Lady Maisery

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).

For the ballad, see Lady Maisry.

Lady Maisery
Lady Maisery performing at Towersey Festival, 2018
Lady Maisery performing at Towersey Festival, 2018
Background information
GenresFolk
Years active2011–present
LabelsRootBeat Records
MembersHannah James
Hazel Askew
Rowan Rheingans
Websitewww.ladymaisery.com

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
Rowan Rheingans performing with the band at Costa del Folk, 2015

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
  • Weave & Spin (released 21 August 2011)
  • Mayday (released 10 June 2013)
  • Cycle (released 28 October 2016)
  • Awake Arise: A Winter Album (with Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith) (released 6 December 2019)
  • Tender (released 11 November 2022)

Live Albums
  • Live (released 6 October 2018)

Singles
  • "This Woman's Work" (released as a download single, 8 March 2013)

Reviews

Weave & Spin

Mayday

References
  1. "BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Nomination 2012". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  2. "Spiral Awards Nomination 2012". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  3. BBC. "Lady Maisery on BBC Woman's Hour". Woman's Hour. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  4. "Women's Day Single". Spiral Earth article. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  5. Emily Hall. "Rest". Rest. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  6. "Rest at National Portrait Gallery, London". National Portrait Gallery London. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  7. "Rest at Spitalfields Music Summer Festival 2013". Spitalfields Music. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  8. "Rest at Deal Festival". Deal Festival. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  9. "The Winners of the 2017 Folk Awards". BBC. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  10. Spencer, Neil (12 November 2022). "Lady Maisery: Tender review – a welcome return for the vocal trio". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  11. Davis, Clive. "Lady Maisery: Tender review — a beguiling blend of ancient and modern". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  12. "Bright Young Folk Review of Weave and Spin". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  13. "Maverick Magazine Review of Weave and Spin". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  14. "Spiral Earth Review of Weave and Spin". Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  15. "Bright Young Folk Review of Mayday". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  16. "Financial Times Review of Mayday". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  17. "Folk Witness Review of Mayday". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  18. "For Folk's Sake Review of Mayday". Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  19. "Spiral Earth Review of Mayday". Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
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