Karine Polwart

Former lead singer with Scots-Irish quintet Malinky and a one-time member of Battlefield Band and duo MacAlias, Karine released her first solo album, Faultlines, to great acclaim. The album helped her win the best new artist, best original song and best album at the 2005 BBC Folk on 2 awards.

Since leaving her work in the field of human rights and domestic abuse in early 2000, Karine has grown in confidence, allowing her broad range of musical and social interests to influence both her traditional repertoire and her own thoughtful songwriting. With degrees in philosophy and a background dealing with the most vulnerable in society, she succeeds in her aim to communicate personal and sometimes political messages, without wielding sledgehammers of diatribe. Her incisive intelligence and sense of justice, as well as her warmth and wit, shine through.