Award-winning folk musicians Michael McGoldrick and Tim Edey kick off autumn concerts in Derbyshire town

The players, who are renowned for their exceptional skills and innovative approaches to Celtic music, will perform at The Nailers Conference Centre in Belper on September 13, 2026.

Michael, who a former BBC Folk Awards musician of the year, is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and a master of the wooden flute, low whistles and uilleann pipes. He has made an immense contribution to the Irish and UK folk scenes through his many solo and collaborative projects including being a founder member of the supergroup Lúnasa and later through his work with Capercaillie. Michael has collaborated with Mark Knopfler since 2009 and been a core member of the Transatlantic Sessions since 2007.

Guitarist and melodeon player Tim is a BBC musician of the year and BBC Scotland best traditional musican winner. He spent years touring with acts like The Chieftains, Seamus Begley, Brendan Power and Natalie MacMaster.

Tim and Michael released their collaborative album Jamland at the end of 2024, eight years after they first met at Rochester Sweeps Festival.

Auka will be special guests at the Belper concert. The band – who take their name from an Old Norse word meaning to grow or augment – perform genre-defying original music on Irish flute and whistles, acoustic guitar and double bass.

Six young musicians at the forefront of Glasgow’s traditional music scene comprise the band TRIP who return to Belper on October 25 for a concert at the Meadows Cricket Club pavilion. The line-up includes Michael Biggins, who was named BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year title in 2021, and members of of FARA, GNOSS, The Canny Band and HEISK.

TRIP’s infectious energy and camaraderie have captured audiences at big events such as Celtic Connections, Skye Live, Shetland Folk Festival and Festival Interceltique de Lorient in France.

In 2022 TRIP released their debut album, A Drop for Neptune, which was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. They were nominated for Folk Band of the Year in 2023. Their second album, In Terra’s Keep, was released in 2025.

Bonfire Radicals bring their dynamic, high-octane, prog-folk music to the Meadows Cricket Club pavilion, Belper on November 13, 2026. Their sound, which incorporates rhythmic grooves, instrumental fireworks and rich vocal harmonies, emerges from a melting pot of original and traditional tunes from the British Isles to the Balkans.

Looking ahead to 2027, MIchael McGoldrick will be back with John Doyle and John McCusker to bring top-class folk songs, tunes and charming bonhomie to the Meadows Cricket Club on February 28. Folk music’s legendary triumvirate McGoldrick, Doyle and McCusker has shared stages and recording studios with everyone from Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler to Paul Weller, Joan Baez and Linda Thompson.

Barry Kerr, a composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and visual artist, will be performing at the Meadows Cricket Club on March 12. His credits include collaborations with Steve Cooney, Cara Dillon, Lumiere and Dervish. Barry’s compositions have been performed and recorded by artists such as Damien Dempsey, Karan Casey, Flook, Damian O’Kane and Kate Rusby.

Black Dog Radio is the promoter of all five concerts. Tickets available from https://www.wegottickets.com/BDR