AN AWARD-WINNING folk duo will perform songs from their latest album in Otley this month.

Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin’s new project - entitled, as is their new band name, Edgelarks - is an amalgam of traditional British music and Indian classical slide guitar. And Phil’s beatbox and harmonica adds another element to the intriguiing mix.

Hannah grew up playing fiddle at traditional folk sessions and the pair met when they were both recruited to alt-roots outfit The Roots Union, travelling from festival to festival, tent to tent.

They began their musical journey together living in a small caravan in the hills near Exmouth, Devon.

Spotted busking on the seafront at Sidmouth Folk Festival by independent music champion Steve Knightley, the pair soon found themselves touring nationally, supporting the likes of Show of Hands and Seth Lakeman.

From recording their first album, Singing the Bones, at home in their living room in the dead of night they have gone on to produce three more records, each time refining the process and honing their skills.

They describe Edgelarks, their fourth studio album, as their most innovative work to date.

Recorded in May, 2017 it is an album about the fact that, in the end, ‘we have far more in common than things that divide us’.

The band is promising an evening of original, thought provoking and lyrical live music when they take the stage at Otley Courthouse on Wednesday, May 22.

The show starts at 8pm and tickets, priced £14, can be booked by visiting www.otleycourthouse.org.uk, calling (01943) 467466 or popping into the Courthouse, on Courthouse Street.

A few days beforehand meanwhile, on Sunday, May 19 the Courthouse will hold a number of events to mark World Bee Day.

Visitors will be able to find out more about Asian hornets, examine bees through a microscope and make beeswax candles during a 2pm and 5pm afternoon activities session.

And at 3.30pm a family friendly movie, Maya the Bee - about a rebellious, newly hatched hive member - will be shown. Admission is free but tickets need to be obtained from the venue.

Later, from 7pm to 7.30pm, Wharfedale Bee Keepers Association will hold a question and answer session about all things bee-related, before an evening movie, The Secret Life of Bees, is presented.

The film, about a grieving teenager who finds solace after being taken in by sisters involved in the world of beekeeping, starts at 7.45pm and is also free but places need to be booked.