Kate Rusby
Dave’s Stage (Main Stage), Saturday 2016
The defining voice of contemporary English Folk Music, Kate Rusby’s exquisite interpretations of Traditional songs and finely wrought self-penned tunes have won her an audience that reaches beyond the genre. A rare achievement for a folk artist but entirely understandable given Rusby’s expressive vocals that invest whatever she sings with irresistible emotional depth.
The crossover appeal Kate enjoys is unprecedented for a folk singer and has been achieved without resort to compromise. When Q magazine famously quipped, “Folk Music doesn’t get any cooler than Kate Rusby”, Kate was not fazed. She had no problem with the attention her Mercury nomination brought nor with appearing on Later With Jools Holland or recording a Top Ten duet, All Over Again, with Ronan Keating. Kate has also collaborated with Eddi Reader, Blur’s Graham Coxon, Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble and Ella Edmondson. Each incursion into the mainstream has been only served to broaden both Kate’s and the genre’s appeal.