Folk Bands and Artists
Gryphon
Gryphon is the oldest and the newest thing – a legendary British band that’s as exhilarating, energetic, unpredictable and addictive now as it was when the boys last toured, in the 1970s.
At that time, no-one could pigeonhole Gryphon. When the first album came out, the band appeared on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4, all in the same week. They appeared with Yes at Madison Square Garden and Houston Astrodome, played festivals, folk clubs and cathedrals. They wrote and played the music for Sir Peter Hall’s National Theatre production of The Tempest at the Old Vic and found a unique place in the hearts of folkies, prog rock fans, Early Music aficionados and others with an ear for something fresh and different.
Now Gryphon is back, reinvented and mixing old and new material. The virtuoso musicianship and composing flair that marked the band out in the ’70s has been pushed even further, as the band members have gone their separate ways for the last three decades.
Gryphon’s music? It’s just as it always was – odd, different, good-humouredly dazzling. It’s mainly acoustic, with crumhorns and bassoons alongside guitars, keyboards and a battery of percussion. Every gig involves at least 40 instruments, so the textures can be pretty varied and unfamiliar.
Gryphon, as ever, is the antidote to genres. Whatever you expect, you’ll get something different, surprising, and exciting. Whatever you get, it’ll make you wonder why it took these guys so long to crank up the engines and get out on the road again. But, it’ll always be worth the wait.
