One of the premier acoustic guitarists on the planet, England's Martin Simpson is well known to American audiences for his work with Richard Thompson, Steeleye Span, the Albion band, and June Tabor. His clear, beautifully emotive playing is idiosyncratic, instantly recognizable, and revered among guitar fans, moving effortlessly between Mississippi Delta blues, Celtic love songs, and old-time breakdowns as he explores the cross-fertilization of English, Scottish, Irish, and African-American music.

In addition to his amazing guitar skills, Martin is a powerful songwriter with a rich voice: his latest CD, Prodigal Son, won him awards for Best Album and Best Original Song at this year's BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

While time spent in England and America underpins his arts, Martin continually adds new colours to his musical palette, balancing the traditional and the contemporary while expanding on his primary musical interests in British, Anglo-American and Afro-American traditional forms. He has collaborated with musicians from the great pipa (Chinese lute) master Wu Man to the Malagasy band, Tarika Sammy, and it all goes in the mix, creating a sound that's uniquely spellbinding.