Faustus combine three of the leading lights of their musical generation in Saul Rose (Waterson:Carthy, Whapweazel), Benji Kirkpatrick (Seth Lakeman Band, Bellowhead) and Paul Sartin (Bellowhead and fellow Costa guests Belshazzar’s Feast).

Together for ten years, they are rooted deeply in the English tradition and in 2007 they received a 75th Anniversary Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Scion of a noted folk dynasty, Benji Kirkpatrick was a key member of folk big band and BBC Award winners Bellowhead.  He was also featured with the Seth Lakeman Band who shot to fame when they were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005.  Benji has also performed with numerous other artists including Oysterband, John Jones and Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), and has also found time to release three solo albums.

Saul Rose was a long time member of Waterson:Carthy, winning two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards with ‘Broken Ground’ and forming a duo with Eliza Carthy. He was nominated for the Musician of The Year award in the 2010 BBC Folk Awards and in 2011 took the part of Songman in the West End play War Horse.

Paul Sartin is also a member of Bellowhead, as well as BBC Folk Award-nominated duo Belshazzar’s Feast.  He is Director of the Andover Museum Loft Singers, consultant for the charity Live Music Now and is a composer of note with recent works including ‘The Hartlepool Monkey’ for Streetwise Opera, ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’ for the Central School of Speech and Drama, and ‘Changing Landscapes’ for Broadstairs Folk Week.

Faustus came together in 2006 as an evolution of the award winning band Dr. Faustus.  They made an eponymous debut album in 2008, which saw them nominated as the Best Group in the 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

After a two year break, Faustus returned to the live circuit for festivals in summer 2012 releasing a new album, ‘Broken Down Gentlemen’ on Navigator Records, in March 2013.  They have been the road since then with direct and powerful live performances that have put them at the forefront of the new English folk revival.

‘A blend of energy and musicianship that establishes this trio as one of Britain’s outstanding folk bands…[a] distinctive blend of subtlety and attack.’  The Guardian

‘English traditional songs played with great verve and no little imagination’ R2

‘Exceptional class…’   Daily Telegraph  

‘Superb playing; lovely arrangements; great material’  Living Tradition