Joe Yorke is a musician, producer and songwriter from Wigan. His music combines punk’s politics, solidarity and DIY ethics with influences from British and Irish traditional folk, and it often focuses on politics, identity and wider social questions.

Background

Yorke grows up in Wigan and is brought up on a strong diet of British trad and Morris tunes played by his father, Tim Onions, who plays fiddle and concertina and regularly attends traditional sessions in the north of England. That early interest develops into later collaboration on Yorke’s EP Concrete World, which appears on Manchester DIY punk label Pumpkin Records.

Career

As a teenager, Yorke forms and plays in several local bands, including the dub and rock-influenced Liberation, and performs at many gigs and festivals. He later plays with Manchester reggae group Black Star Dub Collective, a radical ensemble. He also continues with other projects, including Conscious Youth, while returning to his folk roots as a solo artist under the name Joe Yorke.

Collaborations and performances

As a solo performer, Yorke appears on the festival circuit and works with a number of other musicians and groups, including Firepit Collective. He also performs with contributions from David Garner of Choonz and Phillppa Metcalfe of KilnAboy.