John Tams

Part of folk’s old guard, but fresh from his success with the New Radio Ballads, John Tams and his band make a welcome return to Cambridge. The guy also won three of the key awards at the Radio Two Folk Awards, Folk Singer Of The Year, Best Album and Best Traditional Song so he was pretty much a cert for an overdue outing on Cambridge’s hallowed stage.
Hyphen junky, his own website describes him as singer-songwriter-musician-recording artist-producer-actor (Come on you must remember him in Sharpe, for which he also co-wrote the music) John Tams has such a good knowledge of the folk genre. He is able to work material solo and as part of a band. He has an ability to hear what a piece can be as well as what it is.
The John Tams Band may be one of the more traditional bands in this year’s line up, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be the unexpected. John has a remarkable ability to take something that seems familiar and give it an unexpected twist. Similarly he can pull a song back from the brink of extinction and have you believe that somewhere, lying around back at home, he might also have the last dodo.