Kathryn Tickell is a Northumbrian piper, fiddle player, composer, educator and broadcaster whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria. Kathryn has released 16 of her own albums and has also recorded and performed with Sting, The Chieftains, Royal Northern Sinfonia and many others. In 2009 Kathryn was presented with The Queen’s Medal for Music, awarded to those deemed to have made "an outstanding contribution to British music". She has twice won “Musician of the Year” at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and was awarded the OBE in 2015.

The band comprises 5 more superb musicians -  from Northumberland, Scotland and England - who invoke the dark, powerful sounds of ancient Northumbria and broadcast them to the modern world. Their inspiration comes from the wild, dramatic, weather-bitten countryside along Hadrian’s Wall, which seems so quintessentially Northumbrian…and yet, almost 2000 years ago that same landscape was inhabited by people from around the world, worshipping different gods and following different customs.

Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening bring some of the oldest Northumbrian tunes and songs throbbing to life, intermingling them with new material and binding it all together with contemporary resonance and attitude.

Fresh sounds merge with ancient influences. Dazzling duets from Kathryn’s pipes and Amy’s accordion contrast with the dark and dirty riffs and rhythms of Kieran’s octave mandolin. Intrepid world-traveller Kate adds her fearless explorations and the inventive use of drums and unites the ensemble.

The band are –

Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian smallpipes, fiddle

Joss Clapp – guitar, vocals

Joe Truswell – drums, programming

Kate Young – fiddle, vocals

Amy Thatcher – accordion, vocals

Kieran Szifris – octave mandolin

Band members are also known for their work with: Sting, Soumik Datta, The Shee, Monster Ceilidh Band, Songs of Separation, Carthy, Oates, Farrell & Young, Tarras, the Kathryn Tickell Band and many more.