Flook with special guest Patsy Reid

In Association with Music Network

Flook are one of our all-time favourite bands. We've loved them ever since we hosted one of their very first Irish gigs way back in the mid-90s in McCarthy's Bar.

We've wanted to bring them to the festival for ages, and they've been dying to come, but the stumbling block was that they don't have a fiddle player. So this year we 'forced their hand' and said that if they could bring a top-class fiddler with them then we'd give them a headline slot:-)

We're delighted that they invited the sensational Scottish fiddler Patsy Reid and we're thrilled that they've finally made it to Fiddle Fair!

Taking inspiration from their roots in the Irish and English traditions, Flook have an enviable trademark sound, weaving and spinning traditionally rooted tunes over precise acoustic grooves, with a rare blend of fiery technical brilliance, delicate ensemble interaction and a bold, adventurous musical imagination. Over 28 years after their first gig together, Flook continue to inspire and enchant audiences of all ages. Their most recent album Ancora, released in 2019 to critical acclaim and nominated for BBC Folk Album of the Year. With the virtuosic flutes and whistles of Brian Finnegan and Sarah Allen, the astounding guitar playing of Ed Boyd and John Joe Kelly “the most creative bodhrán player on the planet” (MOJO), this iconic band has wowed audiences right from when they first burst onto the international music scene with their debut studio album Flatfish. Having won Best Band at BBC Folk Awards 2006, Flook took a break in 2008. Their return in 2019 was best summed up by The Irish Times who stated “Tour de force return after decade and a half – a luminous reunion."

Patsy Reid is one of the most in-demand traditional fiddle players in the UK. In the studio she is a one-woman string quartet, contributing violin, viola and cello to albums by Donald Shaw, Duncan Chisholm, Bella Hardy, Treacherous Orchestra, Tim Edey and many more.