‘Bloke folk’ trio FAUSTUS have been nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and comprise three pioneering musicians in their field: Benji Kirkpatrick (Seth Lakeman Band, Bellowhead), Saul Rose (Waterson:Carthy, Whapweazel) and Paul Sartin (Bellowhead, Belshazzar’s Feast). They are rooted deeply in the English tradition and between them bring a virtuosic display of musicianship and testosterone.

On May 13th, they mark the release of their new Cotton Famine EP with a special appearance in Manchester. As featured on BBC Radio 4, they have set texts from the University of Exeter’s 19th Century Lancashire Cotton Famine archives in an effort to rediscover the poetry of this distressing chapter of working-class history.

Benji, Paul and Saul formed the core band in The Transports (Guardian *****), the revival and reworking of Peter Bellamy’s ballad opera which proved a sensation in 2017-18 and played to full houses across the country. They are nominees for the Malzhaus Plauen Preise in Germany, and their 2016 album Death and Other Animals received the German Critics Award (Schallplatenkritik Bestenliste) in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter/World Music category.

Book your advance tickets for this Manchester gig here. 7pm doors, pre-show talk about the Lancashire Cotton Famine Poetry at 7.30pm, concert starts at 8pm.

‘Ridiculously great band.’ Tom Robinson BBC 6 Music

‘Brilliant performances…Faustus are at their best here.’ **** Songlines

‘One of Britain’s outstanding folk bands.’ **** The Guardian