Multi award-winning contemporary folk artists Jackie Oates and John Spiers meld together their shared love of English traditional folk tunes and songs with their fine voices and expertly played acoustic instruments.

Audiences can look forward to a fresh, uplifting and poignant evening. Concerts will include music from the duo’s first album, Needle Pin, Needle Pin, released in early 2020 and featuring songs from the Oxfordshire area which they have researched and arranged. Many of the songs were originally sung by lace-making factory girls to keep time whilst crafting lace and to add enjoyment to their work; the album title makes reference to a line from one of such songs. Beautifully in synergy with the handmade nature of the source songs, the CD comes as a limited edition, hand-stamped, entirely handmade album.

Although followers of British folk music will be familiar with Jackie and John from their other high calibre bands, this collaboration began quite innocently and spontaneously when the pair first started playing together for fun during guest spots at Nettlebed Folk Club in Henley-on-Thames. Recognising the potential, they began working together on material from their native county of Oxfordshire, and the rest is history!

Jackie & John will be supported at this gig by Cooper & Toller.

ABOUT COOPER & TOLLER

Vicky Cooper and Richard Toller are a traditional folk duo based in the Bristol area. They sing solo and in close harmony, sometimes unaccompanied and sometimes accompanied on a range of instruments including fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. On occasion, a set may even include some clog dancing from Vicky. Their debut single, The Cherry Tree Carol, was released in late 2019, and work is progressing on a first album, due for release in 2022. With a repertoire ranging from murder ballads to bawdy drinking songs, their material may be hundreds of years old but their approach is energetic, sophisticated and timeless.

ABOUT THE GIG

This is a hybrid gig, hosted in partnership by Live to Your Living Room and Downend Folk & Roots. The gig will be held at Christ Church in Downend, as well as being livestreamed to wherever you are!

Tickets to watch online are £16.50, with the option to pay a bit less (£10) or a bit more (£25) depending on what is affordable for you. You only need one ticket per household to watch online.

Tickets to watch online are available here:
https://livetoyourlivingroom.com/events/jackie-oates-john-spiers-cooper-toller/

Tickets to watch in person at Christ Church in Downend (near Bristol) are available here:
https://downendfolkandroots.com/index.php/whats-on/405-dec22jackiejohn