The Filkin’s Ensemble, billed as ‘Birmingham’s premier folk supergroup’, is the bold vision of folk duo ‘Filkin’s Drift’. This new ensemble brings together 15 of the UK’s finest young folk musicians in an adventurous collaboration.

The ensemble explores British folk traditions through the lens of the diverse metropolitan hub that is Birmingham. Their contemporary arrangements of traditional folk repertoire combine a string quartet, brass section, guitars, and orchestral percussion along with Michelle Holloway's lucent vocals. Drawing heavily from classical, jazz and folk traditions, their distinctive style of ‘orchestral folk’ forges a new path for folk music.

Filkin’s Ensemble was formed as a lockdown collaboration in September 2020. A virtual tune-a-week project run by the duo Filkin’s Drift culminated in a live, outdoor recording of traditional song ‘Arthur McBride’. The group is formed of past and present members of bands such as The Destroyers, Bonfire Radicals, The Old Dance School, Thorpe & Morrison, Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, and Gathering Tides.

The collective performing experience of this group is impressive for such a young band with appearances including Glastonbury, Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Shambala, English Folk Expo, Boomtown, Queen’s University Belfast, and the Royal Albert Hall.

This event is part of Little but LIVE! 2022, an outdoor arts festival run by Paperback Theatre in Moseley Park. Taking place from 16th- 18th September, the programme includes stand-up comedy, live music, poetry, creative workshops and more. All tickets are capped at £5, with many free events as well. You can explore the rest of the programme at paperbacktheatre.com.

Paperback are passionate about allowing as many people as possible to come to Little but LIVE! We work hard to keep ticket prices low and give as many away for free as we can. This year the festival is supported by Arts Council England, but we are still reliant on donations for our funding, so please consider making a donation on top of the cost of your ticket. No amount is too small and all donations go towards helping us bring the festival back next year and providing as many free tickets as possible to those who might not otherwise be able to attend. If you don't wish to make a donation, simply set the donation amount to £0 when you book.