Ben Calvert & The swifts are a Post-Folk band who sometimes live in Birmingham. In their first year together have played a sell-out show as support to The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band, and opened for Erland & The Carnival and Hannah Peel, and Admiral Fallow, as well as playing a 90 minute set to a packed out Birmingham Symphony Hall. This Summer they played their first London show on the Headline Stage at St Pancras Station Sessions Festival. In September they played at Moseley Folk Festival on a bill with Villagers and Willy Mason.

Ben Calvert & The Swifts debut album Festive Road (BoJu304) will be released on Bohemian Jukebox on Monday 31st October. With string tracks produced by Bob Lamb (Ocean Colour Scene) there’s fun and darkness a plenty at the circus on the end of the pier as Summer fades away and Winter kicks in. The first single from the album, Everybody Loves Lucy has already received National and local BBC radio airplay.

The strongman has had his power taken away from him on a fortune teller’s whim! The ringmaster is on his last legs! The trick cyclist has turned to cheap Italian wine! Meanwhile, the ghost of Mr Ben takes a stroll around his old haunts. A relentless wind blows tabloids around, bringing the news of the latest exploits of Peter Andre and Katie Price… Northern English strings, maudlin horns, a church organ, a bluesy piano, and toy instrumentation join guitars and drums on an album that takes Post-Folk as it’s base then nods schizophrenically in the direction of both Scott Walker’s darkest moments and Syd Barrett at his most LSD-soaked and child-like.