Jill Gallone talks to Derbyshire's Folk Singer of the Year Bella Hardy about her Thirty for 30 tour.
IT is proving to be a big year so far for Derbyshire musician Bella Hardy.
In addition to winning the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year award back in February, the Edale songstress is now celebrating her 30th birthday, and has taken the party on the road – playing 30 of her favourite venues.
"It's a retrospective tour and I'll be drawing songs from all my six albums," reveals Bella, who started writing songs as a teenager.
She comes to Derby Guildhall on Wednesday, joined by her band the Midnight Watch, and says the evening may also feature the odd classic folk number, though she was coy about revealing any details.
The Derby date – and one in Edale on Monday – also offers Bella chance to thank fans for their support which paved the road for her award.
Both Bella and Derby singer Lucy Ward were nominated for the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year Award and were at London's Royal Albert Hall when the winner was announced. Bella took the crown.... and was utterly stunned.
"I've been floating ever since," says the quietly spoken singer. With her voice dropping to a whisper she adds: "I was totally overwhelmed when they announced I had won. The experience was phenomenal.
"I know everyone says it, but I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would win. The other three girls who were nominated are fantastic singers. I was honoured to be in the category with them."
Bella is still pinching herself – and if life was busy before the awards it's even crazier now with trips to America, a 25-gig tour earlier this year and now her Thirty for 30 birthday tour.
Her recent hectic round of gigs included performing with Lucy Ward. The folk community is ultra-friendly. "People don't believe it when you tell them how twee the folk scene is – everyone knows everyone – but it's because it's like a community that I love it so much," says Bella.
Both Bella and Lucy have scooped national honours before – and had praise heaped upon them by the national press for the beauty of their self-penned songs, originality and voices.
At 16, Bella wrote the chorus of her first song, the one, perhaps, that changed her life, Three Black Feathers. It won Best Original Song in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2009. She recalls: "I went to Lady Manners School at Bakewell to do my A-levels. It was a very long bus journey, so I used the time to write poems. I like to let my mind wander. Growing up in Edale, the countryside, the dreaminess, all helped me."
Bella grew up in a singing family, who were members of the local choir in Edale.
"I became aware of community singing rather than folk singing," she adds. "Mum encouraged me to play grandad's fiddle and join the school ceilidh band.
"At 13, I went to a folk summer school in Durham with the band and that was a revelation for me. I found myself in a place with 100 young people who loved music as much as me.
"Because of the nature of folk music, it's not cool to like it but all those kids did and were kooky, unique, beautiful people. I made lifelong friends.
"The only way we could see each other was to perform at festivals so we formed a band, the Pack. It was also a way of going to festivals for free. We didn't have any money for tickets."
It paved the way for a life of touring and performing for Bella, who now divides her time between a flat in Edinburgh and the place she will always call home, Edale.
"It's wonderful to be able to do what you love, though you have to work hard to make ends meet, " she says.
But she wouldn't have it any other way and the hard graft fits well with the whole ethos of folk music.
"Folk music isn't about an instant grasp for fame," she says. "It's about having a career with longevity. It has integrity. I feel very lucky. I'm doing all right."
WHAT: Bella Hardy
WHERE: Derby Guildhall Theatre
WHEN: Wednesday, 8pm
ADMISSIONS: £11.75
TICKETS: Call 01332 255800 or visit www.derbylive.co.uk
