Jackie Oates Bags A Brace

This time last year, we recorded an interview with Jackie Oates congratulating her on an exceptional 2007. She had just followed up her 2006 runner up slot in the Fatea Female Vocalist awards by winning the 2007 Fatea Tradition Award.

2008 went meteor for Jackie leaving a fantastic 2007 trailing in it's wake.

Jackie has just landed a brace of awards at the highly prestigious 2009 BBC Radio Two Folk Awards, landing the Horizon Award for best newcomer and Best Traditional Song with her version of "Lark In The Morning" taken from her Phil Beer produced album "The Violet Hour"

As per usual the quality of the artists nominated was of a very high standard. Jackie was up against Bella Hardy, Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller and The Shee for the Horizon Award.

The Best Traditional Song award saw Jackie beating off competition from Bellowhead, Chris Wood and her brother Jim Moray. Jim's version of the Andy Partridge Song, "All You Pretty Girls" took the Best Original Song Award and Chris Wood Folk Singer Of The Year, as if you needed any emphasis as to the standards required to win the award.

Phil Beer who was up for Musician Of The Year in the Awards and who also won Best Instrumentalist in this years Fatea Awards, not only produced and released "The Violet Hour", on his Chudleigh Roots label, he also plays bass on "Lark In The Morning". The track also features piano from Jackie's long time co-conspirator Belinda O'Hooley, who Jackie toured with last year.

It's really pleasing to see an artist that you've watched bloom and flourish be recognised by so many people within the folk industry. Jackie has put a lot of hard work in to ensure that her considerable talent gets to entertain people across the country.

Jackie also works with young and aspiring musicians teaching violin and fiddle to a goodly number of musicians, teaching both classical and folk styles.

If you've somehow managed to avoid Jackie's attention vus far, it's time you either visited Jackie's MySpace site www.myspace.com/jackieoates or downloaded the latest Fatea Showcase Session, which features Jackie as the lead artist.

All that remains is to congratulate Jackie Oates on her well deserved success and raise a glass to the future.

Neil King
Our interview with Jackie from last year can be found here
The Fatea Showcase Session:One featuring Jackie can be found here until the 30th of April.

Picture Credit:Allan Price