Chris While and Julie Matthews
One of the finest and most loved duos on the British and World folk/roots stages.
“They light up the room with their amazing energy” James Taylor
“Truly gifted human beings” Richard Hawley
“Chris While is the best singer in England” Eddi Reader
Froots simply called Julie Matthews “awesomely talented”.
“The undisputed queens of British folk duos continue to come up with the goods, 1st class songs delivered with to die for harmonies, immaculate musicianship & melodies that lodge themselves in your brain” The Guardian
Chris While (vocals, guitar, banjo, dulcimer, bodhran and percussion) and Julie Matthews (vocals, piano, guitar, mandolin and bouzouki) are stunning singers, songwriters, musicians and performers whose energy and commitment to their craft and their audience is boundless. They are two of the best and most hard working musicians on the world folk roots scene, both are highly regarded producers and they record everything that they are involved in at their own studio in a small Pennine town far from the Londoncentric music industry. They truly are inspirational women.
With more than 25 years of unrivalled musical partnership and gathering numerous nominations, awards and critical acclaim along the way, much beloved British singer-songwriters Chris While and Julie Matthews celebrated a quarter of a century last year as one of the best loved and most prolific female duos to come out of this country.
They have played more than 2,600 gigs, appeared on over 100 albums, written hundreds of original songs and reached millions of people around the world. Now, 28 years after their debut, they sound as fresh and vital as ever.
Chris and Julie have been nominated ten times in the BBC Radio 2 Folk music awards in the ‘Best Song, Best Duo, Best Live Act’ categories and winning Best Duo in 2009 but it is their longstanding and devoted growing fans that they care about most. 2017 saw them perform at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Folk Awards alongside Boo Hewerdine, John McCusker and Kris Drever. They were performing songs from the Ballads Of Child Migration, a project that covers the sad history of forced child migration and became a major tour in November 2018.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival commissioned a celebratory ‘While & Matthews’ takeover in August 2019 for which the duo curated the Sunday on the Stage 2, featuring friends and collaborators such as Eddi Reader, Blair Dunlop and Charlie Dore, IOTA, and Burden Of Paradise with lead singer Helen Watson, their Daphne’s Flight sisters.
Running time approx. 130 minutes, including 20 minute interval. End time approx. 9.40pm.