Kate Rusby

Kate Rusby, often hailed as the "Barnsley Nightingale" or the "First Lady of Folk," is a renowned English folk singer-songwriter from South Yorkshire who has become a defining figure in contemporary British acoustic music. Born in 1973 into a musical family, she rose to prominence in the mid-1990s through collaborations with Kathryn Roberts and the folk-rock group Equation before launching a highly successful solo career with her 1997 debut, Hourglass. Her 1999 follow-up, Sleepless, earned a prestigious Mercury Music Prize nomination and helped her secure multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including Folk Singer of the Year. Known for her pure, emotive vocals and a blend of traditional ballads with original compositions, Rusby operates her own independent label, Pure Records, alongside her family and her husband, Irish musician Damien O’Kane.