Nancy Kerr and James Fagan are two of the brightest stars in the UK folk music firmament - and they’ve been patrons of Kimpton Folk Festival since 2017. Their album An Evening with Nancy Kerr & James Fagan was partly recorded in Kimpton Church and is universally acknowledged to be one of the finest folk recordings of recent times.
When you first start listening to this album, you might actually think it isn’t a live album. Why? Because the sheer excellence and precision of the playing, the depth and quality of the singing, the perfect sound quality are what you’d expect from a studio album. But no, this recording was made in our own Church of St Peter & St Paul, right here in Kimpton.
It’s only when you hear that first burst of applause - and cheering! - that you realise no, this album of one of the world’s most accomplished folk duos is actually being recorded in front of a live audience. And then, consider that audience if you will. Many of these people are not your typical folk music fans, they are Kimpton locals who’ve come to know and love Nancy and James through their Kimpton concerts over a few years.
Nancy Kerr is equally adept at singing, fiddling and songwriting - a rare phenomenon indeed. Nowhere is this more evident than in the first song on that album - Broadside which takes us into a rare historical event - the meeting between Irish pirate Grace O’Malley and Queen Elizabeth the first. Is this a traditional song or a modern ballad. Such is the nature of Nancy’s exquisite craft that it can be hard to know. And so it is with so many other Kerr-crafted ballads
And what of Aussie James Fagan? He’s a consummate singer and instrumentalist in his own right, his distinctive style on the guitar/bouzouki strongly influenced by Irish legend Andy Irvine and the lesser-known but equally great Scots/Australian performer Jim Gregory. James carries his audience gently in the very palm of his hand, playing the perfect host to all of the superb material.
Growing up as one quarter of Sydney’s celebrated Fagan family band, James became aprofessional musician when he nipped a promising medical career in the bud - and the world is glad!
The magic of the Kerr/Fagan chemistry chemistry - they’re a couple and a duo - has helped earn them multiple awards over many years, including several BBC Folk Music Awards. Boasting five studio albums and an array of high-profile collaborations around the world, this is a duo you absolutely must catch. They’ll be playing on the Church Stage at 5.30 pm. DON’T miss them!
