Kate Rusby is an English folk singer and songwriter from Barnsley, Yorkshire. Born in 1973, she plays guitar, fiddle and piano as well as singing, and begins performing at local folk festivals while still a child and adolescent.

She emerges as part of the 1990s folk revival, when a new generation of singers and players comes through from families shaped by the 1960s revival. In 2001 The Guardian describes her as “a superstar of the British acoustic scene”, and in 2007 the BBC calls her “the first lady of young folkies”. She is also one of the few folk singers to receive a Mercury Prize nomination.

Early collaborations and bands

Rusby first draws wider attention through duets with her friend and fellow Barnsley singer Kathryn Roberts on the 1995 album Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts. Around the same period she joins the all-female Celtic folk band The Poozies as lead vocalist. She then becomes a founding member of Equation, a group that includes Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman. The verified record also places her with Equation and The Poozies.

Solo work

After leaving Equation, and being replaced there by Cara Dillon, Rusby moves towards a more traditional style and releases her debut solo album Hourglass in 1997. It is produced by Scottish fiddler John McCusker, to whom she is married for some time. In 1999 she records Sleepless, which brings her a Mercury Music Prize nomination, plus BBC Folk Award wins for Best Album and Best Folk Singer.

She continues to release albums that mix traditional songs with her own material through her label Pure Records. Her releases include Sweet Bells, a set of traditional Christmas songs, Make the Light, a collection of self-penned songs, and While Mortals Sleep, a second Christmas album. Her work also draws support from fans and collaborators including Graham Coxon, who provides the illustration for The Girl Who Couldn't Fly, and Ronan Keating.