Jon Wilks

Jon Wilks is a prominent fingerpicking guitarist and singer who performs traditional English folk songs and broadside ballads, often specialising in traditional folk songs from Birmingham and the wider Midlands, of which he has recorded two albums, Midlife (2018) and Up the Cut (2021). With his background as a former editor of Time Out magazine and contributor to Dazed & Confused, The Guardian and other publications, Jon has a keen eye and ear for storytelling. During his live shows, he mixes entertaining folk song performances with fascinating tidbits about the original singers and collectors that he has unearthed during his extensive research on traditional folk music in the UK.

Aside from being a talented musician and performer, Jon is also the founder and former editor of Tradfolk.co, a website dedicated to the traditional music and ritualistic culture of England. He has released four solo albums, three albums and two EPs with The Grizzly Folk, and an album and EP with Japan-based indie band, Cut Flowers. He co-arranged and performed tracks on Jackie Oates’s Gracious Wings album and was a part of Slow Jane, the quartet that created videos of Nick Drake songs during lockdown. He also a current member of the Jim Moray touring band, in which he plays bass guitar, and he performs in a semi-regular duo with Jackie Oates.

In addition to his music career, Jon is the presenter of The Old Songs Podcast and gigs whenever he can. His talent has been recognized by Guitarist, one of the world’s biggest guitar magazines, which featured him as one-to-watch in July 2022. He was also the subject of an acoustic session on Mark Radcliffe’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Show in May, 2023.