The Magpie Arc

The Magpie Arc is a cross-border British folk-rock project formed in 2019, built around the songwriting partnership and mutual admiration between singer-fiddler Nancy Kerr and Scottish songwriter Adam Holmes, alongside bassist Alex Hunter and multi-instrumentalist/drummer/producer Tom A. Wright, with celebrated guitarist Martin Simpson completing the original electric line-up. The band introduced itself with a run of releases across 2020–2021 (including the EP trilogy EP1, EP2 and EP3), pairing new originals with sharply reworked traditional material and covers such as “Loretta” and “What You Do With What You’ve Got,” and establishing Kerr (fiddle/vocals), Simpson (guitars/vocals), Holmes (beltar guitar/vocals), Hunter (bass) and Wright (drums plus guitars/keys) as its initial core. In 2022, Findlay Napier replaced Holmes as a front-line writer and vocalist/guitarist, and the group’s live profile rose quickly through UK festival stages, including high-visibility appearances that fed into their first full-length statement, Glamour In The Grey (2022), which entered the UK Official Folk Chart at number 9 and maintained a long chart run. Through 2023 the band kept momentum with broadcast sessions and continued touring, while curating its own annual Indoor Festival of Folk at London’s Cecil Sharp House, positioning the project as both a gigging unit and a scene-facing hub. After completing its 2025 summer commitments, Simpson stepped down, with Sam Carter joining as a touring guitarist, and the band moved into its next chapter with Gil Brenton (2025) and the single “The Mantle,” which featured guest appearances from Maddy Prior and Ian Anderson.

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