Wayward Jane

Songlines “Timeless in its sound, yet palpably current in its narrative, this is apotently contemporary and soulful listen” 

Cerys Mathews, BBC 6Music “Beautiful old-time inspired music”

Wayward Jane‘s music is a modern interpretation of American folk and Old Time traditions, blending roots music with fresh arrangements and original songs. Their rich sound features fiddle, clawhammer banjo, double bass, guitar, wooden flute and close vocal harmonies. Wayward’s live shows have a joyful energy, expressing the fine musicianship and playful chemistry of the four musicians and friends. Ranging in mood from bouncing, energetic tunes to tender and soulful songs, Wayward Jane tend to leave audiences with a glow in their hearts.

Wayward Jane have appeared together at folk clubs and festivals across the land, touring extensively in the UK and Ireland. They were recently featured live in session on BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk where Bruce MacGregor remarked “they’re just that bit different from anything else happening in Scotland!”

The Flood is the band’s third album and marks the fullest realisation to date of a unique sound that the band have been carefully refining over the last 8 years. Captured at beautiful Heriot Toun in the Scottish Borders, The Flood is a collection of mostly original songs and tunes, which are at once familiar and comforting but also don’t belong to any one musical genre. There are strong influences from American folk, old time and the world of thumb-driven acoustic guitar but it is also clearly a recording made by musicians who have come up through the UK/Scottish traditional folk music scene. There is a breadth of feeling and mood on display across the album’s twelve tracks drawn from the varied approaches to arrangement and lyrical composition. The result moves fluidly from measured love letters to the band’s hometown through dark soundscapes evoking the lonely high plains, to tender moments touching on the sorrow of current global crises and plaintive melodies composed to calm a young child. These sit side by side with traditional American folk numbers and newly penned old timey reels fit for the hollers of the Appalachian mountains.

Wayward Jane are Dan Abrahams (guitar, double bass, vocals), Sam Gillespie (vocals, guitar, wooden flute), Rachel Petyt (fiddle, vocals) and Michael Starkey (5-string banjo, guitar, vocals).

The band are busy members of the Edinburgh traditional music scene, playing in bands such as Brothers Gillespie, Dowally and Michael Starkey & Hannah Read, as well as collaborating with artists such as Rachel Baiman, Phil Alexander (Moishe’s Bagel) and Hog-Eyed Man. They have released three albums – “Wayward Jane”, “Old Train”, and “The Flood“. The latter led to rave reviews, plays on Radio 6Music and a live performance on BBC Radio 4’s “Loose Ends”.