Belfast native Mark McCambridge played his first show as ARBORIST supporting James Yorkston. A solo tour followed before impressive performances led to notable support slots alongside Low, Cat Power, Echo and The Bunnymen and Guy Garvey.
They quickly came to the attention of critics with their debut single, the Americana tinged, “Twisted Arrow”, that features an astonishing duet with Kim Deal of The Breeders.
The debut ARBORIST album Home Burial (2016) and the follow-up A Northern View both received glowing praise from the likes of The Guardian (“instant classic. ★★★★” ) MOJO (“…devastatingly bleak…upliftingly beautiful. ★★★★”) and Uncut 8/10. With BBC 6music play from Cerys Matthews, Cillian Murphy, Gideon Coe and Steve Lamacq who called single Taxi, “one of those records that makes you immediately stop what you’re doing.”
An Endless Sequence of Dead Zeros, his 3rd LP, was released in April 2023 and won the prestigious Northern Ireland Music Prize. It was recorded in Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia alongside producer Matthew E White and with the legendary Spacebomb Houseband, it is a record full of melody and lush arrangements. The album campaign concluded with a rousing BBC 6 Music Session live on Riley & Coe.
Recently honoured with a ‘Fellowship’ by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University in Belfast – alongside author Caoilinn Hughes and playwright Conor McPhearson – 2026 looks set to be a seminal year for the Irish artist with new album, Looking for Love, due for release.
“A staggering debut of depth and substance” – UNCUT
“An instant classic” – The Guardian
“Devastatingly bleak…upliftingly beautiful” – Mojo
“A poignant, beautiful record” – Lauren Laverne BBC6Music
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Hector Gannet
Hector Gannet are both a band and solo act from the town of North Shields, high on England’s north east coast. Things centre on lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Aaron Duff whose compositions draw closely on his beloved home terrain. Yet Hector Gannet’s music – folk, rock, ancient, modern – also reaches out into the wider world. Hector Gannet have been praised by music lovers from Chris Packham to Sam Fender, while Uncut magazine acclaimed the band as “North Shields’ answer to Crazy Horse”. This event wont be full band, but part thereof. There have been live HG excursions of this nature with artists from Sea Power and Pete Doherty to Lindisfarne, Richard Thompson and Kathryn Williams.
BORN IN THE MYTHICAL LAND OF HOLLYWOOD, WHERE THE PSYCHEDELIC FRAGRANCE OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE POPPY LINGERS IN THE AIR, PEARL CHARLES WAS RAISED ON AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC. THOUGH SHE DID FOR A TIME IMMERSE HERSELF IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN PRIMITIVISM – THE CARTER FAMILY, SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS AND ALAN LOMAX’ ARCHIVAL RECORDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH – HAVING GROWN UP IN LOS ANGELES, THE FOLK CULTURE SHE PERSONALLY ENCOUNTERED WAS THAT OF HER HOMETOWN. A CULTURE THAT ON THE SURFACE SEEMS TO BE COMMUNALLY SHARED WITH THE WORLD VIA THE VAST AMOUNT OF MEDIA EXPORTED FROM HOLLYWOOD, BUT IS ONLY TRULY KNOWN BY THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE AND BREATH THE SMOG LACED AIR OF THE CITY ITSELF – THICK WITH THE SALT FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND THE DUST FROM THE MOJAVE DESERT.
FLOWER DAYS – M G Boulter & Samantha Whates
M G Boulter and Samantha Whates have been collaborating since 2014. Both respected and critically acclaimed singer songwriters in their own right, they are set to release their third collaborative project in the 2026. Flower Days is a collection of alt-folk and experimental recordings, inspired by flowers and their cultural significance throughout history. Recorded at the historic Cambo Country House and Estate in Fife by producer Douglas Whates, Flower Days blends the duo’s well established songwriting style with the Estate’s inspirational surroundings.
M G Boulter is a songwriter and musician living on the Thames coast in Essex. He creates vignettes of suburban lives and seaside communities, and his albums have featured in the top ten end of year lists for the publications including the Daily Telegraph. He has been described as a ‘weapons grade songwriter’.
Samantha Whates is a Scottish singer songwriter who has released several albums across a range of record labels including Rough Trade Records. She is regularly played on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6. Her beautifully crafted poetic songs retain an affinity with her Scottish roots, cultivating a sound that is contemporary, rooted in tradition, yet uniquely her own.
