Lady Maisery Explained

Lady Maisery
Genre:Folk
Years Active:2011–present
Label:Lady Maisery Records
Associated Acts:Kerfuffle, Bellowhead, Hannah James and Sam Sweeney, Vannan James, Hell Said The Duchess, Askew Sisters, The Artisans, Fidola, The Rheingans Sisters, Songs of Separation
Current Members:Hannah James
Hazel Askew
Rowan Rheingans

Lady Maisery are an English folk vocal harmony trio composed of Hannah James (vocals, piano accordion, clogs, foot percussion), Hazel Askew (vocals, melodeon, concertina, harp, bells) and Rowan Rheingans (vocals, fiddle, banjo, bansitar).

Lady Maisery sing traditional and contemporary folk songs as well as exploring the tradition of diddling or tune singing, which has nearly died out in England, but is still prevalent in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. They released their first album, Weave & Spin in 2011, their second, Mayday, in 2013, their third, Cycle, in 2016, and most recently Tender in 2022.

Name

Lady Maisery's name is based on one that appears in a number of traditional folk songs, most notably the Child ballad "Lady Maisry", but also "The Laily Worm & The Machrel of The Sea" (the former of these appears on their second album, Mayday).

History

In 2011, Lady Maisery released Weave & Spin and were subsequently nominated for the Horizon Award in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards,[1] and for Best Debut in the Spiral Awards.[2] The album was also made 'Album of the Week' in The Independent. In 2012 they were featured on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour[3] and in 2013 they have twice appeared on BBC Radio 3's classical music programme 'In Tune'.

In 2013, they released a charity download single to mark International Women's Day on 8 March—a version of Kate Bush’s song "This Woman’s Work"--with proceeds donated to the charity coalition "End Violence Against Women".[4] This preceded the release of their second album, Mayday, which was launched in both London and Sheffield.

During 2013, Lady Maisery also gave a number of performances of "Rest",[5] a secular requiem, composed for them by Emily Hall and Toby Litt as the third in the pair's trilogy of song cycles. Performances included the National Portrait Gallery, London,[6] Spitalfields Summer Festival[7] and Deal Festival.[8]

All three members were part of the Songs of Separation project, which won "Best Album" in the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[9]

In 2022, Lady Maisery released their 5th studio album, Tender. The Guardian described it as a "thoughtful record" with "Inspired cover versions and splendid harmony singing"[10] while The Times said it was, 'a beguiling blend of ancient and modern'.[11] They followed this up with two album tours, late 2022 and Spring 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Reviews

Weave and Spin

Mayday

Tender

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Nomination 2012. 26 September 2013.
  2. Web site: Spiral Awards Nomination 2012. 26 September 2013.
  3. Web site: Lady Maisery on BBC Woman's Hour. Woman's Hour. BBC. 18 October 2013.
  4. Web site: Women's Day Single. Spiral Earth article. 26 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928030937/http://www.spiralearth.co.uk/news/story.asp?nid=6911. 28 September 2013. dead.
  5. Web site: Rest. Rest. Emily Hall. 26 September 2013.
  6. Web site: Rest at National Portrait Gallery, London. National Portrait Gallery London. 26 September 2013.
  7. Web site: Rest at Spitalfields Music Summer Festival 2013. Spitalfields Music. 26 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928122837/http://www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk/whats-on/summer-festival-2013/rest/. 28 September 2013. dead.
  8. Web site: Rest at Deal Festival. Deal Festival. 26 September 2013.
  9. Web site: The Winners of the 2017 Folk Awards . . 30 September 2020.
  10. News: Spencer . Neil . 2022-11-12 . Lady Maisery: Tender review – a welcome return for the vocal trio . en-GB . The Observer . 2023-05-15 . 0029-7712.
  11. News: Davis . Clive . Lady Maisery: Tender review — a beguiling blend of ancient and modern . en . www.thetimes.co.uk . 2023-05-15 . 0140-0460.
  12. Web site: Bright Young Folk Review of Weave and Spin . www.brightyoungfolk.com . 26 September 2013.
  13. Web site: Maverick Magazine Review of Weave and Spin . workformaverick.blogspot.co.uk . 26 September 2013.
  14. Web site: Spiral Earth Review of Weave and Spin . www.spiralearth.co.uk . 26 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928040841/http://www.spiralearth.co.uk/news/story.asp?nid=5443 . 28 September 2013 . dead.
  15. Web site: Bright Young Folk Review of Mayday . www.brightyoungfolk.com . 26 September 2013.
  16. Web site: Financial Times Review of Mayday . www.ft.com . 26 September 2013.
  17. Web site: Folk Witness Review of Mayday . www.folkwitness.co.uk . 26 September 2013.
  18. Web site: For Folk's Sake Review of Mayday . www.forfolkssake.com . 26 September 2013.
  19. Web site: Spiral Earth Review of Mayday . www.spiralearth.co.uk . 26 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928040955/http://www.spiralearth.co.uk/news/Review-story.asp?nid=7403 . 28 September 2013 . dead.
  20. Web site: The Times Review of Tender – A beguiling blend of ancient and modern . www.thetimes.co.uk . 10 November 2022.
  21. Web site: The Guardian Review of Tender – A welcome return for the vocal trio . www.theguardian.com . 12 November 2022.
  22. Web site: Folk Radio Review of Tender . www.folkradio.co.uk . 11 November 2022.
  23. Web site: Get Ready to Rock of Tender . getreadytorock.me.uk . 13 November 2022.

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