Eliza Carthy

Eliza Carthy is a leading figure in British folk music.

A prolific recording artist, Carthy has released numerous solo albums, collaborations with her family and projects with international artists including Billy Bragg (1998), Paul Weller (2004) and Nancy Kerr (1993, 1995 and 2002).

Her most recent album, ‘Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band: Big Machine’ (2017) was recorded with her 12-piece band, featuring inventive arrangements of traditional songs. The release received a five-star review in The Guardian.

Her music has won her a 2003 BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year (for ‘Anglicana’) and Best Traditional Track (for ‘Worcester City’). She was the first traditional English musicians to be nominated for a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in 2003. She has also received two Mercury Prize nominations – in 1998 for ‘Red Rice’, and again in 2003 for ‘Anglicana’.

Carthy has been a judge at the Q Awards and the Ivor Novello Awards, and in 2005 co-presented the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards with Benjamin Zephaniah.

Described by The Times as “The one indisputable young star of British folk”, Carthy was recently awarded an MBE in 2014 for her services to folk music. Her biography was written by Sophie Parks in 2012, titled ‘Wayward Daughter’ and published by Soundcheck Books.

Carthy is part of the Watersons folk dynasty, growing up steeped in the folk traditions of England. Her mother Norma was one of The Watersons, whose music led the folk revival of the 1960s. Her father, Martin Carthy, is a major folk artist whose music has been an influence on Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.