Outlandish Nights: Yekduy Band and Thomas McCarthy

Outlandish Nights is a series of 6 concerts celebrating Folk Traditions from across the world in the beautiful surroundings of Boiling Wells woodland Amphitheatre. Come and join us for a celebration of International Roma Day. If you are from the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Community please get in touch with us as we have reserved free tickets. If you're not from these communities but price is a barrier for you, please get in touch too (sophiebostock1@gmail.com) Delicious food will be provided on the night by Houria who are a Bristol-based anti-slavery & anti-racism organisation, training & hiring female survivors of slavery in a Pan-African catering company. YEKDUY BAND: YekDuy is a London based 5 piece band dedicated to sharing the passion of the captivating mix of folk balkan and Romani music from Hungary, Slovakia, and Eastern Europe. THOMAS McCARTHY Thomas McCarthy is an Irish Traveller, Singer and Storyteller from Birr, County Offaly.Thomas was named An Gradam Ceoil Traditional Singer of the Year 2019. His grandfather was known as a “seanachie” which is an Irish term for someone with a profound orally derived knowledge of the history and families of Ireland. Thomas learnt his crafts of singing and storytelling from his mother, aunts and uncles. His extended family has a long history of musicianship and includes the well-recognised and respected Doran Brothers and their grandfather “Big John Cash”, who all played the Irish uillean (elbow) pipes. At age ten Thomas moved to London but continued to travel with his family back and forth and around Ireland and England. He was recognised by his own family as a gifted singer from a young age, but was “discovered” in 2008 by the wider public after a “tip off” from a barman at a family wedding. This led him to Cecil Sharp House in Camden Town, London. Here he joined singers at a folk song club, who were amazed and enchanted by his powerful yet subtle, ancient and authentic Irish Traveller style of singing and by the rare songs that he brought with him. Thomas has since been employed singing in clubs and at festivals throughout the UK and Ireland as well as in Europe and the US. He has been described as “the most exciting thing to come out of Ireland in the last fifty years” by Joe Power who runs the folk song club in Dungarven, Ireland. In addition to this he has proved to be an engaging storyteller for children in the UK and the US, working in schools and at festivals and drawing on old stories and a “fireside” style of storytelling learnt from his family. He never fails to enchant, educate and engage the children, who come from all walks of life.