J’AIME JULY/AUGUST 2023

F E AT U R E
Pure sounds
WITH LICHFIELD’S SHOWPIECE FESTIVAL IN FULL SWING, WE CAUGHT
UP WITH HEADLINER, SINGER-SONGWRITER KATE RUSBY, AHEAD OF
HER SHOW AT LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL ON JULY 13
KATE RUSBY WILL BE TAKING
TO THE STAGE AS PART OF
LICHFIELD FESTIVAL
Hailed as the ‘First Lady of Folk’ and with a
Mercury Music accolade to her name, Kate Rusby
has forged an impressive 30-year headlining career.
A folk singer at heart, she’s taken the genre to new
heights appealing way beyond the folk scene and
her Yorkshire roots, headlining in the UK and
internationally, performing with other big names
in music across genres. She has a number of TV,
radio and film credits to her name as well as her own
record company and festival.
2023 brings to a close a year of celebrating 30
years in the business with a new album, 30: Happy
Returns, featuring guests including Richard Hawley,
KT Tunstall and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to
name a few. This follows the success of her 2020 Top
10 charting covers album, Hand Me Down.
And in what is a milestone year for the acclaimed
singer, Kate will be taking to the stage in Lichfield’s
most prestigious venue, bringing her unique talents
to Lichfield Cathedral on July 13 as part of Lichfield
Festival. She will be joined on stage by her band,
each a virtuoso in their own right, and including her
husband and producer Damien O’ Kane.
Although Kate’s career has been a long and
successful one, music wasn’t a path she was initially
keen to follow.
Kate says: “When I look back, I had no idea what I
wanted to do when I grew up. Everyone around me
at school was choosing their GCSEs and I had no
idea what to choose! I remember thinking, how do
they all know what they want to be? I always think
the music career chose me, not the other way round.
“We had been taught songs and had been singing
since we could talk, musical instruments were all over
our house and my parents played a lot but it never
dawned on me to make it a career. A family friend
was involved with a festival near here and heard me
singing and playing; she asked me to do a little spot
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