News

Maryland Renaissance Festival Dates Announced

7 August 2024

I’m very excited to announce I’ll be performing at Maryland Renaissance Festival this September/October! There’ll be a few other concerts in the North East US whilst I’m over – I’ll update when they’re confirmed. The ...

Valhalla Viking Festival

5 August 2024

Photos from on stage at Valhalla Viking Festival! This was such a lovely place to perform – wonderful sound team, organisers and an epic audience! Photos by Chris Brody and Andrew Merritt

2023 Tour booking

9 February 2023

I’m excited to be booking several tours in Autumn 2023, first in the Eastern USA, then Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) followed shortly afterwards by concerts in Belgium, Netherlands and Northern Germany. I’...

Virginia – new tune

8 September 2022

Here’s a new tune ‘Virginia’ written whilst on tour in the US – please enjoy it and let me know if you play it 🙂 It’s for nyckelharpa, fiddle or anything else that wants to. Anna xx

Thanksgiving Waltz

16 November 2021

Here’s a tune I’ve written for Thanksgiving. I was thinking of the peace, calm and gratitude felt after gathering in the harvest; so this is a gentle, lilting waltz. It was written with bass viol in mind, as you’ll he...

Netherlands Tour announced!

3 November 2021

I’m delighted to be performing seven concerts in the Netherlands this Nov/Dec! It will be a such a treat to be back on the road – book tickets here!

Marie Plancher – the happiest Belgian tune!

12 August 2021

One of my wonderful supporters on patreon – Amedee Van Gasse – suggested this tune to me and I cannot think of it without dancing, it is so happy. I’ve made a few variations for nyckelharpa so please download the file...

The Art of Handing Down Early Music – Bright Young Folk

13 June 2021

I’m delighted to be asked for an interview with Michele Mele of Bright Young Folk here’s a transcript and you can see it on their website here. After the rapturous response received both by her web series Folk from th...

Tykes Stirrings review!

29 May 2021

Really lovely review by Nigel Schofield in the Summer/Autumn 2021 Tykes Stirrings Magazine! And I’m more than delighted with the description: ‘one could almost be listening to vintage Kate Bush gone folkie’! ‘Anna shi...

Around Kent Folk review!

29 May 2021

‘I was becoming entranced by her arrangements and her voice’ Alan Castle, Around Kent Folk Delighted with the kind words in the June/July 2021 edition of Around Kent Folk! The whole magazine is here: https://issuu.com...

Folk London Magazine review!

21 May 2021

‘The compelling quality of Anna’s confident storytelling-in-song is apparent right from the outset’ A lovely review from David Kidman for Folk London in the June/July 2021 magazine! Anna Tam – Anchoress – Tam Records ...

Northern Sky Magazine review!

19 May 2021

An absolutely lovely review of Anchoress from Northern Sky Magazine, and I’m particularly delighted to be compared to one of my favourite groups Dead Can Dance! Anna Tam – Anchoress | Tam Records | Review by Marc Higg...

Blow, northerne wynd

18 May 2021

A brilliant suggestion from one of my patrons – to set Blow, northerne wynd, a beautiful medieval love lyric. It is written in a manuscript dating to the first half of the 14th century – MS Harley 2253, now in the Bri...

Anchoress Released

23 April 2021

I’m delighted to announce that Anchoress is released and available on both CD and download here! ‘a ghostly set of British traditionals’ Jude Rogers, The Guardian **** ‘where minimal instrumentation and perfectly judg...

Fairy Boat Hornpipe

26 March 2021

Here’s one of the original tunes on the upcoming album Anchoress – Fairy Boat Hornpipe. Played on the first instrument I learned (if we don’t count voice), the cello. This was so much fun to film – beautifully shot by...

First Review of Anchoress!

12 March 2021

Very excited this week to get the first review of my new album Anchoress, by Billy Rough of Folk Radio! You can read the whole review here and I put a few excerpts below. This week Eliza Carthy played the manx track ‘...

Willie’s Lady

3 March 2021

Willie’s Lady is one of those age old love stories… young man comes of age, sails across the sea, meets girl, falls in love, gets married, brings her home – so far so good – except for the mother-in-law. Willie’s moth...

