FOLKROOM PRESENTS: Mikey Kenney

“Mikey Kenney is a rare gem. He’s like a walking tune book, and his dedication to keeping the old music of his native Lancashire alive is something to be cherished. He’s seen a lot and he’s played a lot and his music positively drips with the wisdom and experience he’s picked up along the way.”- Jon Wilks

“… unfettered by expectations of geography or genre, and a wanderer of worlds both seen and invisible, Kenney is an authentic free spirit” – fRoots

Mikey Kenney is primarily a respected fiddle player, singer, songwriter and composer from Liverpool, but he is also a multi-instrumentalist, often performing many of the parts on his recordings with his banjo, mandolin, guitar or melodeon. No need for this gig, though: for his return to Peggy’s Skylight, Mikey brings his acclaimed trio show.

Kenney is very much the musical outsider artist; he is hailed by many as an important conduit of learning, conserving and handing down both English and Irish traditional fiddle music in England’s Northwest (previously as the musical director for the Lancashire Youth Folk Ensemble, and currently as the Vice-Chair at Comhaltas Liverpool) and yet he is constantly composing alternative and progressive music of his own with his last two releases ‘Counsel of Owls‘ and ‘The Reverie Road‘ receiving widespread acclaim.

For Kenney, both of these releases served as stepping stones in his artistic disciplines, as he seeks a way to use his knowledge of traditional fiddle music in his own compositions without compromising the integrity of either. Through direct experience, Kenney allows other musical forms such as psychedelia, bluegrass, jazz and Italian tarantella to seep into his music but never so far as to allow any one influence to dominate his deep love for traditional fiddle playing. The result of crossing these stones is his recent album, ‘Tiny Little Light’, which was released in September 2025.

‘Tiny Little Light’ is, with the exception of two instrumentals, a collection of songs written around original fiddle tunes in keeping with traditional forms but progressive in their arrangement and instrumentation. Kenney considers it his finest work yet and the truest expression of a life devoted to his craft.

Opening for Mikey’s trio, we welcome back Rosie Brownhill, an instrumentalist and composer from Staffordshire. Rosie’s music is sumptuous and pastoral, the perfect folk soundtrack as we look forward to the summer months ahead.

Line up:
Mikey Kenney
Rosie Brownhill