The veteran old time traditional English deathfolk blues, and psych-folk musician mixes a huge variety of songs from his lengthy career with fascinating anecdotes. He is celebrating the 60th anniversary of his first gig in 2025.
 

“A vitally important figure in the history of folk, roots, acoustic and world music.” (Folk Radio UK)

“One of Britain's greatest but most neglected folk musicians.” (Shindig)

“An unashamed treat.” (Uncut) “Anderson's guitar playing is intricate and commanding.” (Mojo)

Ian A. Anderson – no, not that one! – began his solo musical career in the mid 1960s, heavily influenced by old country blues players, before taking a left-swerve in the early ’70s into what nowadays gets called ‘psych folk’, with a trio of songwriter/ guitarist albums for the pioneering and now highly collectable independent label Village Thing.

He eventually settled into a personal – and notably English – style, drawing from traditional folk, blues, old-time and world roots musics, making some dozen albums by the end of the 1980s with groups Hot Vultures (with Maggie Holland), the English Country Blues Band and Tiger Moth. Then after a break from live performances in the 1990s he returned to stages and recording this century, with the trio Blue Blokes 3 (with PiL’s Lu Edmonds and 3 Mustaphas 3’s Ben Mandelson), the duo The False Beards (again with Mandelson), a re-union tour by Hot Vultures in 2016 and a very effective double-header partnership with Northumbrian traditional music master Alistair Anderson as Not The Anderson Twins.

Over the years he’s appeared in multiple guises at most of the UK’s important folk/roots venues and festivals (from the very first Glastonbury to Cambridge, Sidmouth, Shrewsbury, WOMAD and many more).

Since 2017, he’s been enjoying performing and recording solo again, with repertoire and tales drawn from across those sixty years of experience.

Two recent well-received compilation CDs – Onwards! and Onwards Vol 2: A Crown Of Crows (on Ghosts From The Basement) – range over his entire recording career, and all his early solo albums were re-issued as the 4-CD boxed set Please Re-adjust Your Time by Cherry Red in 2021.

He now lives in Cambridge, from where he also produces and presents the long-running Podwireless podcast – covering “the world of folk, roots music and associated weirdos.”

Ian received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Folk Alliance International in 2019, the Gold Badge Award of the English Folk Dance & Song Society in 2015 and the Womex Award in 2010.

His long-awaited book ALIEN WATER: Six Decades Paddling In Unpopular Music is published by Ghosts From The Basement in 2025.