Nationwide wassail stops off at The Apex next month
Long before there was carolling, there was wassailing, where seasonal songs were exchanged for money, food and ale.
In the countryside trees were blessed, while in the town’s wassaillers went house to house with their songs and calls for Christmas treats.
Coming from the Anglo Saxon waes hael, “wassail” is a toast wishing good health with a “be well”.
Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden (pictured above) have combined their considerable talents and reputations within the folk scene, for a nationwide wassail.
Presenting seasonal, traditional material on a stage decorated for the occasion, they will take audiences back to some of the oldest songs in the English canon, telling Christmas tales, spreading good cheer and lighting up the darkest days of the year. And they are to appear at The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, next month.
Twice nominated for the Mercury Prize and winner of innumerable other accolades over a 20-year career, Eliza grew up immersed in the world of traditional music with parents Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson.
She has engaged in numerous pioneering solo and band projects; has performed with a diverse array of artists; co-presented the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards; been a regular guest-presenter on the BBC Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe Show; and has made many appearances on BBC TV’s “Later … with Jools Holland”.
One half of Spiers & Boden and founding member of the mighty Bellowhead, Jon Boden has his own successful career as a soloist and with Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings.
Jon has been a major name in English folk music for over 20 years with more BBC Folk Awards than any other artist.
Jon, together with John Spiers, also did a stint in The Ratcatchers, the backing band for Eliza Carthy in the mid-noughties, so the long association and friendship with Eliza has led naturally to the Wassail project.
Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden are at The Apex on Wednesday, December 10, at 8pm.
See www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more details and to book tickets.