Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell are a two-man trad tornado tearing through the folk world with foot percussion, fiddle, guitar, vocals, and groove to spare. Kitted out with grooving basslines, tight harmonies, and offbeat charm, they’re just a couple of lads with a tangle of strings – yet they somehow summon the sound and swagger of a much bigger band.

Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell‘s music blends original compositions with tunes and songs they’ve found in the wild, delivered with harmonies, tall tales, and a streak of serious silliness. Their shows mix clickety clacks, plucks and strums, with easy repartee and sharp turns – every piece crafted to keep toes tapping, faces smiling, and the whole room leaning in. It’s groove, grit, and guaranteed good times.

Musically, they straddle tradition and invention, bridging the folk archive with a fearless modern edge. Some tracks glisten with clean lines and elegant harmonies – crystalline structures that shimmer in the light of contemporary trad. Others veer gleefully off course, hopping on the blues train for a whistle-stop tour of the Québécois folk line. One moment it’s reels and foot taps, the next it’s jazz chords, pop turns, and grooves that could jump the track and land somewhere between Vulfpeck and Le Vent du Nord.

Arthur, a fiddler raised in Aberdeenshire, builds rolling, riff-heavy tunes grounded in his family’s musical traditions and shaped further by studies with Jonny Hardie (Old Blind Dogs). Kerran, a melodic schemer from Cumbria, draws on pop and choral training to weave in crisp harmonies and satisfying twists.

Since first meeting at Sidmouth Folk Week in 2018 (one of them tipsy – you can guess who), Arthur and Kerran have grown from pub jam sessions to becoming festival favourites across the UK. As broadcaster Mike Blackburn put it: “One of the very best live acts I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot!” They’ve earned repeat invitations and enthusiastic followings at events like Sidmouth Folk Week, the UK’s longest-running folk festival; Purbeck Valley, known for spotlighting rising talent; and Edinburgh’s Scots Fiddle Festival, a cornerstone of Scotland’s traditional music scene. Their growing profile has also reached international audiences, with a 2024 tour of Québec and Ontario and a standout set at Festival Trad Montréal, one of Québec’s premier traditional music events. In 2025, they were named winners of the Robinson Emerging Artist Showcase at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, Canada’s leading pan-Celtic celebration. With performances in 2025 at the prestigious Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as well as FolkEast and Aberdeen’s Tall Ships Races, they’re quickly becoming one of the most talked-about acts
on the circuit.

After charming critics and crowds with their last album Music for Cows (2024), Arthur and Kerran have traded pasture for pyrotechnics. Their latest record, Controlled Burn (released February 2026), leans hard into original material – with foot-stomping grooves, driving tunes, and a few tracks that come in smoking hot. The name? It was inspired by chance encounters, good times on the road, and possibly a barbecue on Lake Huron – but that story’s for another time. As Folkworld put it, their sound is “powerful and dark, fresh and fun” – and this time around, they’re striking the match on something bold, strange, and entirely their own. Expect trad turned sideways, storytelling with soul, and grooves that smoulder, spark, and occasionally catch fire.

This event will last for approximately 90 minutes with an interval.

Reviews

‘World class fiddle tunes, sparky guitar arrangements and songs too: Arthur and Kerran’s performances are powerful and dark, fresh and fun’ Alex Monaghan, Folkworld Magazine

‘One of the very best live acts I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot!’ Mike Blackburn, KCR FM

‘Ambitious, infectious and fiery – they take the sounds of traditional melodies and rhythms into a powerful new direction all of their own!’ Folk and Honey