Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere of Ninebarrow, set to appear at Milford Community Centre

FOLK duo Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere, who together form the award-winning band Ninebarrow, are set to appear at Milford Community Centre.

Following their steady rise to the top of the national folk roots scene, the pair will perform in Milford on Saturday 16th September at 7.30pm to mark the release of their fifth album.

Jon and Jay both relinquished their respective full-time jobs as a teacher and GP back in 2016 and took a leap of faith into the music business. The following year they were nominated for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award – one of the highest accolades in the world of folk music.

Described by Mark Radcliffe as sounding “like two halves of one voice”, the Dorset-based duo are known for harmonious singing and magical instrumentation, delivering original songs inspired by the landscape and history of the British Isles.

The pair also take a wide range of traditional folk songs and rework them in their own way.

Named after Nine Barrow Down in Dorset’s Purbeck hills, they have produced four critically acclaimed albums with their 2021 record, A Pocket Full of Acorns, released to a raft of rave reviews.

As part of the release, the band also launched an initiative to plant 1,000 native English trees and 200 shrubs to create The Ninebarrow Woodland on three acres of land near Gillingham.

Their fifth album, The Colour of Night, was released on 1st September. Jon said: “This collection is released in the tenth year since we picked up a ukulele and decided to have a go at singing some songs together.

“We feel like we’ve come a long way since then – we’re packing a few more instruments in the car for a start.”

Visit www.moscommunitycentre.org.uk or call the box office on 01590 644861.