MEGSON
Genre: Folk
Band Members: Stu and Debbie Hanna
Location: Melbourn, Cambridgeshire (UK)
Discography: On The Side (2004), Smoke of Home (2007), Take Yourself A Wife (2009), The Long Shot (2010), When I Was A Lad (2012) Megson Live (2013), In A Box (2014), Good Times Will Come Again (2016)
Record Label: EDJ Records
Website: www.megsonmusic.co.uk
Our next showcase duo were three times nominated in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and double winners of the Spiral Earth Awards. The wonderful Megson draw heavily on their Teesside heritage to create a truly unique brand of folk music.
The husband & wife duo bring an infectious mix of heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars. Comprising Debs Hanna (Vocals, Whistle, Piano Accordion) and Stu Hanna (Guitar, Mandola, Banjo). Megson have gained fame on the British folk scene, not only for their arresting & intelligent songwriting, but for their exquisite musicianship and northern humour. As fRoots Magazine puts it "if you don’t like the music here then you have a problem" .
The duo met while singing in Cleveland Youth Choir before moving to London to allow Debbie to study classical music while Stu became involved with a progressive rockband. In 2004 they began making their own music and released their first album, 'On The Side', while performing at acoustic clubs around London.
Megson named themselves after Debbie's family dog, who at the time had just died. They had originally decided upon "The Ghost of Meg", but their family and friends convinced them that it sounded like a death-metal band.
Megson's first album, 'On The Side', consisted of a mixture of self-penned and traditional songs. Released in 2004, the album caught the attention of Seth Lakeman, whose brother Sean helped produce their second album, 'Smoke of Home', which further explored the wealth of traditional songs from around their home in Teesside as well as self-composed songs in the same style. Their third album, 'Take Yourself A Wife', was recorded while they were planning their wedding and consists of their own take on traditional and Victorian folk songs. 'The Longshot', consists of songs about work from the North East of England and their own experiences of English culture, especially sport and the textile industry. 'When I was a Lad' features traditional childhood songs and new compositions written for their first child. 'Live' captures a performance at Hitchen Folk Club. 'In a box' consists of songs about the way we live - then and now.
2014 saw the release of In A Box, their much anticipated brand new studio album. Featuring guest performances by Seth Lakeman , Jess Morgan & The Willows it wasnot only named one of the Best Folk Albums of 2014 by The Telegraph but also The
Sunday Express – Album Of The Week.
“Their rich acoustic mix of miners, lovers, charlatans and whimsy is about as traditional as folk gets, but never sounds old or dulled.” said Q Magazine’s Andy Fyfe, while Colin Irwin wrote in MOJO “In A Box brackets Stu and Debbie Hanna among the upper echelon of Brit folk songwriters.” .
And during all this time, the multi-talented Stu even managed to be involved with other artists producing award winning album for Show Of Hands, Lucty Ward, Faustus, The Willows, The Young'uns, Said The Maiden and Kelly Oliver.