John Roberts & Tony Barrand

about

John Roberts & Tony Barrand is the pairing of English folk singers John Roberts and Tony Barrand, both resident in America. The duo are also members of the four-man act Nowell Sing We Clear. Widely acclaimed for their lively and entertaining presentations of English folk songs, Roberts and Barrand have performed at major festivals, colleges, clubs and coffeehouses throughout the United States, Canada, and their native Britain. They sing the ballads and songs of the sea, of rural pursuits, of social and sociable situations, of industrial toil and strife, and much more, typically arranging their material thematically to better illustrate the lives and the social history of the people who made and sang the songs. Their songs are punctuated with tales, monologues, dances and tunes, giving a more complete appreciation of the wealth, diversity, and vitality of the English folk tradition. Roberts and Barrand met at Cornell University in 1968, as fellow graduate students in psychology. They discovered that they shared a common interest in folk song, and started performing together the following year. Unaccompanied two-part singing was always a primary staple of their repertoire, and the stark harmonies of their well-balanced voices soon brought them to the attention of the folk music community. They also draw upon a variety of instrumentation: Roberts is a leading exponent of both Anglo and English concertina, as well as being a fine banjo and guitar player; Tony Barrand is a skill

top songs

albums

Across The Western Ocean

Spencer The Rover is Alive and Well

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A Present from the Gentlemen

Live At Holsteins

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Heartoutbursts

Naulakha Redux: Songs of Rudyard Kipling

Mellow With Ale From the Horn

Twiddlum Twaddlum

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Naulakha Redux: Songs of Rudya

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Dark Ships In The Forest

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Dark Ships in the Forest: Ballads of the Supernatural

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Spencer the Rover Is Alive and Well and Living in Ithaca

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