Stewart Hardy

A lovely intimate House Concert at a friend’s house in the south west of corner of Gateshead, where we will be playing more new material from our upcoming album.

Tickets for this concert are all sold now, but sign-up to the newsletter to hear about details of future concerts.

Maddison’s Thread will be playing at Hartlepool’s Wintertide Festival this year, featuring the full 10 piece line-up that rocked the album launch in January. As well as Lee’s stunning vocals, I will be joining regulars Nige (bass) & Darren (drums), alongside Paul (guitars), Kieran (flute) and Suzy (backing vocals). I am absolutely delighted that the string quartet will be getting together once again, with Emma, Jill & Fiona bringing their glorious sounds to the string arrangements. Such a treat!

This will be a landmark performance as it is not often we can get a full line-up of such splendid musicians together! And all to support the wonderful tunes and lyrics that make up Lee’s enthralling songs. The event will be candlelit creating a very special atmosphere, with limited ticket allocation, so book your tickets now.

(and do you like the Wintertide poster? A spectacular piece of art by Amanda at Mandascat – check out her work on Facebook or her website)

Frank and Stewart will be heading to the wonderful Edinburgh Folk Club.

Stewart Hardy and Frank McLaughlin possess a rare musical kinship which, thoughout their 20+ year collaboration, has delighted listeners with their interplay as they explore music rooted in the traditions of Scotland, the Borders and Northumberland while incorporating sensibilities from the worlds of classical, blues, klezmer and jazz.

Stewart and Frank met at a festival of Scottish music in Northern Bavaria. From the start it was clear that they held common musical values and shared many musical influences. Initially contributing to each others projects, the fun they had working together led them to establish a formal collaboration.

Together they compose, produce and perform music of tremendous variety. As a duo they perform traditional and contemporary tunes stripped back to the bare essentials of fiddle and guitar. With their long-term collaboration, they have achieved a deep and instinctive understanding of each other’s musical interpretations.

The unique and versatile approach Stewart and Frank bring to their music, combined with their ability to draw on a wide variety of styles, produces an uplifting and joyous performance.

Rescheduled date.

I will be joining Lee Maddison for another lovely evening of Lee’s songs at this relaxed and informal venue. The Ship Inn is one of our favourite venues in which to perform and we are delighted to have been asked back. Join us from 4 pm in the beautiful surroundings of the Northumberland coastline.

We will be launching our new album, “The Gift” in April 2018. First off we will be heading up to Glasgow’s Star Folk Club on Tuesday 3rd to present the material north of the border.

This extremely rare new album launch from one of the UK’s longest established instrumental folk duos promises to provide an uplifting and joyous evening.

In their twenty-two years of performing music as a duo, fiddle virtuoso Stewart Hardy and Scottish guitar supremo Frank McLaughlin have appeared together in numerous projects but their new CD “The Gift” will be only their second release as an instrumental duo, a mere nine years after their critically acclaimed debut “Root2”. If ‘commercial’ and ‘prolific’ might not be the most frequently used descriptors for their studio work, their onstage performances have consistently delighted audiences as their rare musical kinship and irreverent banter hold listeners spellbound.

This new album of predominantly self-penned material reflects a shared musical heritage rooted in the traditions of Scotland, the Borders and Northumberland, and exemplifies the very best of partnerships between fiddle and guitar.