Folklub Newcastle returns for what is set to be an absolute corker of a concert at The Cumberland Arms!

Singer, harpist and composer Rachel Newtondraws on poems, ballads and stories that are hundreds of years old, working them into her contemporary compositional style to create a rich sound that is ambitious, original and unique. Rachel has performed and made work for projects that sit within a range of disciplines including theatre, dance, storytelling and visual art. In addition to her solo work, Rachel is a skilled collaborator and has toured internationally with various bands and projects, including most recently, the Lost Words: Spell Songs (https://www.thelostwords.org/spell-songs/). Together with long time friend and colleague Lauren MacColl, she co-produces Heal & Harrow (https://www.healandharrow.com/), a multi-disciplinary project based on the Scottish Witch Trials.

Rachel was named Musician of the Year at both the Scots Trad Music Awards and the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Her albums To The Awe and Here's My Heart Come Take It were shortlisted as one of Scotland's top 10 outstanding albums in the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award. She was awarded a PRS Composer of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards alongside Heal & Harrow collaborator Lauren MacColl and aCritics Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) for Best Music and Sound for her work with the Rowantree Theatre Company.

Co-founder and now board member of The Bit Collective, a group focusing on equality and diversity in folk and traditional music, Rachel has organised various campaigns and events, including the Trad. Reclaimed: Women in Folk festival at Kings Place, London in 2019.

​Rachel' previous solo releases are The Shadow Side (2012), Changeling (2014), Here's My Heart Come Take It (2016), West(2018) and To The Awe (2020). Her most recent album Sealladh, music commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland, was released in 2024 on Hudson Records.

'A beauty' **** Observer

'Haunting and compelling' **** The 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

'Newton has made the leap to a fine solo performer and this album is perhaps her best yet' **** The Telegraph

'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

Rapasa Nyatrapasa Otieno is a Kenyan producer and multidisciplinary artist working across music, storytelling, visual art and movement, exploring the relevance of traditional East African culture in a global context. The center piece of his art is the eight string lyre from Western Kenya, the Nyatiti.

As a virtuoso of the Nyatiti, Rapasa stands out for his highly distinctive style and signature vocal presence. While his sound is contemporary, his music is deeply anchored in the traditional legacy of his heritage. In 2026, as well as performing at esteemed grassroot venues in Newcastle upon Tyne, he performed at Wigmore Hall’s African Concert Series with flutist Rowland Sutherland. His recent highlights also include collaborating with the Royal Northern Sinfonia on RNS Moves at The Glasshouse ICM, Gateshead in 2025 and with the Chetham's School of Music to create a musical storytelling spectacle for children.

Since 2021, he has performed with the Chineke! Orchestra. Alongside these projects, he serves as a resident musician with Newcastle Hospitals Charity, where he uses music to support the wellbeing of patients and staff. Rapasa is currently developing his fourth album, Manene | Lullaby.

His third work, JOPANGO (2023), created across Kenya, the United States and the UK, led to the release of Piny Ngero on the Nonclassical label. His second album, KWEChE, developed during a residency at The Glasshouse ICM (2020–21), explores cultural taboo and migration. An advocate of nyatiti music—an eight-string lyre of the Luo people of western Kenya—Rapasa founded Nyatiti NyaDala CIC in 2022 to support community engagement. Through workshops and performances, he works with diverse groups, using music to foster connection, inclusion and sustainable instrument-making.

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