Born and raised in the town of Wigan, Joe Yorke is a versatile musician, producer and songwriter. Joe’s music takes the potency, politics, solidarity and DIY ethics of punk and the influence of British/Irish traditional folk to fertilise a resoundingly warm and heartfelt composition. Song subjects reflect both concrete and abstract politics of the self and society.
Joe was brought up on a rich selection of British Trad and Morris tunes played by his father Tim Onions. Tim is a fiddle and concertina player and regular Trad session attendee in the North. This hereditary passion, organically grew into a future collaboration on Joe’s EP ‘Concrete World’, released on Manchester based DIY punk label ‘Pumpkin Records’ to a solid reception.
As a teen Joe instigated and played in various bands within the local music scene such as dub/rock influenced ‘Liberation’, playing numerous gigs and festivals. He moved on to play in Manchester based band ‘Black Star Dub Collective’, a respected, radical, reggae ensemble. Whilst continuing with other musical projects including ‘Conscious Youth, Joe has returned to his folk roots with solo act ‘Joe Yorke’. He has become a refreshing and powerful solo performer making a presence on the festival circuit, with collaborations and performances with the likes of ‘Firepit Collective’ ,accompaniments from David Garner of ‘Choonz’ and Philppa Metcalfe of ‘KilnAboy’.