Broadcast Partner
22.00 - 23.00 | SATURDAY | CLUB TENT
17.10 - 18.10 | SUNDAY | STAGE 1
While folk music may commonly and affectionately be defined as low culture, The Unthanks aspire to prove that the beauty and truth present in the oral history of the people, is anything but common. With an approach to storytelling that makes easy bedfellows of polar opposites such as staunch traditionalism and sonic adventure, glacial minimalism and heartbreaking empathy, Mercury nominated band The Unthanks make art-folk with a booming socially conscious heart. Using the traditional music of the North East of England as a starting point, the influence of Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Wyatt, Antony & The Johnsons, King Crimson and Tom Waits can be heard in the band’s ten albums to date.
At the nucleus of a constantly evolving unit which can sometimes be a stage full and sometimes just the three of them, is the traditional upbringing of Tyneside sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank and the arrangements and writing of Yorkshireman Adrian McNally. Their commitment to storytelling has earned them a legion of actor and writer fans such as Martin Freeman, Maxine Peake, Mackenzie Crook, Nick Hornby, Colin Firth, Dawn French, Ade Edmondson, Stephen Mangan and Paul Morley, plus musicians including Elvis Costello, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Ryan Adams, Rosanne Cash, Glen Hansard and members of Portishead and Radiohead.