Doppelgamba

25 February 2021

A new piece for viola da gamba – as featured on Folk from the Boat! One of those pieces that occur when you’ve been messing around for a bit – slightly out of guilt because I thought I’d been neglecting the gamba! It ...

Whittingham Fair – new video release!

14 February 2021

I have a special release for this Valentine’s Day! Featuring some beautiful shots from across the British Isles (filmed in the North Highlands of Scotland and the South coast of England). Whittingham Fair is a love so...

St Martin’s Waltz

5 February 2021

This week’s episode of Folk from the Boat took us on an historical adventure to a hill site in Harlow by the River Stort where the remains of a bronze age pond barrow, a Celtic Temple, a Roman Temple and Saxon buildin...

New Tunes needing Names!

8 January 2021

This week I’ve written two new tunes but they need names! Can you help name them? I’ll change the name of the video and announce them on next week’s episode – Thursday 14th at 7pm! The first tune is an 18th century in...

The Braes of Balquhidder

14 July 2020

I thought I’d share this beautiful song this morning that I was fortunate enough to sing with my lovely friend Emily Ovenden. There’s something really nurturing about it that I can’t quite explain – a sort of comfort-...

The Goblet

3 June 2020

I’ve written a new tune! My wonderful friend, fiddle player Geoff Irwin, gave me a pewter goblet (I can’t wait to take it to medieval festivals) so I needed to come up with a good way of saying thank you. And if you’r...

Manx Independent Newspaper mention!

25 May 2020

A lovely surprise today! My performance of Arrane Saveenagh – a lullaby from the Isle of Man, sung in Manx Gaelic – was featured in The Manx Independent in an article by Dr Chloë Woolley. Here’s the full article descr...

Tarry Trousers

22 May 2020

Today I’m spending a sunny time filming one of the sunniest folk songs ‘Tarry Trousers’. This is often the opener in my set (especially if I’m playing somewhere scary!) because it just always makes me happy.

Folk from the Boat

22 May 2020

Hello, hope you’re very well! During lockdown I’ve been busy creating a YouTube series ‘Folk from the Boat’. In each episode we have a little adventure on my boat (currently on the river Lee near London) and then…

Colindale Folk Club

19 November 2016

Such a special evening at Colindale Folk Club on Monday – a huge thank you to everyone who came. I’m just writing to let you know the wonderful Chris Brody filmed the evening so I’ve been putting up some videos – take...

New website!

19 April 2016

So it was time my Renaissance brain caught up with the 21st century and, wonderful as my little old website was, it didn’t seem to work very well on these modern devices we’re required to carry around today. I am very...

When love flies away

26 April 2015

Dear all, hope you’re very well and enjoying the spring! I’ve been recording for a lovely composer – Clive Leslie – and the song ‘When Love Flies Away’ is just out in two versions. Please check them out: When Love Fli...

Nyckelharpa Diaries – week 5

18 February 2015

This is a little over a week sorry – I will try to catch up! But it’s a good one – yesterday I performed live with the nyckelharpa on Resonance 104.4FM! It was for the show Renaissance FM presented by Stephanie Feeney...

Nyckelharpa Diaries – week 4

10 February 2015

It’s been one of those weeks where you realise the work is paying off. I’m finding my muscles are matching up to the nyckelharpa now so I can play for a long time (when I get a chance!) and my fingers seem to know whe...

Nyckelharpa Diaries – week 3

30 January 2015

This week with the Rosamunde Quartet I have given six concerts in as many days, each with a different programme. It’s wonderful work, some of the highlights have been Schubert and Haydn quartets – more on them in the ...

Nyckelharpa Diaries – week 2

25 January 2015

This week I have made some connections with other nyckelharpa enthusiasts and am excited to be a new member of the UK Nyckelharpa Society who seem very friendly and have lots of useful information to share as does Vic...

Nyckelharpa Diaries – week 1

16 January 2015

It’s been an exciting week exploring the nyckelharpa – as ever in the context of modern life! I’ve spent the week on a cruise ship with the wonderful Rosamunde Quartet: violinists Xandria and Nina Kopparhed, violist C...

New Years Challenge – to learn the nyckelharpa

8 January 2015

Is anybody learning to play an instrument at the moment? I would love to hear about your experiences. I was exploring the Loxwood Joust Festival last summer before a performance with the Mediaeval Baebes when I met a ...