Off the wall, colourful and energetic. With influences starting in early music, passing through Playford and the Morris traditions, picking up prog, soul, and pop, it's impossible to categorise the sound they make as folk music is fed through their unique steam driven sound-mincing engine. Formed by default under a Stockport pub table in early 2010 by Ed, Tom, and past member, Lucy Wright, Pilgrims' Way has grown to incorporate a dazzling array of instrumentation and millinery. With the extraordinarily omni-skilled musician Jon Loomes (22 instruments played on Red Diesel!), and champion Renaissance woodwind parper and oboe wrangler Jude Rees joining along the way, the prospect of an early night is slim. No cow is too sacred, no juxtaposition too ambitious. Pigeonhole at your peril. Wear a yellow carnation in your buttonhole. Password; 'How's your father?'

Off the back of acclaimed albums 'Wayside Courtesies' (2011) and 'Red Diesel' (2016), and the forthcoming 'Stand and Deliver' (October 2017), the band are out on the road again. Prime the mild pump, waterproof the revolving mirror ball, and strap on your dancing trousers!

Edwin Beasant - (Melodeons, Guitar, Bass, Electric Mars-Bar, etc)
Edwin is a musician with a varied and possibly dubious background, having been brought up in a Morris Dancing family. Steeped in the traditions of England, he sought further influences, finding inspiration in the continental and trans-Atlantic traditions, as well as through Motown and soul. A compulsive multi-instrumentalist, Edwin plays many, indeed most things, including some that haven't been invented yet, but is best known as a talented and inventive box player with ABU and for his stint as the drummer with Jabadaw. A hugely empathetic accompanist, his greatest strength is in instinctively bringing out the best in other people's music with exactly the right textures and rhythms.

Jude Rees - (Oboe, Vocals, Bagpipes, Woodwind)
Jude is the latest addition to Pilgrims’ Way. As a woodwind specialist she is a widely acclaimed for her lyrical playing delivered with drive and dynamism. A founder member of Isambarde, Jude’s barnstorming oboe playing coupled with her ability to convey narrative through song has won her plaudits from audiences around the country. A sought-after session musician, she has guested on numerous albums and arranged strings and brass for studio projects. Jude is also a fixture on the early music scene. She currently performs with Renaissance Consort Piva and is known for playing instruments that go PARP and singing a bawdy catch whilst wearing a variety of silly hats.

Tom Kitching - (Fiddle, Mandolin)
10 years and 1250 gigs a professional, Tom was described by Mike Harding as "one of the best English fiddlers ever " and is certainly one of the most in demand musicians on the scene, gigging with Gavin Davenport, Gren Bartley, and Albireo, as well as with his own band, and a duo with Mr Loomes. (See below). In 2015, he brought out his first solo album 'Interloper' to critical acclaim, winning a place on the Telegraph's list of folk albums of the year, and being awarded 5 stars and 6th best album of the year in the Sunday Express. His hobbies include tarboats, watching Salford Rugby League club lose, collecting kettle leads, and chairing the Stockport and District Formation Mild Drinking Squad.

Jon Loomes - (Cittern, Guitar, Hurdy-Gurdy, Concertina, Vacuum cleaner)
A consummate performer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and ethno-musicologist, Jon is renowned for his work with traditional English folk music. His debut solo album was released by Fellside Records to considerable acclaim and he has subsequently appeared as a guest musician on numerous CDs, and has produced many more. Upon joining Pilgrims' Way, he was reckoned by James Fagan to have 'Filled in holes he didn't know were there', thereby saving the council a fortune in compensation cases. Rumours that he is merely the puppet at the head of a drunken feline world domination conspiracy are probably slightly wide of the mark.

Links:

pilgrims-way.net
facebook.com/pages/Pilgrims-Way/131686003547457
myspace.com/pilgrimswaymusic
youtube.com/results?search_query=Pilgrims%27+Way

Reviews for Red Diesel:

"A treat of an album. 5 stars." ~ The Telegraph

"An album that is likely to exceed the heights reached by its predecessor. A five-star album." ~ Folkwords

"I’m tempted to just put this album on and leave it." ~ Genevieve Tudor, BBC Radio Shropshire

"It has to be in contention come next awards season." ~ R2 Magazine.

Reviews of Wayside Courtesies:

"The Handweaver and the Factory Maid is one of my favourite tracks of the last 12 months!" ~ Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2

"Pilgrims' Way are the real deal. I am genuinely impressed by their understanding and feel for the music - a young band I expect to hear great things from in the future." ~ Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2

"I love it!" ~ Genevieve Tudor, BBC Radio Shropshire's 'Sunday Folk'

"Great stuff!" ~ Sam Walker, BBC Manchester's 'BBC Introducing'

"...This EP lives up to their ambition to create gimmick-free folk and hints at a promising future for Pilgrims's Way." ~ Liz Osman, Bright Young Folk

"This new young trio seem set to be very busy across the Summer with about eighteen festival dates confirmed. Those bookings have been made on the strength of this EP, with just one listen it's obvious why any festival would want them on their stage. They manage to walk the line between Trad conformity and ripping up the rule book deceptively easily. Read the full review!" ~ Iain Hazlewood, Spiral Earth