Elephant Sessions

Elephant Sessions play Cambridge Junction on Friday 20 November, with the set taking place in the J1 standing area. They're touring their fifth studio album, This Place of Ours, and the night is built around it.

If you've come across them before, you'll know them as a Scottish neo-trad folk quintet. They formed in the Highlands back in 2014, and the line-up is still the same five: Alasdair Taylor, Seth Tinsley, Euan Smillie, Greg Barry and Mark Bruce. For over a decade they've played instrumental music that's filled dance tents from Glastonbury to Byron Bay, and This Place of Ours marks the biggest shift in their sound since they started. This time they've brought in vocals from Beluga Lagoon, Alice Faye and Hamish Hutcheson, so the singing is a new part of the mix.

They've picked up a fair few awards along the way: MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards for Up and Coming Act of the Year in 2014, Album of the Year in 2017 and 2022, and Live Act of the Year in 2018. They were also nominated for a SAY Award in 2020 and Best Group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2018. Rolling Stone summed them up as "These Scots are using their instruments like weapons to destroy clichés."

The gig starts at 7:00 PM in J1 at Cambridge Junction on Clifton Way, CB1 7GX. Tickets are £26.50 in advance and £29.50 on the door.