In February, we shared a live session with Amy Hollinrake, a singer-songwriter based in South East London whose work draws on her influence and affinity with women’s experiences presented in folklore, poetry and literature. She won the Bert Jansch Prize in 2018 and received an EFDSS Fellowship in 2021 to create new work of contemporary cultural relevance for women’s voices.

From that same live session, recorded at Beckenham Place, she performs ‘A House Besieged’ here, once again backed by her multi-talented band.

She tells us: “The song is based on a short story by American author Lydia Davis* that both haunted and inspired me. I composed it on the dulcimer then Joseph Perkins brought it to life on the guitar. Evie Hilyer-Ziegler added beautiful harmonies and fiddle, and Freddie Willetts, Bertie Atkinson and Ben Smith filled this space with atmosphere.

Amy recently joined Peggy Seeger, Fay Hield, Rachel Newton, Grace Petrie, Angeline Morrison and Anne Martin on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour show, dedicated to women and the folk music tradition. You can listen again here.

Web: https://www.amyhollinrake.com/

* “In a besieged house”, from the first collection of Lydia Davis Break it down (1986).