2012 started with Lucy winning the prestigious Horizon (Best Newcomer) Award at the BBC Folk Awards. She followed this with highly successful tours of the UK and the Netherlands; but whatever heights she has achieved this year it already looks like 2013 will project the profile of this vibrant young star not only higher but in a number of new and exciting directions.
One of the most exciting of these new directions is writing for the stage and screen. Award winning documentary film maker Kim Hopkins, who made the critically acclaimed ‘Man In The Sand’ a feature documentary starring Woody Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Wilco Johnson, and Natalie Merchant, first heard about Lucy when Billy Bragg tweeted that Lucy’s single “For the Dead Men” was both “powerful and inspirational”. Kim immediately downloaded Lucy’s debut album “Adelphi Has to Fly” and fell in love with the music. She was in the process of editing her latest documentary, “Folie á Deux–madness made of two”, and after a brief meeting over tea and cake followed by several email exchanges, Kim asked Lucy not only if she could use ‘For The Dead Men’ in the film but if she would write, arrange and record material to form the entire sound track of the film. The whole soundtrack was recorded in 3 days and is played entirely by Lucy and the magnificent Hungarian fiddle player Barnabas Balazs.
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“Folie á Deux” premiered at the Amsterdam Independent Documentary Film Festival on November 17th 2012., “It’s just so exciting” said Lucy “I get an email out of the blue and then three months later I’ve written a soundtrack! It will be so surreal to see my name on the big screen and hear my music underpinning what I think is a really brilliant and thought provoking documentary”. As an added bonus Lucy performed at premier in the famous Theatre Tuschinski in Amsterdam.
In addition to the film score, Lucy has also just written songs and music for “Robin Hood”, the latest production by Oddsocks, the touring theatre company. Lucy said “This was a great opportunity to really explore the tradition of Robin Hood songs and spin them with new life in this fun and anarchic production!”
So what about Lucy’s day job: recording artist? Well, she’s in the studio throughout winter recording her second album on Navigator Records. Working again with renowned producer and musician Stu Hanna, Lucy’s much anticipated new album will be released in summer 2013.
The New Year will also see Lucy Ward working with Fellside records as she has been chosen as one of four artists to record the companion album to this year’s “New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs”. The artists, appearing with Lucy on this album are James Findlay, Brian Peters and, fellow Derbyshire lass, Bella Hardy.
From a performance point of view things are no less exciting. Lucy has been chosen as one of just six acts to represent English Folk Music at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. She is also travelling to Toronto with the EFDSS to perform and represent the UK, alongside Jim Moray, at the annual Folk Alliance International Conference.
So that should get the year off to a good start and with early confirmed bookings for a number of festivals including Shrewsbury, Beverley and Southwell, 2013 looks like it’s going to be another big year for the lovely Lucy Ward.
Lucy is performing at The Century Theatre (Snibston Discovery Park) on Saturday 24th November 2012