Join one of the world’s greatest brass bands, Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, for an evening of festive favourites in the magnificent surroundings of Selby Abbey.

The South Elmsall Village Brass Band can be traced back to humble beginnings in 1884; adopted by the local Frickley Colliery in 1905, it has gone on become one of Britain’s most successful ever brass bands and a jewel in the crown of Yorkshire’s musical heritage.

During its long and impressive history, Carlton Main has competed and triumphed at many of the most prestigious competitions and is currently one of the top ranked bands in the world. Most notably, the band has held the titles of European Champions, National Champions, British Open Champions, Granada TV Band of the Year, BBC Best of Brass Champions, Spring Festival Grand Shield Champions and British Open Quartet Champions.

Carlton Main have been consistently ranked among the top 10 brass bands in the world. They have made regular appearances on the BBC’s flagship programme Songs of Praise, performed with the world renowned Rambert Dance Company and toured Europe with the Gary Clarke Company's National Theatre Award Winning COAL. In 2018 the band headlined ITV’s charity fundraiser The Real Full Monty while 2022 saw them join the National Theatre to perform the musical adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's famous The Caucasian Chalk Circle with an incredible cast of over 150 people.

The rich complexity of life is the emotional focus of the much-anticipated new album from one of Canada’s most accomplished and harmonious trios – Good Lovelies.

The songs on We Will Never Be the Same, crafted by the Juno Award-winning ensemble of Kerri Ough, Sue Passmore and Caroline Marie Brooks, are as compelling as the engaging vocal harmonies for which the group has been known for the last 17 years as they mine the complex feelings experienced by women who have come to ponder some of the big questions of life.

This new album is both a return to a more elemental, acoustic-based musical platform reaching back to the early days of the Good Lovelies, as well as an immersive emotional experience crafted by three seasoned songwriters who bring their own real-life stories in all their dynamism and messy complexity to the fore.

We Will Never Be the Same is the group’s fifth full-length studio album adding to a widely acclaimed catalogue of recordings that also includes two beloved Christmas releases. It adds to their already popular concert repertoire as they return to tread the boards in venues throughout North America, the U.K., Europe, Australia, and beyond.

It is a testament not only to their artistry, but also their humanity, and is an album that will continue to endear this beloved group to fans of all ages.

Multi-Grammy award winner Tim O’Brien and his wife Jan Fabricius have performed together nationally and internationally either as a duo or as part of the Tim O’Brien Band since 2015. In a duet setting with a guitar, a mandolin, and their two voices, they bring an intimate and warm acoustic music roots repertoire that’s at once both original and traditional.

Singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist O’Brien, born in Wheeling WV in 1954, grew up singing and playing guitar in church and in school. After seeing Doc Watson on TV, he became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music. Co-founder of Colorado’s Hot Rize, he toured the world with that band from 1978 until he started his solo career in 1990. His songs have been covered by Kathy Mattea, Garth Brooks, and the Dixie Chicks, and his collaborators onstage and in the recording studio include Darrell Scott, Dirk Powell, Mark Knopfler, and Sturgill Simpson. Awarded Grammy’s in both the Folk and Bluegrass categories, he is a member of both the West Virginia and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. He lives with Jan Fabricius in Nashville TN.

Jan Fabricius grew up in WaKeeney, Ks. and sang from an early age in church and school, taking up clarinet and then mandolin. A registered nurse and mother of two, she kept her hand in music through local jams and regional bluegrass festivals while raising her family.

Jan’s music with O’Brien started informally around their home as he wrote or learned new songs, and she soon found herself singing and playing mandolin in the studio and onstage. O’Brien’s 2021 release “He Walked On”, and his upcoming release “Cup of Sugar” feature original songs co written by Tim and Jan.

Irish President Michael D Higgins called her ‘A National Treasure’ and after 20 of her own albums, countless DVDS, filmed concerts, musical collaborations and a career that has spanned 40 years, Sharon Shannon in 2023 is still breaking new musical ground.

