The intuitive musical interplay between Kathryn and Amy is born out of a long-standing creative friendship. Kathryn’s pipes marry beautifully with Amy’s exquisite accordion playing. A cascade of jigs, reels, heart-wrenching airs, together with percussive clog dancing makes for an irresistible mix.

Kathryn’s current release ‘Return to Kielderside’ marks 40 years since her first album made while she was still at school. “…an artistic, physical, psychic repositioning of the musician against the landscape that first inspired her.” KLOF Mag.

Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian pipes, fiddle, voice

Kathryn is widely acclaimed as the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes. She is a composer, performer, broadcaster and recording artist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria. She has released 17 of her own albums to date and has also recorded and performed with Sting, Jacob Collier, The Chieftains, Penguin Café Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta and many others. She has twice won “Musician of the Year” at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and was awarded the OBE in 2015 for services to folk music. Kathryn is a regular presenter for BBC Radio 3’s “Music Planet”.

Amy Thatcher – accordion, voice, clog dancing

Amy is one of the UK’s leading folk accordionists. Her musical roots are in Stockport’s Fosbrook Folk Education Trust, where she trained from the age of eight on accordion, fiddle, piano and clog dancing. The Traditional Music degree course at Newcastle University drew her to the north east where she subsequently joined The Shee, The Monster Ceilidh Band and Kathryn’s ensembles The Side and The Darkening.

“No one has evoked the landscape and traditions of Northumbria more affectingly than Kathryn Tickell; a champion of the Northumbrian pipes, she is steeped in the songs and mythology of the north-east.” The Observer.