"Ambitious, genre-busting folk"
- The Guardian
Jon Boden has become the ‘stand out performer of his generation’ (The Guardian) of traditional folk artists, but one whose repertoire extends far beyond the boundaries of the genre.
He is best known as the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead which has sold, a quarter of a million albums, has had seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and has sold out hundreds of venues throughout the UK and beyond, including notably the Royal Albert Hall.
Outside of his work with Bellowhead, in 2009, Jon founded his band The Remnant Kings, originally formed to perform the album ’Songs from the Floodplain’. The performances combined the post-climate change concept of the album, with other songs that might survive the apocalypse. In this genre busting mix, Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings performed concerts where folk songs, Bach, Pop and Jazz all rubbed shoulders with Jon’s own songs. This was all augmented by the use on stage of two wax cylinder players, which played specially recorded material.
The band went into hibernation for several years whilst Bellowhead hit top gear, but were reunited and relaunched to record Jon’s album ‘Afterglow’ in 2017, again for more traditional material album ‘Rose In June’ (2020) and contributed to the final album of Jon’s post-apocalyptic album trilogy ‘Last Mile Home’ (2021). The band features the talents of Bellowhead band-mate Sam Sweeney, Leveret’s Rob Harbron, Ben Nicholls from King of The South Seas, new member Sally Hawkins and M. G. Boulter.
’Recalling Gabriel-era Genesis with a dash of Bush and Bowie’
- The Observer
‘Springy fingerpicking and rolling drums convey the thrill of an anarchic street celebration.’
- The Independent
‘Vivid lyrics, striking imagery, challenging arrangements… a Major Work.’
- fRoots
‘There were several 'wow' moments throughout and we were left in no doubt that Boden's talents are multi-faceted and often bewildering… he's fast emerging as a modern day Richard Thompson or John Tams…with this big band he has reached another level. He may even have emerged as the premier UK folk artist of his generation.’ efestivals review of Shrewsbury Folk Festival