Her career has seen her tour the world through America, Europe, Africa, Australia,New Zealand even to to Saudi Arabia and China and she has recorded and toured with artistes as diverse as Bono, Willie Nelson, La Bottine Souriante, Shane Mc Gowan, Nigel Kennedy, Steve Earle, Justin Adams, Johnny Depp, Linton Kwesi Johnston,The Waterboys and Dessie O Halloran, and the RTE Symphony Orchestra to mention just a

few.

Playing shows throughout her career from The Kennedy Centre in Washington to Londons Wembley Arena, Sharon continues to redefine and reimagine the boundaries of Irish traditional music, mixing with genres as different from each other as reggae and classical.

An honorary Dr. Of Music at The University of Galway Sharons inspires the students through master classes and tutorials both online and in person. She is working on her archive at the University.

She recently created and presented a 4 part musical TV series called Heartlands which saw her travel the length of her ancient namesake the mighty River Shannon, making music along its journey.

2023 will see Sharon releasing new music, creating new live music shows that continue to surprise and excite.

Easily amongst Scotland’s most renowned and celebrated folk groups, Blazin’ Fiddles formed for a one-off tour of the Scottish Highlands in 1999 and are still raising roofs far and wide in their 25th year on the road.

Multiple winners of Scotland’s Folk Band of the Year, the six-piece have long been one of country’s foremost and most recognisable traditional outfits, touring far beyond their deep northern roots.

Encompassing a rare and virtuosic selection of the fiddle’s diverse Highland and island voices, in their 25 years the Blazers have undoubtedly become one of the world’s most prolific fiddle ensembles. With group and solo-led sets both backed by powerhouse guitar and piano, the band’s four-fiddle frontline of Inverness’ Bruce MacGregor, Shetlander Jenna Reid, Nairn’s Rua Macmillan, and Orkney’s Kristan Harvey ignites atop second-to-none accompaniment from Anna Massie and Angus Lyon. Like rare single malts, each member draws upon the distinct musical flavours from their rich traditional heritages, collectively packing all the power, passion and sensitivity of Scotland’s music, into a single show.

Having toured together since 1986 to packed concert halls all over the world, Aly and Phil continue to charm audiences with their stunning music, and on-stage charisma that defies description. Witty and humorous banter sits alongside tunes that tug the heartstrings, and joyous reels and melodies that have feet tapping along at their ever popular concerts. The pair have recorded many highly acclaimed albums in their thirty years together including two ‘Best of’ collections. In March 2023 they recorded along with the Transatlantic Sessions with Eric Clapton at Abbey Road studios.

Guitar supremos Gordon Giltrap and John Etheridge join forces for an unforgettable evening of top class musicianship performed by two of the UK's most respected and influential guitar players.

These innovative guitarists will be performing many of their fantastic compositions with incredible arrangements in what promises to be an electrifying show, with material from their respective careers and favourite pieces which have influenced and inspired them.

A show guaranteed to enthrall guitar aficionados, acoustic enthusiasts and music lovers in general. Don’t miss the chance to see these influential guitarists in action.

Eleanor McEvoy was born on Dublin’s northside. After college, she pursued a career as a session musician in Dublin, collaborating with a multitude of artists and groups including U2, Sinead O’Connor, Midge Ure and Mary Black

She got her first big break in 1992 as the composer, producer and co-performer (with Mary Black) of "A Woman's Heart”, the title track for the best-selling Irish album in Irish history. The song continuously makes appearances on screen, most recently in 2019 in the award-winning TV show “Derry Girls”.

Her song “Sophie” was described by David Smith in The Guardian as “an anthem that is touching, inspiring and consoling thousands of anorexic girls around the world” It is used internationally in treatment centres to treat patients with eating disorders.

Her sixteenth album “Gimme Some Wine” received enthusiastic acclaim on its release, featuring co-writes with legendary Irish songwriter Paul Brady and  UK-based Dave Rotheray of The Beautiful South.