Night Visiting: reviews

"Bella Hardy is from Derbyshire’s Peak District, a fine area for folk tradition and community singing. A finalist in the 2004 BBC Young Folk Awards and an ex-member of The Pack, her debut CD so album is a piece of wondrous beauty and inventive incisiveness."
Mike Tems, Taplas More »

**** "Brilliant" MOJO
"Brit folk's new young guns just keep coming. This astonishingly mature solo debut is from a Derbyshire fiddle singer, whose vocals have such depth and control she's being likened to June Tabor. Trad may be her forte, but Three Black Feathers and the catchy Alone, Jane? prove she's also an imaginative writer who can do rousing as well as melancholy. "
MOJO February 2008 issue

"This must be amongst the most promising and interesting debut albums in a long time.....certainly a name to watch"
The Folk Diary More »

"... an excellent English folk disc from one of the brightest young talents in the UK; her mesmerising vocals and fiddle playing are exceptional, and as a debut album it's one of the most striking in recent memory."
Fish Records More »

"...Bella Hardy is more than a new generation folk revivalist... Her potential is massive. Meanwhile this is an exciting, accomplished debut."
fROOTS More »

"Bella's singing is both strong in itself and strikingly maturely characterised, with a bold confidence in expression wherein she fearlessly sets forth her own personal interpretation."
David Kidman, NetRythms More »

"Bella Hardy sings folk songs not as interesting museum pieces but as human artworks with enduring validity."
Nigel Schofield, Tykes News More »

"All good folk music has a sense of roots and there are so many brilliant young musicians with fire in their bellies who've fully absorbed this we really shouldn't be diverted by vacuous sideshows taking its name in vain. Rachel Unthank & the Winterset. Lisa Knapp. Tim Van Eyken. Bella Hardy. Mawkin. The Gloworms. These are a few of my favourite things. Inventive, passionate artists who completely understand the nature of their music."
Colin Irwin, Mojo Blog; The "F" Word More »

"Superb debut album from the young Derbyshire singer/fiddler, aided by Corinna Hewat, Askew Sisters & others. Arresting delivery and arrangements of mainly trad classics; two original songs also shine."
BBC Radio 2

"Bella Hardy's debut CD is wonderful. She has a lovely voice, clear, strong and musical, and she has the best ballad-singer's gift of being able to tell a tale in song so you want to listen to the words.

She accompanies herself imaginatively on fiddle, and is joined by several excellent musicians. I like all the tracks, but particularly the haunting Down in Yon Forest – with great vocal harmonies from Emma and Joe Hardy. None of the songs in this varied collection are easy to perform, but Bella's delivery is always excellent."
Berlie Doherty: Ringing Roger, September 2007-10-10