Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith

Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith play the National Centre for Early Music on Sunday 25 October, two of the most sought-after fiddle players on the English folk scene sharing one stage. The set brings together tradition and new compositions, with both drawing on archive material and writing their own.

Sweeney is one of the more recognisable names in English folk. Mark Radcliffe called him 'one of the defining English fiddle players of his generation', and Songlines dubbed him 'Britain's Premier Fiddler'. He's a multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner, a founding member of Leveret, a Bellowhead veteran, and was once artistic director of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. His solo album Made In The Great War was widely acclaimed.

Grace Smith plays fiddle and viola, and her work sits in a similar place: rooted in English tradition but open to innovation. With her trio, she released the album Overleaf in 2023, which Klof Mag hailed as 'the exciting future of instrumental folk music'.

Together they're working from two sides of the same coin — the old tunes they've both grown up with and the new things they're writing. The night runs from 6.30pm to around 8.30pm at the National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret's Church, Walmgate, YO19TL. Tickets are £22, with concessions at £20 and under-35s at £7.