Faustus bring their Cotton Lords show back to the authentic setting of Helmshore Mill Textile Museum on their 2020 tour.

‘So stunning live’ says Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 6 Music).

Faustus are known for captivating audiences with their sheer room-shaking power, vocal precision and instrumental mastery. Put simply, this band has complete command on stage and in the studio. Just to clarify, we’re talking folk music.

Their live act is recognised worldwide as well as in the UK and Europe; early 2020 saw the band performing at venues in Australia and New Zealand. The band is now back in the UK and touring in April 2020 with a selection of material, including from their newest EP, Cotton Lords (2019).

The show is back in the cotton heartland of Lancashire as the trio return to the former textile mill and now museum in Helmshore.

The songs on Cotton Lords were created in collaboration with Dr. Simon Rennie of Exeter University as part of the Cotton Famine Project. On the five-song EP, Faustus has placed striking stories of the Lancashire cotton famine into dramatic musical settings.

Faustus take traditional English music, rip it up, put it together again and move it on. A vigorous rhythmic impetus and rock/prog rock influence propels the sound into the here and now and a range of instruments deployed in unconventional ways gives a unique texture, depth and variety to the band’s sound. 

Driving rhythms on bouzouki and guitar are reinforced by the melodeon, fiddle, oboe and cor anglais, creating arrangements that are intriguing and subtle, boisterous or punchy.

‘Faustus somehow manage to make folk sound traditional and cutting edge at the same time. It’s a good trick to pull off and a thrilling show for the spectator.’ (English Dance and Song)  

Setting the band apart are the distinctive individual voices of Kirkpatrick, Sartin and Rose. Their close harmonies are faultless and well-crafted and all three members trade lead vocals to great effect. Not content to cover the same ground twice, song after song surprises and entertains. ‘We do work hard on crafting arrangements to make them musically interesting, and also stitching together texts to make music that is not just ephemeral, but has some sort of lasting quality.’ 

Playing: Tuesday 21 April – Helmshore Mills Textile Museum. 

Show 7.30pm Tickets £15

Ticket link here

Tel. 01706 226459

email helmshoremuseum@lancashire.gov.uk

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