A York folk duo is preparing to release a new album.

Musicians Pen and Stu McFarlane-Bedford are putting the finishing touches on their new album, Ravenswood, which will be released in January 2024.

The pair first got together in 2014 and have since played at venues and events, including the Filey Folk Festival, City of York Folk Weekend and Whitby Pirate Festival.

They released their first album, So Far…Songs of Love, Loss and Pirates, in 2017, following it up a year later with a five-track live studio EP, New Horizon.

By 2019 they were playing more than 50 gigs a year, which they managed to fit in around their full-time day jobs.

After the pandemic they decided to become full-time musicians.

Read next:

Their new 10 track album, recorded at 6dB studios in York and produced by Dave Boothroyd, is the product of that commitment.

Pen revealed that one particular song, previewed at selected gigs over the summer months, has gone down especially well with live audiences.

“We are proud of the album as a whole, but Pretty Bird, one of a number of up-tempo tracks on the album, has received a really positive response, so we decided to release it as a single and it’s getting radio airplay and is available on all streaming platforms,” she said.

“It was great to record and is fun to play live. I look forward to many more people hearing it.”