Helen Lindley Music

I sing (mainly unaccompanied folk songs from the British Isles although occasionally other places too) and play English folk fiddle. I like writing new tunes for old folk songs where the original tune is no longer known and occasionally write folk-style songs and tunes for other people. I occasionally help out at Sing Yonder Publications, mainly taking unwieldy old folk songs that no one sings any more and/or there are no recorded versions known and I rework them into a more manageable song that even a beginner can sing. Because, let's face it, a 106 verse ballad from 200 years ago can be a bit daunting for most of us. Someone once commented that I rescue folk songs. I din't know about rescue, but I certainly rework them and create a new setting for some!

I'm passionate about folk music and am a magnet for musical instruments - they seem to find their way into the house! I own a Busson Harmoniflute/flutina from the mid 1800s which I restored. I own a Lachenal Crane Duet concertina which at some point I'll learn to play properly rather than the dabbling self-teaching I currently engage in and I also own a Hohner Pokerwork which I've yet to learn! I occasionally revisit playing piano/keyboard/guitar (all separately - I'm not superwoman!)

I've been namechecked on Angeline Morrison's thought-provoking Sorrow Songs album, and recorded for Eliza Carthy's Queen of the Whirl album (as one of the Sweet Rosemarys on the Good Morning Mr Walker track). I recorded a track for the Sing Yonder album's extended download which is available on  Karl Sinfield's Bandcamp (you get the extended download tracks as an addition when you buy the album).

I  organise and often host The Ballad Room, an occasional Thursday night online audio-only traditional folk singaround that started as a part of Eliza's Folk Club on the Clubhouse app. You can usually find me hanging out at Royal Traditions, a monthly (ish) folk club run by Jon Boden in a village near Sheffield. 

I love music, books, tea, history, whisky, art, photography, Doc Martens, stripy socks. I'm bit (a lot?) of a fidget who sometimes talks too much and have a slight tendency to 'accidental' bossiness. I'm somewhat prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, so saying sorry is a like a hobby!

My EP, Awakening The Lady, of some of my ‘rescued’ ballads was released in 2023 on my Bandcamp and am also researching and writing a folk music album, which, if I get my act together will hopefully (maybe?!) be out in 2024.

I live with my husband and our 2 children in a village on a hill in west Lincolnshire (yes, we do have hills in Lincs!) about 5 miles from the Leics and Notts borders.