Lisa Knapp

Celtic Fiddle

It’s been 12 years since her remarkable debut album Wild and Undaunted marked Lisa Knapp as one of the most innovative stars of a newly invigorated British folk movement.

A child of the 90s rave scene, Lisa found herself drawn to the honesty of the ballads and the dexterous Irish fiddle tunes she began joining in with during pub sessions. From there she immersed herself in library manuscripts, pored over second-hand records from the 70s and sought out the masters of traditional music to learn from. Working with partner and producer Gerry Diver, she forged a new, inventive path through these old songs that is uniquely and spellbindingly hers.

The success of Wild And Undaunted led to frequent appearances on TV and radio, including tribute concerts to Lal Waterson for BBC Electric Proms and Bert Jansch (BBC4 TV at Queen Elizabeth Hall where she sang alongside Robert Plant and Bernard Butler.) Lisa also became much in demand as a collaborator and contributor, performing with Dave Swarbrick, Eliza Carthy, Mike Waterson, Shirley Collins, Sam Lee, Kathryn Williams, James Yorkston, Mara Carlyle, Olivia Chaney, Leafcutter John, Dead Rat Orchestra and The Memory Band to name but a few.

With emphasis on enjoyment and musicality, Lisa teaches through use of rhythm games, instrument exercises and song as well as tunes. Lisa has great passion for this heritage music and uses primarily the traditional approach of aural transmission encouraging deep listening whilst inspiring pupils to experiment, enjoy and find their way around the instrument with confidence as well as gaining repertoire.

Greatest Musical Inspiration

Folk song and nature.

Best Musical Advice

Listen, listen, listen.