Roman Candle is thrilled to welcome Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman to St Mary's Creative Space, Chester. Special guest Caitlin Gilligan.

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Tickets £15 advance from Grey N Pink Records or See Tickets.

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NORA BROWN

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“Nora has a passion for the music of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee… with a thirst for storytelling.” - Bob Boilen, NPR All Songs Considered

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Nora Brown started learning music at the age of 6 from the late Shlomo Pestcoe. From his tiny studio apartment in Brooklyn, Pestcoe instilled in her the belief that music is meant to be shared.

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Nora plays traditional music with a focus on Southern Appalachian banjo and guitar playing. Along with mentors in the northeast like the late John Cohen she also has traveled and learned directly from master musicians including Alice Gerrard, George Gibson and the late Lee Sexton and Art Rosenbaum.

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She has played numerous venues and festivals in the US and Europe including the Newport Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Trans-Pecos Festival of Love in Marfa Texas, and Folk Holidays in the Czech Republic. She has performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk, TED Salon, WNYC’s Dolly Parton’s America Podcast and an official showcase at the 2022 Americana Fest in Nashville.

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Nora has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WBUR Here and Now and she’s been included on Bob Boilen’s All Songs Considered.

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Since 2019 she has released 3 albums on Brooklyn’s own Jalopy Records Label and all records have charted on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts during the first week of release.

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The New Yorker called her most recent record Long Time To Be Gone - “A disarming collection of traditional laments and exquisite banjo instrumentals”.

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Fretboard Journal called her 2nd album Sidetrack My Engine - “Some of the most interesting and haunting Traditional music we’ve heard… impossibly talented”

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She has won numerous banjo and folk song competitions at various fiddlers conventions including the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Music Festival and The Grayson County Old-Time and Bluegrass Fiddlers Convention.

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Nora performs solo but also as a duo with award winning fiddler Stephanie Coleman. She also continues to collaborate with singer songwriters Jackson Lynch and Hannah Read.

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STEPHANIE COLEMAN

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“...Achingly mournful fiddle notes.” - Folk Alley

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“Stephanie Coleman’s fiddle is an extension of her entire being. Her playing is otherworldly, yet deeply rooted in tradition.” - Aoife O’Donovan

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Stephanie Coleman is regarded as one of the premier fiddlers of her generation. Hailing from the Chicago area, she first learned to play at 8 from her father Don, an avid old-time fiddler himself. Finding herself in the local traditional music scene centering around Chicago’s legendary Old Town School of Folk Music, Stephanie was taken under the wing by members of that vibrant community. At 12, she began studying Midwestern fiddle music with fiddle master Lynn “Chirps” Smith. Chirps and other mentors like Rhys Jones, Steve Rosen, and Paul Tyler inspired Stephanie to explore not just the craft but also the rich history of traditional Appalachian and Midwestern fiddle music. By 13, she had released her debut album, I’m Little But I’m Tough!. Through her teens, Stephanie became an in-demand square dance musician for the Chicago Barn Dance Company and a regular fiddle contest winner.

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CAITLIN GILLIGAN

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“..she sings with a singular clear-eyed intensity of her own.”- Folk Radio -

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Scottish folk musician, Caitlin Gilligan hails from the rolling hills of rural Galloway. Though now based in Liverpool, her songs still echo the wildness of her youth.

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Weaving age-old folk songs into sets of bare-boned and poetically-crafted originals, she demonstrates refreshing insight whilst simultaneously summoning the voices of times gone by. She draws much inspiration from folk giants such as Anne Briggs, Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen as well as traditional vocal music of Scotland, Ireland and America.

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​Caitlin has played alongside artists such as Martin Carthy, Martin Simpson, The Unthanks, Sam Amidon, Rachel Sermanni, Emily Portman, Rachel Newton and The Rails. She played her debut Cambridge Folk Festival in 2019, where she was a selected highlight on The Den Stage This summer she toured with the highly-acclaimed folk-supergroup Tarren as part of a run of Nest Collective ‘Campfire Club’ gigs around the country where she was received with great acclaim.

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​“Scottish folksinger Caitlin Gilligan creates an array of truly timeless ballads, varying from good old-fashioned storytelling to the occasional protest song. A celebrated performer wherever she pops up..." - RGM -

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