The Furrow Collective

The Furrow Collective (Lucy Farrell - viola, voice & saw, Rachel Newton - harp, fiddle, voice, Emily Portman - banjo, concertina, voice and Alasdair Roberts - guitars, voice) are well-loved for their contemporary interpretations of folk songs, and their new Cantastoria project focuses on what they do best, breathing new life into old ballads, in song, story and art.

Drawn together by a shared love of the traditional song and balladry of England, Scotland and beyond and an open, intuitive approach to collaboration, The Furrow Collective create timeless songs of this world and others, with storytelling at their heart. Their live shows in 2025 and 2026 deep dive into this storytelling focus.

Their upcoming project Cantastoria uses visuals in the live performances with Lucy Farrell’s ’crankies’ illustrating the narrative of the songs. The crankie theatre is turned by hand whilst the story unfolds on a moving scroll, an enchanting addition to their live shows.

The songs may be hundreds of years old, but their narratives resonate with our own times: tales of courage, resistance and wit.