The Pack

The Pack were a folk orchestra of young musicians, most of whom met attending Folkworks Youth Summer Schools in Northern England. Initially, the line-up appears to have been rather fluid, with reports of the membership fluctuating from 9 to 13 people. read more...

Whatever the number, the teenage band started playing at ceilidhs, all-night sessions and festivals. The spirited performances and complex arrangements proved a resounding success - reputedly, including a version of “The Devil went down to Georgia”, played at the Whitby Festival, and featuring piano accordion, a costumed devil, a chorus of dancing girls and a renditon of a Swedish polska performed simultaneously in five different keys….

In 2002, The Pack released the album 12 Little Devils, and by this stage the band seems to have settled as a 12-piece with a line-up of Lucy Nelson (bodhran & clarinet), Michael Jary (concertina), Bella Hardy (fiddle), Sophy Ball (fiddle), Matt Nelson (saxophone), Ian Stephenson (guitar), Emma Hardy (fiddle, viola), Talei Edwards (fiddle), Sam Pirt (piano-accordion), Chantel Noppen (concertina, trumpet), Emily Ball (fiddle) and Joey Oliver (whistles, oboe).

In 2003, they played the main stage of the Cambridge Folk Festival.

Members of The Pack are still active in the folk scene. For example, Michael Jary continues to be involved with the Black Swan Folk Club in York, as well as joining Matt Nelson and Helen Bell in the band Niblik. Michael also played alongside Helen Bell and Bell Hardy in the trio, Ola.

Sam Pirt, Emily Ball, Sophy Ball, Ian Stephenson, and Joey Oliver are all members of folk group 422 - winners of the 1999 BBC Young Folk Musician award - and have released three albums. (Sophy Ball & Ian Stephenson have also both since been tutors back at the Folkworks Summer School).

And of course, Bella Hardy has recently launched her own solo career to great acclaim.