Hedera is a (mostly) instrumental project from Bristol featuring Lulu Austin (violin), Maisie Brett (violin, viola), Tamsin Elliott (accordion, harp), Beth Roberts (double bass, violin) and Isis Wolf-Light (clarinets). They perform original and traditional pieces inspired by music from England, Scotland, France, Bali, Georgia, Bulgaria, Ethiopia and beyond, translated through a prism of experimental minimalism and contemporary classical influences.
In 2022, their debut track ‘Waterwheel’ premiered on KLOF Magazine and they performed their first highly acclaimed gigs at Fire in the Mountain festival and The Greenbank, Bristol. In January 2024 they sold out most gigs on their debut UK tour, performing in prestigious venues including King’s Place (London), Upfront Arts (Penrith), Black Fen Folk Club (Cambridge), Ashburton Arts Centre and Cornish Bank (Falmouth). Recent gigs include Bristol Folk Festival and Folk East Festival; many attendees at both festivals expressed that Hedera was the highlight of their weekends.
Hedera began during the pandemic as the five musicians began meeting informally to play tunes around winter bonfires, grateful to have a collective musical outlet while their regular projects (Solana, Opa Rosa, Hands of the Heron) were unable to perform due to lockdown measures. They discovered a shared love of listening deeply, playing slowly, and finding new ways to support each other musically. Over time, the ensemble has evolved into something more structured, but still retains the intimacy and gentle conviviality of its beginnings. They still meet for ‘Moon Jams’, which have become a rich resource for learning and teaching tunes across a number of traditions with other women & gender minority musicians, both informally in Bristol and as a facilitated festival workshop.
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