Folking Incredible! Young musicians from the South West are blazing a trail

The Drystones are two young musicians who come from Priddy, a tiny village north of Glastonbury, which holds an annual folk festival every Summer.

Mike Harding has described them as ‘indecently talented’ and last year they were nominated for the BBC2 Radio 2 Young Folk Award.

They have also won the Larmer Tree Break Through Music Award, and their spirited style and big sound marks them out as a folk duo to watch.

With a fiddle, guitar, whistle and two music degrees between them, Alex Garden and Ford Collier started their musical partnership at secondary school and they have since developed an almost telepathic communication.

They first played in public at their local Priddy festival and have gone on to become the young darlings of the festival scene.

They have played at prestigious festivals all over the country from Broadstairs and Sidmouth to Warwick and Glastonbury.

Still only 21 years old, The Drystones have already recorded two albums with their third about to be released this month. They even have a range of branded hoodies and T-shirts, made through the folk clothing company Mud Chutney.

The new album, ‘Apparitions’, will be accompanied by a tour of a venues around the country with a number in the South West including Sheepstor on Dartmoor.

As if to draw everything full circle, they will top it all off by returning to their home stopping ground, The Priddy Folk Festival, in July.

The album, ‘Apparitions’ will be released on 12th April.  The Drystones will appear at St Leonard’s Church, Sheepstor on 13th April at 7.30pm. For advance tickets
telephone: 01822 853186.