Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith

Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith arrived on the scene in 2014 with their unique style of strong harmony singing and considered musical arrangements. Their first album on Fellside Records was described as ‘utterly absorbing’ full of ‘personal, empathetic stories told from the perspective of real people’. The duo became festival favourites last year and their success is set to continue with a new album released this summer.

Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith play traditional and original folksong of the British Isles. They tell stories of hardship, joy, struggle and celebration held together with driving banjo and guitar arrangements and close vocal harmonies.

They have both been heavily influenced by the songs and singers of East Anglia, where they both grew up, but their music also reflects the diversity of voices within the folk and acoustic world. They weave traditional English folksong with Irish, Scottish and American tunes, and their own compositions draw on many different styles.

The songs on their new album have been picked up from sessions, singarounds, gigs, recordings and learned from friends. The stories are varied but there is a common thread of political struggle and resistance, and the decline of the industries that were the backbone of England for many generations.