Steeleye Span plan December shows

Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span have announced a pair of UK shows which will take place in December.

The performances will be at Newcastle’s City Hall on December 5 and at the Warwick Arts Centre on December 17, with the dates being lined up as the band approaches its 50th anniversary.

They’ll be joined by Acoustic Strawbs and Pentangle’s Jackie McShee for both shows, which will take place under the Folk Rock Pioneers In Concert banner.

A statement reads: “Led as ever by the iconic vocals of Maddy Prior, Steeleye Span will feature their new seven-piece line up, with the introduction of Roger Carey on bass and Benji Kirkpatrick (bouzouki, acoustic guitar and vocals), whose father John enjoyed two successful stints in the band and played on many of their classic albums.

“They join Maddy, Liam Genockey, Jessie May Smart, Andrew Sinclair and Julian Littman in a version of Steeleye Span that is more than a match for any that has come before.”

They’ll perform a selection of tracks, including material from 2016 album Dodgy Bastards.

Acoustic Strawbs will be led by founding member Dave Cousins, with the trio reportedly bringing “a fresh approach to the band’s extensive catalogue.”

McShee will take to the stage with her band Take 3 and they’ll perform classic Pentangle songs “in a more acoustic manner” while also touching on material from jazz and blues.

Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior talks murder ballads and Dodgy Bastards

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.