Eliza Carthy

Describing herself simply as a "modern English musician", Eliza Carthy is one of the most recognisable faces in British folk. Launching head-on into the scene in the early 90s, she quickly became one of its great innovators. Born into a formidable musical dynasty, Eliza grew up steeped in the folk traditions of England. Her mother Norma was one of The Watersons, whose tight harmony arrangements of traditional songs became one of the defining sounds of the 1960s folk revival. Her father, Martin Carthy, is a hugely significant singer and guitarist, who influenced the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. As a youngster Eliza was profoundly inspired by the incredible range of traditional and contemporary musicians who were part of the Waterson/Carthy world. But far from being a copyist, Eliza began from an early age to develop her own, unique approach to traditional music. This was at least partly because of her own vastly eclectic tastes: she is knowledgeable about and interested in musical traditions from all over the world, which continue to fuel her creativity to this day. She’s worked with a wide variety of musicians, ranging beyond folks to include the likes of Van Dyke Parks, Kate Tempest and Bill Frisell. This year she released a new solo album, 'Restitute', to raise funds for her Wayward Band with guests including Martin Carthy, Jon Boden, Dave DeLarre, Ben Somers and Ben Seal; and, with Norma Waterson and The Gift Band, this summer’s 'Anchor' on Topic Records. Eliza has been nominated twice for the Mercury Prize, won a Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists, has received eight BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and was awarded an MBE for services to Folk Music. Vice President of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, she has also been an Ambassador for Resonance FM since its inception.