Shovel Dance Collective
Industrial ballads and folk music about the labour movement.
Last year, The New York Times reported on UK folk bands using centuries-old ditties to discuss current political issues. One of the most prominent is the British and Irish Shovel Dance Collective, who, with a nod to both work and joy in their name, breathe new life into workers’ songs and ballads.
The folk ensemble has dug into British, Irish and Scottish folk music dating back as far as the 17th century, giving the material new arrangements with an experimental edge. On stage, nine musicians sit in a semicircle without a clear leader, surrounded by 25 different instruments – ranging from harp, hammered dulcimer and fiddle to various flutes and horns. Pre-classical instruments and voices create a warm, rich soundscape steeped in tradition, and the musicians weave in queer and feminist stories, laced with echoes of labour movements and war stories.
Following critically acclaimed performances at Glastonbury, Roskilde and Rewire, the folk ensemble comes to Østre during the Festival for their first concert in Bergen.
Shovel Dance Collective. Photo: Jordan Reyes
‘The leaderless collective hears the struggle of oppressed people across space and time not only in typical folk revival solidarity songs but also in the twang of a cittern, the thud of a bodhrán, the peal of a dulcimer.’ – Bandcamp
Contributors
Tom Hardwick-Allan harmonicas, trombone, horns, noise
Mataio Austin Dean voice, guitar, clarinet
Nick Granata voice, pump organ
Daniel S. Evans guitar, bowed banjo, cello, percussion
Joshua Barfoot voice, hammered dulcimer, clarinet, percussion
Alex Mckenzie bass clarinet, low whistle, flute
Oliver Hamilton violin
Fidelma Hanrahan harp, low whistle
Jacken Elswyth banjo, shruti box
Practical information
No age limit
Standing audience, no seating
