Having spent much of the past two years touring alongside best-selling author Raynor Winn (The Salt Path) with their prose and music collaboration SALTLINES, the Gigspanner Big Band return to their six-piece format, showcasing material from their new album, Turnstone, with a fifteen date launch tour.

Beginning life as a trio – with legendary Steeleye Span fiddle player Peter Knight being joined by percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack – the line-up has been expanded to form the Gigspanner Big Band, with acclaimed multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin – BBC Folk Awards ‘Best Duo‘) and Bellowhead co-founder and melodeon player extraordinaire, John Spiers, joining the fray. As collaborations go, it’s a dream lineup.

Characterised by riotous inventiveness, technically gifted individual playing and subtle collaborative interaction, this coming together of several of the biggest names on the folk-roots scene, combines a deep knowledge of roots traditions with a ceaselessly boundary pushing approach. 

Turnstone will be officially released on the 11th of April.

But why Turnstone? Vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Hannah Martin tell us…

“The turnstone is a coastal migratory bird, who has a habit of overturning pebbles in its search for treasure. Stones, worn smooth with the water of time and use, flip to reveal a craggy underside of mud flecked with gold. And so it is with the tradition. Songs, worn smooth in the waters of time and use, travel to us and, when turned, still give up new secrets.

This very much describes the Gigspanner Big Band approach. We’ve all been swimming around the waters of traditional music a long time, and none of us want to repeat ourselves. It makes putting together a set of traditional songs more of a challenge, but also more of a pleasure. We embark on research, hoping to find a little-known version of this or that. But really what makes the music happen is the open-minded approach of everyone involved. Once song has been suggested, each member of the band brings ideas; a different rhythm, or chord progression, a riff to take it in a new direction. The quest is always, how to make this interesting and satisfying musically, whilst remaining true to the spirit and intention of the song? How to create innovative music that still serves the song?

We work thoroughly collaboratively as a six-piece. This means that every decision is interrogated six ways, and we can spend a whole afternoon hammering out decisions that affect only a few bars of music. It is a very lengthy process. However, when we manage to find the time and concentration to go through the process, and get out the other side, we are left with pieces of music that shine like pebbles in water. We’ve worn all the rough edges off and revealed the seams of gold running through the heart of it”

Here’s a sneaky listen:

April Tour Dates as follows:2025

11th  Teddington Landmark Arts Centre

12th  Cranbrook St Dunstan’s Church

13th  Canterbury Gulbenkian Arts Centre

14th  Colchester  Arts Centre

15th  Bury St Edmunds The Apex

17th  York NCEM

18th  Hexham Queen’s Hall

19th  Kendal Brewery Arts

20th  Bury The Met

21th Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room

22th  Buxton Pavilion Arts Centre

24th  Bath Christchurch

25th Falmouth The Princess Pavilion

26th  Ivybridge The Watermark

27th  Topsham Matthew’s Hall

For comprehensive tour information and pre-orders head to www.gigspanner.com