Seth Bernard Lakeman (born 26 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who is most often associated with the

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

and tenor guitar, but also plays the

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. Nominated for the 2005

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

, Lakeman has belonged to several musical ensembles, including one with his two brothers, fellow folk musicians Sam Lakeman and Sean Lakeman, but has most recently established himself as a solo act.

Career

The Lakeman Brothers

Seth Lakeman grew up with his two brothers, Sean Lakeman and Sam Lakeman, in the village of Buckland Monachorum in West Devon, England. He began playing music with his parents and brothers at an early age. As the Lakeman Brothers, the three brothers released their debut album ''Three Piece Suite'' in 1994. Later that same year they were invited by two Yorkshire based singers Kathryn Roberts and Kate Rusby to join them as a backing group on a tour of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. After the tour the five musicians became a permanent group and called themselves

Equation In mathematics, an equation is a mathematical formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for ...

. The group were signed in a record deal with

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

in 1995. After three full albums (''Return to Me'' in 1996, ''Hazy Daze'' in 1998, and ''The Lucky Few'' in 2000), and tours in the UK, Europe and the United States, Lakeman left Equation in 2001. He joined his brother Sam and Sam's wife Cara Dillon and appeared on Dillon's

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

debut album, which featured Lakeman on fiddle, guitar and vocals. The album won two awards at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Solo work

In 2002 Lakeman released his first solo album, '' The Punch Bowl'', produced by elder brother Sean Lakeman which received wide critical acclaim including a review in '' fRoots'' magazine which said: "The songs don't just glide smoothly by.....they get their claws into you". '' Kitty Jay'', Lakeman's second solo album, was released in 2004. This was also produced by brother Sean Lakeman in his kitchen. The title track of the album tells the story of Jay's Grave, a well known location on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

. The album was recorded for a cost of less than £300. The album reached silver status in the UK. That same year he collaborated with Devon singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and young local singer Jenna Witts on the album '' Western Approaches''. A UK tour in Autumn 2005 followed his

nomination, after which Lakeman and his band (regularly brother Sean Lakeman (guitar), Ben Nichols (bass), Andy Tween (drums)), toured extensively with folk-rock band the

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the English Civil War who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as sh ...

, who took to closing their set with a "fiddle off" between Lakeman and Levellers' fiddler Jonathan Sevink. Other support tours with

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

and Jools Holland brought Lakeman's music to a wider audience. In March 2006 Lakeman began a UK tour to promote his new album '' Freedom Fields'' which was released on iScream. Produced again by Sean Lakeman, he signed to a new major record label, Relentless Records, promptly releasing a new single "Lady of the Sea" in early August 2006. This record went gold making it one of the biggest selling traditionally based folk records ever in the UK. His fourth solo album, '' Poor Man's Heaven'', was released on 30 June 2008 with an accompanying tour. It introduced a rockier edge to the folk of the previous albums. It was also the last album to be produced by Sean Lakeman and it was awarded silver levels of sales in the UK. Lakeman's fifth album, ''Hearts & Minds'', was released on 19 July 2010. Produced by studio veteran Tchad Blake Lakeman released his sixth album called '' Tales from the Barrel House'' on 18 November 2011. In 2014 the ''Word of Mouth'' album was released. In 2018 Lakeman released another album, ''The Well Worn Path''. His eleventh studio album, ''Make Your Mark'', followed in November 2021. The title track "Make Your Mark" was playlisted at BBC Radio 2. ''Sea Song Sessions'' is a collection of British maritime folk songs and sea shanties, performed by Jon Boden, Lakeman, Ben Nicholls, Emily Portman and Jack Rutter. The artists celebrated the release of the album in September 2022 with a run of on-board and harbourside performances which they sailed to and from by ship. Lakeman recorded on

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

's album '' Moving On Skiffle'' in 2022 and he collaborated with Public Service Broadcasting and performed with them at the Royal Albert Hall. Lakeman has previously worked and toured extensively with

