Ange Hardy

Nominated for the Horizon Award for best emerging talent at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Ange Hardy is a folk singer, songwriter and recording artist from West Somerset, England. Ange performs original contemporary songs written in a traditional style with an emphasis on vocal harmony.

Shortly after winning FATEA Female Vocalist of the Year award in January 2014 she was referred to by veteran folk broadcaster Mike Harding as “one of the bright stars of the new wave of folk singers” and since then Ange Hardy has established an enviable reputation as one of the fastest emerging folk acts in the UK. She released her third studio album ‘The Lament of The Black Sheep’ to a packed theatre audience in September 2014.

The album went on to receive international acclaim and was one of only three folk albums last year to be awarded 5-stars by The Telegraph. Bringing the story full circle it was in January 2015 awarded FATEA’s most prestigious award of all, Album of the Year, in the same week that Mike Harding referred to Ange Hardy as “one of the most interesting, powerful and talented singers and songwriters to come out of the last couple of years”.

The BBC Radio 2 Folk Show played tracks from all three of Ange’s latest CD’s in 2014, and the list of accolades and awards listed on her website from the past year is truly staggering. Ange has received widespread global radio coverage, with particular focus on stations in the UK, USA, The Netherlands, Australia and Canada.

Whether she’s performing in a sold out theatre or an intimate village hall Ange brings a level of honesty and openness to the stage that is a refreshing as it is disarming. Her focus on vocal harmony and her pitch-perfect vocal talent has led her toward adopting a live-looping pedal; a digital tape-recorder at her feet that allows her to record and play back layers of vocal harmony live from the stage. In doing so she brings her talent as a recording artist to a live performance, adding an extra dimension to an already captivating stage presence.

Ange has been joined by folk legends that span the generations of the folk revival, with artists including Nic Jones (Penguin Eggs) and Luke Jackson (Fumes & Faith) joining her to sing her songs on stage, and Steve Knightley (Show of Hands), Patsy Reid (founding member of Braebach) and James Findlay (Radio 2 Young Folk Award Winner) joining Ange on her albums.

In 2015, supported by public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Ange is researching, writing and performing a new body of folk music based on the life and work of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The new album ‘Esteesee’ will be released on October 4th 2015.

Amongst many other engagements this year she has live performances booked for Cambridge Folk Festival, Sark Folk Festival and Sidmouth Folk Week.

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