Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the best known contemporary English folk singers. In 2001 ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene."Denselow, Robin
"Kate Rusby – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London"
''Guardian.co.uk'', 28 June 2001 (Retrieved: 19 July 2009) In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies". She is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the ...

.Wilson, Sue
"Lost love and other heartbreaks"
''Independent.co.uk'', 18 June 2001 (Retrieved: 19 July 2009)"No sure bets for Mercury"
''news.BBC.co.uk'', 7 September 1999 (Retrieved: 19 July 2009)

Career

Rusby was born into a family of musicians in 1973 in Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. After learning to play the guitar, the fiddle and the piano, as well as to sing, she played in many local folk festivals as a child and adolescent, before joining (and becoming the lead vocalist of) the all-female Celtic folk band

the Poozies The Poozies are a British all-female traditional folk band formed in 1990. They were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scottish and Gaelic music in the 1990s. Throughout the years they have toured worldwide, attractin ...

. 1995 saw the release of her breakthrough album, ''Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts'', a collaboration with her friend and fellow Barnsley folk singer

Kathryn Roberts Kathryn Roberts is an English folk singer, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Early career Roberts' first released recordings were on the album ''Intuition'', a collection of songs by various South Yorkshire folk artists which also included he ...

. In 1997, with the help of her family, Rusby recorded and released her first solo album, ''

Hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...

''. Since then she has gone on to receive acclaim in her home country and abroad and her family continues to help her with all aspects of her professional career. Rusby was also a member of the folk group

Equation In mathematics, an equation is a formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for example, in F ...

, later to be replaced by

Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving t ...

. The early line-up also featured Rusby's erstwhile performing partner Kathryn Roberts and Mercury-nominated artist Seth Lakeman, and his brother, Sean Lakeman. Their first EP, ''In Session'', had a small commercial release and led to them signing a major record deal with WEA. The previously unreleased song "Wandering Soul" was Rusby's contribution to the soundtrack for '' Billy Connolly's World Tour of New Zealand'', an eight-part BBC television documentary series originally broadcast in November 2004. A collaboration with

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...

saw Rusby riding high in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

; their duet "All Over Again" peaked at No. 6 in June 2006. She also made a vocal contribution to the successful debut solo album of Roddy Woomble, the lead singer of Idlewild. In the same year her

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

' " The Village Green Preservation Society" was used as the theme tune to the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

television sitcom '' Jam & Jerusalem''. Rusby wrote several new songs for the series, and was credited as being responsible for the show's music. Launched at the 2007

Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix o ...

, the album ''

Awkward Annie ''Awkward Annie'' is the seventh studio album by English contemporary folk musician Kate Rusby, released on 3 September 2007 on Pure Records. The album is the first to be produced by Rusby herself, following her split with husband and producer Jo ...

'' was released on 3 September 2007. "The Village Green Preservation Society" is included as a bonus track. 2008 saw the release of ''

Sweet Bells ''Sweet Bells'' is the first Christmas album by English contemporary folk musician Kate Rusby, released on 15 December 2008 on Pure Records. In November 2011, Rusby released a follow-up, entitled '' While Mortals Sleep'' (2011). The album was r ...

'', an album of traditional Christmas songs interpreted by Rusby. She has since released three more Christmas albums: ''While Mortals Sleep'' (2011), '' The Frost Is All Over'' (2015), ''Angels & Men'' (2017), and ''Holly Head'' (2019). Each December, Rusby embarks on a popular Christmas tour across the United Kingdom. Portraits (Kate Rusby)

In 2010, Rusby released the album ''

Make the Light ''Make the Light'' is the ninth studio album by folk musician Kate Rusby, released on 22 November 2010 on Pure Records. The album is the first to feature songs written solely by Rusby; this idea was suggested by actress Jennifer Saunders, with ...

'', a collection of self-penned songs. In 2014, she released the album ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

'', which featured traditional songs and three Rusby originals. Rusby's fourteenth solo album, '' Life in a Paper Boat,'' was released in 2016 with a fourth Christmas album '' Angels and Men'', the following year. In May 2019, Rusby released another album entitled ''

Philosophers, Poets & Kings ''Philosophers, Poets & Kings'' is the sixteenth studio album by English folk singer Kate Rusby. It features traditional folk music, original songs and covers of Fairport Convention and Oasis. The album was released by Pure Records, including on ...

'', her 5th Christmas album followed 6 months later. Heading into the new decade, Rusby released a cover album of popular songs including Shake It Off (

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

), Everglow (

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

) and Firday I'm In Love (

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

) plus many more. The album was produced in the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, with Kate saying "It was always the plan to make this album this year, lock-down just made it more intimate.". Her most recent work is called '30: Happy Returns' and marks 30 years of being a professional musician. The songs are newly recorded versions of favourites from across Kate’s career. It was released in May 2022.

Personal life

In August 2001, Rusby married Scottish fiddler and fellow band member John McCusker (formerly of the

Battlefield Band Battlefield Band were a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band. The band is noted for ...

), who produced most of her recordings up to ''

The Girl Who Couldn't Fly ''The Girl Who Couldn't Fly'' is an album by British folk musician Kate Rusby, released in 2005. The title refers to Rusby's fear of flying. The album cover features a painting by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon. Track listing All songs by K ...

'', but they subsequently divorced in 2006. In June 2010, she married Irish musician

Damien O'Kane Damien O'Kane (born 1 September 1978) is an Irish musician, born in Coleraine. He lives in Yorkshire with his wife, musician Kate Rusby, and their two daughters. Career O'Kane graduated from Newcastle University in 2005 and has been performi ...

, with whom she has two children.

Discography

Solo albums

*''

'' (1997) *'' Sleepless'' (1999) *'' Little Lights'' (2001) *'' 10'' (2002) *'' Heartlands'' (2003) *'' Underneath the Stars'' (2003) *''

'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) No. 2 UK Indie *''

'' (2010) *'' 20'' (2012) *''

'' (2014) *'' Life in a Paper Boat'' (2016) *''

'' (2019) *'' Hand Me Down'' (2020) *''30'' (2022)

Christmas albums

*''

'' (2008) *'' While Mortals Sleep'' (2011) *'' The Frost Is All Over'' (2015) *''Angels and Men'' (2017) *''Holly Head'' (2019)

Awards

Mercury Music Prize

*1999: '' Sleepless'' – nominated

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

*2000: Folk Singer of the Year – winner"Radio 2 Folk Awards 2006: Previous Winners"
''BBC.co.uk'' (Retrieved: 19 July 2009) *2000: Best Album: '' Sleepless'' – winner *2002: Best Original Song: "Who Will Sing Me Lullabies" – winner *2006: Best Original Song: "No Names" (with Roddy Woomble from Idlewild) – nominated *2006: Best Album: ''

'' – nominated *2006: Best Live Act – winner"Radio 2 Folk Awards 2006: Winners"
''BBC.co.uk'' (Retrieved: 19 July 2009)

Other

*2014: BASCA Gold Badge award

References

External links

*
Artists: Kate Rusby
''PureRecords.net'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusby, Kate 1973 births Living people Musicians from Barnsley People from Penistone English folk musicians English folk singers The Poozies members 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers Equation (band) members