The Askew Sisters is an English folk duo comprising sisters Emily and Hazel… Read Full Bio ↴The Askew Sisters is an English folk duo comprising sisters Emily and Hazel Askew. Using fiddle and melodeon, they play and sing with an infectious enjoyment and love for the music.

They have played at venues across the UK from top festivals and folk clubs to London's National Theatre and National Portrait Gallery.

The released their album "All in a Garden Green" in Autumn 2007.

The sisters were born and bred in London, the children of two Morris dancers. They grew up in the folk scene, with frequent trips to ceilidhs and annual family holidays to Sidmouth Festival. As they grew older they became increasingly interested in the music side, returning back to school from the summer holidays wanting to start ceilidh bands.

They began various classical lessons at school and eventually started a folk band named Rubber Chicken . Over the next few years they gained experience, playing their first gigs, and were even the subject of a full article in Folk on Tap magazine (aged just 11 and 14). They also became interested in the dance side of tradition, playing and dancing for Morris, Appalachian and Rapper teams.

Things really started off a few years later when Emily switched to the fiddle and Hazel decided she'd quite like to play the melodeon. They added a few songs to the repertoire and thought they might as well enter the New Roots competition as a duo, unexpectedly coming away with the top prizes.

Encouraged by this they then recorded a few tracks with Doug Bailey to use as a demo, which Doug then decided to release as an EP on his label WildGoose Records; and so Six by Two was created, a six track EP of English and French tunes with a couple of songs (and dubious multi-coloured front cover).

The girls spent the next two years working hard, making the transition from promising youngsters to confident, skilled performers. They travelled up and down the country, playing at lots of folk clubs and festivals in 30 counties (and even at the Natural History Museum, under the big dinosaur skeleton in the hall).

They became semi-finalists in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and were also the subject of an article in fRoots magazine. During this time they defined their own unique style, now focusing mainly on traditional English material.

Hazel decided to develop the song side of the repertoire and began researching material from books and old recordings at the Vaughan Williams Library at Cecil Sharp House. The girls also started working with material from George Gardiner's collections in Hampshire.

Their father Bob Askew had been researching the collections and Emily and Hazel took part in a series of concerts to promote the songs. With all this experience under their belt, the girls then went back to WildGoose studios to record their first album.

They decided it should explore mainly traditional English material, including a few from George Gardiner's collection. They also chose early on that they wouldn't use any session musicians as they wanted the album to show the full sound that two people can create.

So after many days hard work at the WildGoose Studios (and lots of lovely food) All in a Garden Green was born. From foot stomping dance tunes bursting with energy to refreshing interpretations of songs and ballads, All in a Garden Green proved that the sisters had stepped up to the next level.