John Kirkpatrick & Chris Parkinson

John Kirkpatrick has been at the very forefront of innovative folk in Britain since the late 1960s, and has played with, among others, the ALBION BAND, the ALBION COUNTRY BAND, STEEELEYE SPAN, the RICHARD THOMPSON BAND, BRASS MONKEY, and BAND OF HOPE, as well as establishing himself as a brilliant solo act. It is a pedigree second to none.

Whatever the musical context, John has gained wide acclaim not only for his virtuosity and musicianship, but also for the essentially English quality of the sound that characterises all his work. ‘Concertina & Squeezebox’ magazine in the USA has said of John that he “has certainly had more influence upon English diatonic reed playing than anyone of his generation.”

“John Kirkpatrick: he’s in a class of his own for the life he instils into whatever issues from his squeezeboxes”. (Folk Roots).

Chris Parkinson has played music since the age of five, starting with the harmonica, and moving on to piano, guitar, concertina, tin whistle, melodeon, piano accordion and keyboards, and even a little time playing the fiddle. He plays traditional folk music of UK, Europe and beyond, and is also no mean hand at blues, rock & roll, and even a bit of jazz.

Chris is also a founder member of the much travelled and highly acclaimed The House Band. He is in great demand both for live performance and studio session work, and has worked with countless people from the folk scene and beyond;- Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Ralph McTell, Mike Harding, & Steve Phillips, highly regarded blues singer and guitarist, and member of the world-renowned Notting Hillbillies.

“Two ace squeezemeisters in a twin-peaks-with-bellows tour through Paris, Africa, Louisiana, Spain, Whitby, and all points weird and very wonderful. And songs too!”
Radio 2’s Mike Harding