Kirsty Merryn is one of the most arresting and unconventional young singer songwriters on the UK folk roots scene, with a style uniquely her own.
London-based, New Forest-born Kirsty launched her debut album She & I at London’s Union Chapel in 2017 whilst supporting Show of Hands on their extensive UK Cathedrals tour.
Kirsty has been championed by Show of Hands’ frontman Steve Knightley after he met her while teaching at an EFDSS songwriting retreat for upcoming folk singer songwriters. She went on to open for Show of Hands at their headline appearance at Sidmouth Folk Week in 2016, and supported them over the 22 nights of their Cathedral’s tour of the UK, at the end of 2017, performing to around 14,000 people along the way.
Beguiling and mercurial, Kirsty’s music is heavily anchored in the folk tradition with jazz and classical backwaters. But it has a much wider reach, with her influences ranging from Cara Dillon to Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush - emphatic piano-based songs with sharply observed lyrics, packaged with panache in elegant, beautifully balanced settings and delivered in crystal clear, assured vocals.
Kirsty has received extensive air play including the Mike Harding Folk Show, national airplay on the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show, the BBC 3 World Music show, as well as many regional BBC channels, and is receiving fantastic reviews. Her debut album reached number 3 in the Amazon Folk charts and continues to receive great reviews from newspapers including The Guardian, The Sunday Express and many more.