A YOUNG young musician who used to busk on the streets of York plays the Fulford Arms, in Fulford Road, on Wednesday with up-and-coming North Eastern folk band Balter.

Fiddle player and singer Anna Hughes, 22, a former pupil at Woldgate College, Pocklington, is now studying folk and traditional music at Newcastle University, where the band was formed, and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

Balter, an all-female contemporary folk quartet formed in Newcastle in 2015, combine traditional and original material with percussive step dance to create a highly energetic, driven sound.

Finalists in Tradfest’s Battle of the Folk Bands in Edinburgh, Balter also received a Highly Commended in Celtic Connections’ Danny Kyle Awards in Glasgow.

Anna is joined in the Balter line-up by Imogen Bose-Ward, fiddle and vocals; Heather Ferrier, accordion and clog; and Janice Burns, mandolin and vocals. Wednesday’s 8pm gig is part of their 2018 tour, timed to coincide with the release of their new EP.

Wednesday's support act will be York singer-songwriter Gina Dootson; tickets cost £8, concessions £6, on the door from 7.30pm.