Boyd and Wain
Encyclopedia
Boyd and Wain is an English acoustic Anglo/American roots
folk
Americana duo comprising American singer-songwriter Katy Boyd and English violinist Benny Wain.
, part of the counter culture
hub of writers, artists and musicians which included Ken Kesey
and whose frequent visitors included the Grateful Dead
's Jerry Garcia
. Boyd cites her earliest influence as Joan Baez, who was a local Palo Alto resident and who Boyd had met several times when she was young. After attending University of California Santa Cruz she become a full time songwriter. In the early 1980s, Boyd won what is now the West Coast Songwriters Association’s annual song writing contest and moved to the UK
. Boyd married, remained in England and gave up performing. However, upon the canonizeation of her ex-hsband into folklore sainthood, she began writing and performing again, finally securing a recording deal with Goldtop Recordings (Jungle Records).
Benny Wain started his professional music career playing in the family band The Sidling Stompers out of Sydling St Nicholas
in Dorset at the age of 12. The band, which included his younger sister, Nina Wain, had great success all over Southern England, and were played on Radio 2
's FOLK ON TWO. They formed folk rock band Jigsaw in the 1990's, a version of which is still playing in the South West of England.
Benny Wain and Katy Boyd met playing in function band "Howling at the Moon" . The duo formed in May 2009. In July 2009 they won the Trowbridge Villiage Pump
Unsigned Act Competition . Judges included Keith Donnelly, festival organizers and one audience member. They have gone on to play major festivals in the UK including Tolpuddle, the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, Bath Party In the City, Wimborne Folk Festival
and The Brighton Fringe. They have toured the US several times. The first album "Ain't No Fairy Tale" appeared in the RMR (Roots Music Report) Folk Radio Chart several times in the summer on 2010 .
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Americana duo comprising American singer-songwriter Katy Boyd and English violinist Benny Wain.
History
Katy Boyd grew up in Menlo Park on Perry Lane - a BohemianBohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
, part of the counter culture
The Making of a Counter Culture
The Making of a Counter Culture: Reflections on the Technocratic Society and Its Youthful Opposition is a work of non-fiction by Theodore Roszak originally published in 1969....
hub of writers, artists and musicians which included Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
and whose frequent visitors included the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
. Boyd cites her earliest influence as Joan Baez, who was a local Palo Alto resident and who Boyd had met several times when she was young. After attending University of California Santa Cruz she become a full time songwriter. In the early 1980s, Boyd won what is now the West Coast Songwriters Association’s annual song writing contest and moved to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Boyd married, remained in England and gave up performing. However, upon the canonizeation of her ex-hsband into folklore sainthood, she began writing and performing again, finally securing a recording deal with Goldtop Recordings (Jungle Records).
Benny Wain started his professional music career playing in the family band The Sidling Stompers out of Sydling St Nicholas
Sydling St Nicholas
Sydling St Nicholas is a village in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is situated in the West Dorset district of the county, about nine miles northwest of the county town of Dorchester. It is sited on Sydling Water, a tributary of the River Frome. Sydling Water divides upon entering the...
in Dorset at the age of 12. The band, which included his younger sister, Nina Wain, had great success all over Southern England, and were played on Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's FOLK ON TWO. They formed folk rock band Jigsaw in the 1990's, a version of which is still playing in the South West of England.
Benny Wain and Katy Boyd met playing in function band "Howling at the Moon" . The duo formed in May 2009. In July 2009 they won the Trowbridge Villiage Pump
Trowbridge Village Pump Festival
Village Pump FestivalStarted over 30 years ago in a barn at the lamb Inn Trowbridge, it then moved to Stowford Manor Farm, Farleigh Hungerford, England...
Unsigned Act Competition . Judges included Keith Donnelly, festival organizers and one audience member. They have gone on to play major festivals in the UK including Tolpuddle, the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, Bath Party In the City, Wimborne Folk Festival
Wimborne Folk Festival
Wimborne Folk Festival is an annual festival of English folk music and dance, held in Wimborne Minster in the English county of Dorset.The Festival was founded in 1980, and is billed as a festival of "Traditional Folk Dance, English and Celtic Music and Song"...
and The Brighton Fringe. They have toured the US several times. The first album "Ain't No Fairy Tale" appeared in the RMR (Roots Music Report) Folk Radio Chart several times in the summer on 2010 .