Winner of ‘Musician of the Year’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017
Winner of ‘Best Group’ for The Furrow Collective at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017
‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ Scots Trad Awards 2016
Shortlist for Scottish ‘Album of the Year’ SAY Awards 2017

Founder member of The Furrow Collective, The Emily Portman Trio and The Shee, singer and harpist Rachel Newton also writes and performs her own solo material, releasing albums The Shadow Side in 2012 and Changeling in 2014.

Joining her usual trio with Lauren MacColl (fiddle/viola) and Mattie Foulds (drums), is Sarah Hayes (keys and vocals) and Michael Owers (trombone). They perform songs in English and Scottish Gaelic alongside original instrumental compositions.

As well as voice and harp, Rachel also plays fiddle and viola and has worked across a range of performance platforms including theatre and storytelling. A skilled collaborator, Rachel also recently started working with Scottish/Norwegian band Boreas and was one of the eight musicians to work on The Elizabethan Session project.

Her most recent album Here’s My Heart Come Take It was released in April 2016 to critical acclaim.

‘Haunting and compelling’ ★★★★ Guardian
‘Harp and strings blur the border between worlds’ The Financial Times
‘This is the sound of modern Scotland, as surely as draws on folklore and tradition, Newton’s singing and harp at the heart of a singular vision.’ The Herald
‘Rachel Newton is well equipped to take centre stage in her own right and this second solo album is a beauty… fascinating stuff’ (★★★★★ Playlist Selection) fRoots Magazine
Top of the World Editor’s Pick Songlines Magazine