ABOUT
Jenn Butterworth is one of the most notable folk guitarists in the UK acoustic music scene. In recent years she was awarded ‘Musician of the Year’ from the Scots Trad Music Awards, and was nominated for the same title in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. An excellent collaborator, she works with a range of high profile folk music projects, including Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton’s SYMBIOSIS, award winning folk powerhouses Kinnaris Quintet, Treacherous Orchestra and Fiddlers’ Bid, supergroup ‘Songs of Separation’ involving an array of prominent folk artists including Eliza Carthy, Lady Maisery and Karine Polwart. The Songs of Separation album, conceived, arranged and recorded in just 7 days, won the title of ‘Best Album’ at the Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2017.
She is also well known for her duo work, and regularly performs with Kinnaris Quintet rhythm section partner Laura-Beth Salter, and virtuosic harmonica player Will Pound.
In recent years she has performed on a host of award winning and nominated studio albums, including Kinnaris Quintet’s ‘Free One’, which was longlisted for Scottish Album of the Year in 2019. In the same year, Kinnaris Quintet won the coveted ‘Belhaven Award for Innovation in Traditional Music’.
Jenn is also a highly recognised teacher with a wide range of teaching experience, and was recently awarded ‘Tutor of the Year’ at the 2015 Scots Trad Music Awards. She is a lecturer and ‘Creative Producer’ in the Traditional Music Department of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is a regular member of the teaching staff for Glasgow Fiddle Workshop and has recently taught for Fèisean nan Gàidheal, the National Youth Folk Ensemble (EFDSS), Halsway Manor & Burg Fürsteneck (Germany).
“Butterworth powers the show with driving guitar.”The Metro
EQUIPMENT
JENN’S 2023 LIVE SETUP
Martin D-41 Sunburst (standard tuning)
Neural DSP Quad Cortex or Grace FELiX preamp
Shure Beta 58
Elixir Phosphor Bronze Nanoweb guitar strings (gauge .13)
Blue Chip TD30 picks or Dunlop Prime Tone Smooth teardrop picks (.73)
WATCH
Subscribe to Jenn’s YouTube channel for more video performances.
NEWS
- Celtic Connections 2023It’s been an amazing festival so far, and so great to be back to full capacity gigs! Here’s a list of my appearances this… Read more: Celtic Connections 2023
- Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth: New AlbumI’m excited to announce that I’m releasing a new album with harmonica extraordinaire Will Pound on 24th February 2023. Pre-orders are now available, we’ll… Read more: Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth: New Album
PATREON
Looking for guitar lessons?
I have a series of video guitar tutorials and performances available on my Patreon page. I also occasionally teach in-person and online lessons, but can’t do this on a regular basis due to other commitments. You can also support me and my musical endeavours through the Patreon site.
PROJECTS
KINNARIS QUINTET GROUNDBREAKING CONTEMPORARY TRAD MUSIC STRING BAND
JENN BUTTERWORTH & LAURA-BETH SALTER MANDOLIN AND GUITAR DUO, WITH HARMONY SONGS AND UPBEAT TUNES
WILL POUND & JENN BUTTERWORTH VIRTUOSIC HARMONICA AND GUITAR
ROSS AINSLIE & ALI HUTTON / SYMBIOSIS HIGH OCTANE BAGPIPES, BEAUTIFUL SLOW AIRS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
THE BLAS COLLECTIVE TRAD MUSIC EXPERIMENTAL JAM RESIDENCY IN ONE OF GLASGOW’S FAMOUS AND MUCH LOVED MUSIC BARS, BAR BLOC
2023 COLLABORATIONS ALSO INCLUDE:
JENN BUTTERWORTH & ALICE ALLEN (ALBUM IN DEVELOPMENT)
TREACHEROUS ORCHESTRA
THE CLAIRE HASTINGS BAND
FIDDLERS’ BID