Fay Hield is a traditional English folk singer and a Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the University of Sheffield.

Career

Looking Glass A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

'', released September 2010, was Hield's debut solo album. The material consists mainly of traditional songs and ballads. She started gigging her new album as the Fay Hield Trio, made up of Rob Harbron (English Acoustic Collective) and Sam Sweeney (

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical style ...

). Hield was nominated for the Horizon Award at the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Hield was part of

The Witches of Elswick The Witches of Elswick (20012007) were an English ''a cappella'' folk quartet comprising Becky Stockwell, Gillian Tolfrey, Bryony Griffith and Fay Hield. Much of their material came from traditional music of the British Isles, including Two Sis ...

, with whom she recorded two CDs in their six years together. As researcher, Hield completed her PhD thesis "English Folk Singing and the Construction of Community" in 2010 at the University of Sheffield, then becoming a lecturer in

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

and

music management A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-day ...

since 2012. In 2021 she was awarded a Future Leaders Fellowship by UK Research and Innovation, to carry out a four-year research programme titled "Defining ethnomusicological Action Research through the regeneration of English folk clubs." Along with her ex-partner Jon Boden, Hield helped to run two folk clubs – Royal Traditions ( Dungworth) and Bright Phoebus ( Sheffield). She also established a community music organisation in 2010, and ran the first Soundpost Singing Weekend in 2011. ''Orfeo'', released May 2012, was Hield's second album, with a new line-up, Fay Hield & the Hurricane Party ( Jon Boden, Rob Harbron, Sam Sweeney & Andy Cutting). In 2013 Hield in conjunction with the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) put together ''The Full English'' band to promote the launch of the society's on-line publication of their archive search engine. The band issued an eponymous album and toured providing a showcase for both the band and the archive.

The Full English

Discography

*''

'' (2010) *''Orfeo'' (May 2012) *''The Full English'' (2013) *''Old Adam'' (February 2016) *''Wrackline'' (September 2020)

With BACCApella

*''The Haworth Set'' (1999)

With The Witches of Elswick

*''Out of Bed'' (2003) *''Hell's Belles'' (2005)

Personal life

Hield and her ex-partner, folk singer Jon Boden, have a daughter, born 2006, and a son, born 2009.

References

External links

Official Site
*
Staff page
at the Department of Music, University of Sheffield {{DEFAULTSORT:Hield, Fay Living people English folk singers Alumni of Newcastle University Alumni of the University of Sheffield Musicians from Sheffield Place of birth missing (living people) 1978 births 21st-century British singers The Full English members UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship