…..unsurprisingly, they’ve been known to enjoy a pint themselves from time to time!
