American roots, country, gospel and blues,
with soulful harmonies and foot-tapping grooves
THE BAND
We have exciting plans coming up in 2024 - we're very honoured that we've been invited to play at the wonderful Broadstairs Folk Week in August, and are also thrilled to be involved in Oli Steadman's 365 Days Of Folk, featuring daily recordings of traditional songs. Our contributions will be Farewell to the Gold and Old Joe Clark.
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What can you expect from a live gig? We've got songs of revenge and illicit love, cheery little gospel songs about dying, and lots of accompanying laughter and banter - come and hear Sarah trash-talk each of us while Doug adjusts his guitar into ever more elaborate tunings before we set off into some melting harmonies, fiery fiddle melodies and blistering guitar licks!
We cover everything from bluegrass and country to murder ballads, old jazz standards and gospel, plus the odd bluesy original thrown in for good measure. And we're keen on mixing it up with our own take on old favourites like Britney's Toxic and the Dead South's gorgeous minor version of You Are My Sunshine. In 2023 we played at the Croydon Folk and Blues Festival and Kew Village Market as well as in pubs around south-west London, including our Brentford residency at the Northumberland arms, and had a glowing review from the wonderful Doug Welch on Radio Kent Upload.
Our origin story? One cold January night in 2019, singer and guitarist Sarah Weir strapped her guitar to her back and set out in search of music and song. At the Old Packhorse in Chiswick, she stumbled across fiddle player Cath Nelson, and the pair bonded over shared tales of love lost - and a passion for Emmylou and Michelle Shocked. Together we became Calico Thieves, joined in 2021 by guitar genius Dr Doug Field and in 2022 by bass player extraordinaire Mark Waterfield. Now we’re on a mission to dress up in our finest stage gear, play and sing our hearts out - and spread the joy of American roots, country, gospel and blues!
Sarah Weir
mandolin and vocals
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A lifelong love of country and folk music drew Sarah into a pirate shanty band as singer/guitarist before she became a Calico Thief, with her soaring vocals and percussive mandolin. Sarah’s background as a published fiction writer – Radio New Zealand, several anthologies – led her into songwriting with Cath, translating her love of narrative and wordplay into lyrics. She also loves to sing jazz and blues, recently performing as a soloist at Chelsea’s Pheasantry, to great acclaim.
Cath Nelson
violin and vocals
Cath trained as a classical violinist, but ventured into cross tuning and never looked back – she now loves exploring folk styles from bluegrass to Appalachian to inform her fiery, yearning fiddle refrains for CT. Her long-ago music degree helps her devise the band's melting harmonies, and her songwriting partnership with Sarah is constantly evolving. She has written about music for BBC Music Magazine and the Guardian, but finds playing it much more addictive!
Doug Field
guitar and vocals
Doug has been a stalwart of the folk scene across south-east England for many years, playing solo and in various bands. He developed his driving fingerpicking guitar and vocal style to ensure his solo sets packed a punch. Now he has unleashed his glowing, affecting vocals on Calico Thieves, both as lead and harmony singer. And alongside bassist Mark, he adds the irresistible groove to the CT sound – as well as lyrical guitar melodies.
Mark Waterfield
bass and vocals
Mark brings his trademark powerful bass and rich vocals to the Calico Thieves sound. He also has an illustrious musical career away from the band, as a singer, songwriter and producer in the British and international music industry. He has collaborated with artists including St Etienne, Tyler the Creator, Sarah Cracknell, Anita Lipnicka and Pedro Almodóvar.