All Our UK Gigs

Femi Oriogun-Williams at Cecil Sharp House

Femi Oriogun-Williams is a musician, writer, audio producer and educator born at 00:00 under a Taurus moon to a room of laughing people.

Femi was awarded an Alan James Creative Bursary by the English Folk Dance and Song Society in 2023. We’re excited to see the results of their work! For more information click here

Femi is a musician, writer and radio producer based in London. As a person of colour growing up in Dorset, their love for playing and listening to folk music has always been deepened by an understanding of the exclusionary practises inherent in discussions around the idea of tradition.

During their time studying English Literature at Cambridge their research focussed on the folk traditions of the British Isles and the lyrical heritage that speaks of those who have become invisible through the passage of history.

They are a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, accordion, clarinet, voice) who seeks to bring folk music into the present through new technologies and production methods.

Femi hopes to create a song cycle which draws links between historic struggles that have been documented in English folklore with struggles that are still ongoing.

In Dorset, they have been inspired by the stories of trade unionists in the stories and songs surrounding the Tolpuddle Martyrs. Their own experiences of going on strike in the last two years has brought them into contact with union members and they think documenting current struggles alongside this long history is imperative to preserving the rights of workers in this country.

Femi aims to create pieces of music which would be played with a mixture of textures, instruments and ambient recordings, both past and present, combining sampling techniques and computer technology with traditional folk instruments and melodies.

Doors open at 7pm, on-stage at 7.30pm.