Kate Rusby

Biography

Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, South Yorkshire. 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 described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene". 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.

Life and career

Rusby was born into a family of musicians in 1973 in Penistone, Barnsley, and grew up in nearby Cawthorne. 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. 1995 saw the release of her breakthrough album, Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts×Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Recruited Collier3:132Ned on the Hill4:163The Lorry Ride3:394The Queen and the Soldier5:205Courting Is a Pleasure5:476The Constant Lovers3:527Dark Eyed Sailor6:308Hunting the Hare2:479Plains of Waterloo4:5410Exile4:10, a collaboration with her friend and fellow Barnsley folk singer Kathryn Roberts. In 1997, with the help of her family, Rusby recorded and released her first solo album, Hourglass×Hourglass1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Sir Eglamore4:152As I Roved Out3:463Jolly Plough Boys4:104Annan Waters5:295Stananivy / Jack & Jill3:096A Rose in April5:457Radio Sweethearts3:368I Am Stretched on Your Grave3:059Old Man Time3:5210Drowned Lovers5:1011Bold Riley4:32. 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, later to be replaced by Cara Dillon. 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 Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand, the soundtrack to Billy Connolly's eight-part BBC One television documentary series World Tour of New Zealand, originally broadcast in November 2004.

A collaboration with Ronan Keating saw Rusby riding high in the UK Singles Chart; their duet "All Over Again" peaked at No. 6 in June 2006. She also made a vocal contribution to My Secret Is My Silence, the successful debut solo album of Roddy Woomble, the lead singer of Idlewild. In the same year her cover of The Kinks' "The Village Green Preservation Society" was used as the theme tune to the BBC One 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 album Awkward Annie×Awkward Annie28 July 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Awkward Annie3:122Bitter Boy4:533John Barbury5:394High on a Hill4:345Farewell5:346Planets4:117The Old Man3:508Andrew Lammie3:559Streams of Nancy4:0010Daughter of Heaven3:5711Blooming Heather4:5112The Village Green Preservation Society3:21 was released on 3 September 2007 and reached No. 2 on the UK indie charts. "The Village Green Preservation Society" is included as a bonus track.
2008 saw the release of Sweet Bells, an album of traditional Christmas songs interpreted by Rusby. She has since released five more Christmas albums: While Mortals Sleep×While Mortals Sleep14 November 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Cranbrook3:472Home3:483Kris Kringle4:104Little Town of Bethlehem5:345Joy to the World3:186Holmfirth Anthem4:167Seven Good Joys3:488Rocking Carol3:529Shepherds Arise4:4510First Tree in the Greenwood5:4411Diadem4:2212The Wren3:22 (2011), The Frost Is All Over×The Frost Is All Over2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Bradfield4:152Cornish Wassailing5:063Sunny Bank3:544Winter Wonderland3:395Little Bilberry4:446Dilly Carol5:147Cold Winter5:318The Christmas Goose5:049Yorkshire Merry Christmas4:1210Mount Lyngham3:4911The Frost Is All Over3:57 (2015), Angels & Men (2017), Holly Head (2019) and Light Years (2023). Each December, Rusby embarks on a Christmas tour across the United Kingdom.
In 2010, Rusby released the album Make the Light×Make the Light22 November 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1The Wishing Wife3:282The Mocking Bird4:103Let Them Fly4:284Only Hope4:445Lately4:546Shout to the Devil4:317Green Fields5:128Fair Weather Friend5:169Walk the Road4:1910Not Me4:2211Four Stars3:46, a collection of self-penned songs. In 2014, she released the album Ghost×Ghost2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1The Outlandish Knight4:562The Youthful Boy5:443We Will Sing4:114Bonnie Bairns5:445Three Jolly Fishermen3:406I Am Sad5:077Martin Said4:188After This4:509The Magic Penny4:4910The Night Visit5:4211Silly Old Man5:0812Ghost5:49, which featured traditional songs and three Rusby originals. Rusby's fourteenth solo album, Life in a Paper Boat×Life in a Paper Boat7 October 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Benjamin Bowmaneer3:502Hunter Moon5:013The Ardent Shepherdess3:474Life in a Paper Boat4:405Only Desire What You Have4:086Hundred Hearts4:157The Mermaid4:308Pace Egging Song3:419The Witch of the Westmorland6:3410I’ll Be Wise5:0711Night Lament5:0712Big Brave Bill3:45, was released in 2016 with a fourth Christmas album Angels and Men×Angels and Men2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Hark Hark3:472Let it Snow3:313Paradise4:574The Ivy and the Holly3:475Sweet Chiming Bells4:206See Amid the Winter Snow5:207Rolling Downward4:498Deck the Halls3:209We’ll Sing Hallelujah4:1410Banjo Banjo0:0911Santa Never Brings me a Banjo4:4712Let the Bells Ring5:4013Big Brave Bill Saves Christmas3:51, the following year. In May 2019, Rusby released another album entitled Philosophers, Poets & Kings×Philosophers, Poets & Kings17 May 2019 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Jenny4:382Bogey's Bonnie Belle4:243Philosophers, Poets & Kings4:274Until Morning4:275Crazy Man Michael4:576Don't Go Away4:137The Squire and the Parson3:418The Wanderer3:399Farmer's Toast4:2410As the Lights Go Out3:4611Jenny (Ordinary remix)4:3112Halt the Wagons4:52, her fifth Christmas album followed six months later.
Heading into the new decade, Rusby released a cover album of popular songs including "Shake It Off" (Taylor Swift), "Everglow" (Coldplay) and "Friday I'm in Love" (The Cure) plus many more. The album was produced in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Rusby 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 her career. It was released in May 2022.
In 2001 The Guardian described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." 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.

Personal life

In August 2001, Rusby married Scottish fiddler and fellow band member John McCusker (formerly of the Battlefield Band), who produced most of her recordings up to The Girl Who Couldn't Fly. They divorced in 2006. In June 2010, she married Irish musician Damien O'Kane, with whom she has two children.

Christmas albums

Sweet Bells (2008)
While Mortals Sleep (2011)
The Frost Is All Over (2015)
Angels and Men (2017)
Holly Head (2019)
Light Years (2023)

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

2000: Folk Singer of the Year – winner
2000: Best Album: Sleepless×Sleepless1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1The Cobblers Daughter2:392I Wonder What Is Keeping My True Love This Night4:423The Fairest of All Yarrow3:014The Unquiet Grave4:385Sho Heen4:056Sweet Bride3:377All God’s Angels4:148The Wild Goose4:259The Duke and the Tinker3:4510Our Town4:4711The Sleepless Sailor3:5012Cowsong4:4013Botany Bay4:10 – winner
2002: Best Original Song: "Who Will Sing Me Lullabies" – winner
2006: Best Original Song: "No Names×No Names2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1No Names3:32" (with Roddy Woomble) – nominated
2006: Best Album: The Girl Who Couldn't Fly – nominated
2006: Best Live Act – winner