WITH a career spanning six decades, one of folk music’s longest running bands will bring their pioneering sound to Bury.

Steeleye Span have played with the likes of The Who, Led Zeppelin and Fairport Convention, and are now headlining the Homegrown Festival.

The performance, on Saturday, October 15, will see audiences enjoying a sound which links the classic days of rock with folk, playing music in a contemporary, electric band format, as well as tracks from their newly recorded album, Up Until Now ... Dodgy Bastards.

Bass player Rick Kemp said: “It’s always good to play in Bury, it’s one of my favourite places.

“The event itself sounds like it will be good fun and there will be lots of people, I haven’t seen for a long time.

“As always with Steeleye, there are some old favourites. We will be playing songs from Wintersmith, which was the album we wrote in collaboration with Sir Terry Pratchett.

“We are also excited to be playing two or three tracks from the first two albums, Hark! The Village Wait and Please to See the King.

“The main thing is that we will be playing some tracks from the new album with the rather cryptic name Up Until Now ... Dodgy Bastards. This should be out in time to be sold at the ‘merch’ desk.”

Steeleye helped changed the face of folk music, taking it from small clubs and festivals into the world of chart topping albums and international tours, and has been home to a long list of some of the world’s finest musicians.

The current line-up features Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp, Liam Genockey, Julian Littman, Jessie May Smart and Andrew Sinclair.

Last year, The Essential Steeleye Span was released, drawn from their 20 years on the Park Records label.

Earlier this year, they played the Ramblin Man Festival and Copredy, and have dedicated the rest of their time to writing and recording songs for the new album.

The performance will take place at the Drill Hall, in the Castle Armoury, Castle Street, with doors opening at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £20 and are available at the box office on 0161 761 2216.

To find out more about the Homegrown Festival, which runs from Thursday until Saturday next week, visit themet.biz/homegrown.