A musician considered one of the mainstays of the English traditional music scene lives just across the border from Oxfordshire.

That person is violinist, singer-songwriter and craftsman Jackie Oates and she comes to play at ACE Space, a concert obtained under fortuitous circumstances, as Stephen Ottner explains:

“Jackie showed up at ACE Space in the audience for their first post-lockdown gig with Emily Baker and Lukas Drinkwater. After being scouted by the ACE Space team, Jackie was asked if she would consider performing in St Nicholas’ Road Concert Hall. The answer was ‘yes’ and the date of February 19 was agreed.”

Jackie’s talent was more widely recognized as a finalist for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award in 2003 and was one of the nominees for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Horizon Award in 2008, winning that award in 2009. In 2012 , the Guardian called him “the new face of folk”. Although a compelling solo performer, Jackie is most comfortable as a collaborator. She was a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset between 2003 and 2007 and a member of folk supergroup Imagined Village.

Other collaborations include Belinda O’Hooley, Megan Henwood and most recently with former Bellowhead founder John Spiers. Their album Needle Pin, Needle Pin was handmade, including the production of the covers. The album includes songs from the radio ballad Lace Tellings by Jackie.

Jackie spent 18 months as Artist-in-Residence at Reading’s Museum of Rural Arts. This included educational sessions on farm work songs, songwriting workshops with PhD students, themed concerts, EFDSS annual conferences and many hours in the museum library researching the rarely explored realm of English traveling songs. Another Reading connection was collaborating with BBC Radio 3’s Fiona Talkington on an hour-long piece for the Reading Fringe Festival, also featuring dancer/musician Hannah James and Norwegian percussionist/composer Thomas Strønen. Hannah James will appear at the ACE space in March.

For Jackie Oates’ concert at ACE Space on Saturday February 19, she’ll be joined by longtime friend and collaborator Mike Cosgrave (accordion, guitar, whistle) from Devon. In support, Malcom MacWatt whose recent debut album Settler was critically acclaimed.

Tickets cost £14 and are available at www.WeGotTicket.com and also direct on 078911 76940 or [email protected]