Kate Rusby

One of Britain's most celebrated contemporary folk singer/songwriters, Kate Rusby possesses a gentle sound imbued with poetic grace and traces of the traditional Celtic scene from which she emerged. After earning widespread acclaim in 1999 for her Mercury Prize-nominated second album, Sleepless, she established herself as a perennial star of the U.K. folk scene. Rusby's albums generally consisted of a mix of traditional folk songs, well-chosen pop and rock covers, and original fare until 2010's all-original Make the Light. She has also applied her dulcet voice to a number of Christmas-themed albums. 2022's 30: Happy Returns featured collaborations with inspirations spanning Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Richard Hawley, and Beth Nielsen Chapman, among many others, and 2025's When They All Looked Up was an affecting collection of personally resonant originals and well-chosen covers.