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Folk in the Barn: Gigspanner Big Band

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  • Folk in the Barn: Gigspanner Big Band

    • The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music. Their high-energy performances have broad appeal, from traditionalists to those looking for something a bit different.

    Gigspanner began life as a trio with legendary fiddle player Peter Knight, percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack. The line-up has since expanded to include multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin – BBC Folk Awards ‘Best Duo’) and Bellowhead co-founder and melodeon player extraordinaire, John Spiers. Together they are The Gigspanner Big Band.

    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.

    2025 was a highlight for the band, marked by the release of their album ‘Turnstone’. Nominated for the Sound Roots Folk Album of the Year 2025 Awards, it has featured in several ‘Album of the Year’ lists, including SONGLINES.

    Experience an evening of riotous inventiveness and gifted individual playing.

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    Folk in the Barn: Gigspanner Big Band

    Thu 1 April

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    ART31

    ART31 takes its name from Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, which states that ‘Children have the right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities’.

    ART31 is a vision created with, by, and for young people in Kent, championing the belief that all children and young people have an entitlement to access high quality arts and culture, to empower them to achieve their creative potential, and to genuinely engage young people as equal partners in any decision making that affects them.

    The ART31 Youth Board is made up of young people from across Kent aged 13-25 who steer its governance, and influence policy and practice across the county and beyond, challenging the creative sector to examine existing ways of working and integrate young people into the core of their practice.

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