The Outlandish Knights - Yorkshire & Humberside Irish Music

Many moons ago, Chris, Paul and Chis were born in Sheffield. For decades they made a tremendous din playing rock music in bands such as Haze, World Turtle, Three-Legged Cat, Strongheart, Treebeard, and CPF. Less moons ago, sisters Cat and Ceri were born in Wales. In their earlier years they amused themselves by morris dancing, and playing folk music with bands Derwenna, Hiraeth, the Elastic Band, the Mountain Oyster Band, and Here Be Dragons. In the summer of 2006, Ceri spent many long weeks as a solitary goat-herdess. The loneliness drove her to insanity. She began talking to herself, and to the trees, the tree-seedlings, the sheep and the goats. One evening as she sat by her camp-fire, the feeling came over her that she was destined to be in a folk/rock/ceilidh band, with some men from Sheffield twice her age. And thus was born The Outlandish Knights.

Ceri Ashton – Flute, Clarinet, Whistle

Ceri has over ten years’ experience of playing folk music, in bands including The Elastic Band, The Mountain Oyster Band, Treebeard, Derwenna and Hiraeth. She is also an experienced dancer; she has danced with border side Boggart’s Breakfast, and been president of the Sheffield University Ceilidh Society.

Ceri first got into music when she was 15, when she went to Conwy Folk Club with sister Cat. She earned her beer money for the rest of her school years playing with local folk band ‘The Elastic Band’, then she too came to Sheffield for University and never left, except for the year with the goats, but we won’t talk about that.

Many of the bands tunes are written by Ceri, and a number of them have been played & recorded by established ceilidh bands such as Hekety and The Glory Strokes.

Ceri has played at a number of folk clubs and festivals with the Mountain Oyster Band, including Midgestock, Bull Bay Folk Festival and Folk at the Manor, Wallasey.

Cat Ashton – Fiddle, Flute

Morris fanatic with Pecsaetan and real ale connoisseur Cat also played in Ceilidh Band Derwenna and plays in folk band Hiraeth. She has been on European tours with folk rock band Here Be Dragons. She came to Sheffield for University, found the folk scene and the pubs, and never left.

Cat & Ceri have played Ryburn 3 step, Phoenix, Manchester, Mumpers, Godalming & Sheffield University Ceilidhs, as well as Skipton Step Festival and Sheffield Folk Festival. They were finalists of the New Roots young folk competition in 2004 with Hiraeth, and have played at a number of folk clubs including Conwy Folk Club, the Holly Bush (Sheffield), and Stortfolk.

Chris McMahon - bass, 12 string guitar, keyboards

Chris has been playing music for a lot longer than Cat and Ceri have been alive, although he only got into folk music fairly recently. He started out in Haze, a progressive-rock band which was fairly big round about the time Cat and Ceri were being born, then split up, but reformed for a 20th anniversary, while Cat and Ceri were completing their education, and now do the occasional gig.

Haze consists of Chris, Paul and Chis, so effectively it lives on within the Outlandish Knights. After Haze came Treebeard, an acoustic band in which Chris, Paul and Chis were joined by Chris Jellis (guitar) and Gordon Walker (fiddle), and later by Ceri.

Chris has played Stainsby, Glasson Dock, Holmfirth & Solfest folk festivals & tours the folk clubs with Paul Pearson, a talented & original interpreter of modern folk songs.

Paul McMahon - guitar, bass

Paul started playing guitar & writing songs at age 13, and spent his evenings in practising the guitar, while Chris was out practising his drinking. This stood Paul in good stead for when the band was on tour, as he was always sober to drive the van after gigs.

Chris & Paul have played together for years in Haze, World Turtle, and Treebeard, touring Italy, Holland, Switzerland & Belgium, and have slept in every lay-by in the UK (probably). Treebeard play a blend of folk, rock, and pop, referred to as ‘Heavy Wood’, and described as ‘a perfect accompaniment for beer’. They are an established act on the Beer Festival circuit.

Paul writes tunes names after his two children and the legendary Brown Bear of Bolsterstone. He has also taken up the bass, and more recently, the drums. What next? Roadie-ing?