Bellowhead

Bellowhead are an English contemporary folk band from the United Kingdom, active from 2004 to 2016. They perform arrangements of English traditional music and are described as an 11-piece group, although the band listing includes 11 named musicians in a large ensemble line-up centred on traditional and brass instruments.

Formation and style

The group works in folk and British folk rock, with an emphasis on English traditional material. Their sound combines acoustic strings, reeds, brass and percussion, and their membership includes singers and players of fiddle, melodeon, concertina, bouzouki, guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo, cello, oboe, sousaphone, tuba, trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, bass clarinet and trombone.

Recordings

Bellowhead release one EP, E.P.onymous, and five albums: Burlesque, Matachin, Hedonism, Broadside and Revival. Their recorded work spans from 2004 through 2014, with the EP appearing in 2004 and the albums following at two-year intervals before Revival.

Membership

The band includes Jon Boden, John Spiers, Benji Kirkpatrick, Paul Sartin, Rachael McShane, Ed Neuhauser, Pete Flood, Andy Mellon, Brendan Kelly, Justin Thurgur and Sam Sweeney. Jon Boden handles lead vocals and fiddle; John Spiers plays melodeon and concertina; Benji Kirkpatrick plays bouzouki, guitar, mandolin and tenor banjo; Paul Sartin plays fiddle, oboe and vocals; Rachael McShane plays cello, fiddle and vocals; Ed Neuhauser plays sousaphone, helicon and tuba; Pete Flood plays percussion; Andy Mellon plays trumpet and flugelhorn; Brendan Kelly plays soprano and tenor saxophones and bass clarinet; Justin Thurgur plays trombone; and Sam Sweeney plays fiddle and bagpipes.

End of activity

The band announces in 2015 that the 2016 tour is the last.