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

with his band the Sensational Space Shifters. Seth Lakeman in 2023

After a limited vinyl pressing for Record Store Day 2023, ''The Somerset Sessions'' was given a wider release on Lakeman's own label Honour Oak Records in July 2023. The album features original, unreleased session recordings from Lakeman featuring Ethan Johns, Jeremy Stacey, John Smith, Nick Pini and Alex Hart that were recorded at the Bert Jansch Studio in Frome. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of '' Kitty Jay'' and following the 20th Anniversary tour in February there will be a standing tour in October with the band including long-time collaborators Benji Kirkpatrick, Ben Nicholls, Cormac Byrne and Alex Hart. The February Kitty Jay Tour opened with a sold out concert at Exeter's Corn Exchange on 20 February 2024. Lakeman's father Geoff made a guest appearance on spoons. Seth Lakeman - Folk by the Oak 2008

Awards

*In July 2005 Lakeman was nominated for the

for his album '' Kitty Jay''. *On 5 February 2007 Lakeman won ''Singer of the Year'' and ''Best Album'' awards at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Instruments

Lakeman's primary musical instruments are the violin, the tenor guitar, the

and the

Personal life

Lakeman was married in 2012 to his longterm fiancée, Hannah Edwards, at Withiel, near Wadebridge in Cornwall. During the church service, the bride's 90-year-old grandfather, who is a Cornish bard, read a

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

in Cornish. The wedding was described by Lakeman's father, Geoff, as a "mini-festival". Among the wedding guests who also made performance contributions were Cara Dillon, Steve Potter, Steve Knightley, Cormac Byrne, Patsy Reid and Mad Dog Mcrea.

Discography

Singles

*"The Bold Knight" (2005) *"Lady of the Sea" (2006) #52 *"The White Hare" (2006) #47 *"King & Country" (2006) *"Poor Man's Heaven" (EP) (2007) #95 *"The Hurlers" (2008) *"Crimson Dawn" (2008) *"Solomon Brown" (2008) about the Penlee lifeboat disaster *"Hearts & Minds" (2010) *"Tiny World" (2010) *"Stepping Over You" (2010) *"Blacksmiths Prayer" (2011) *"More Than Money" (2011) *"Portrait of My Wife" (2013) *"The Courier" (2014) *"Last Rider" (2014)

Albums

As main artist

*'' The Punch Bowl'' (2002, iScream) *'' Kitty Jay'' (2004, iScream) UK No. 100 *'' Freedom Fields'' (2006, iScream) UK No. 32 *'' Poor Man's Heaven'' (2008, Relentless) UK No. 8 *''Hearts & Minds'' (2010,

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

) UK No. 17 *'' Tales from the Barrel House'' (2011, Honour Oak) UK No. 63 *''Word of Mouth'' (2014, Honour Oak /

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...

) UK No. 20 *''Ballads of the Broken Few'' (2016, Cooking Vinyl) UK No. 18 *''The Well Worn Path'' (2018, Cooking Vinyl) UK No. 49 *'' A Pilgrim's Tale'' (2020, Cooking Vinyl) UK No. 39 *''Make Your Mark'' (2021, Honour Oak) *''Somerset Sessions'' (2023, Honour Oak) UK Folk Chart No. 1 *''The Granite Way'' (2025, Honour Oak)

With The Lakeman Brothers

*''Three Piece Suite'' (1994)

With Equation

*''Hazy Days'' (1998) *''The Lucky Few'' (1999) *''Dark Ages E.P.'' (2000) *''First Name Terms'' (2002) *''Return to Me'' (2003)

With Steve Knightley and Jenna Witts

*'' Western Approaches'' (2004)

With the Full English

*''The Full English'' is a folk music digital archive project. Lakeman joined Fay Heild, Martin Simpson and others to create a Full English group to record folk songs for the archive, followed by a national tour. ( Topic, 7 October 2013)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakeman, Seth 1977 births British male violinists English folk musicians English folk singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters Living people People from Buckland Monachorum Musicians from Devon 21st-century English singers 21st-century English violinists 21st-century English male singers Equation (band) members The Lakeman Brothers members The Full English members Relentless Records artists EMI Records artists Virgin Records artists Cooking Vinyl artists