An award-winning Scottish and English duo with a love of traditional music to play in Presteigne

An award-winning Scottish and English musical duo will be performing in Presteigne later this month.

Janice Burns and Jon Doran came together after discovering a shared love of traditional music. Their songs tell vivid stories about the nature of life and our place in the world.

Burns and Doran’s storytelling comes alive through close vocal harmonies and sensitive interplay between mandolin, bouzouki and guitar.

Their arrangements have a spellbinding presence and an understated energy that transports songs from the pages of books and manuscripts into the imagination of the listener.

With their relaxed and personable approach to performance, Burns and Doran are renowned for the warmth of their connection with audiences.

From Stage 2 at Cambridge Folk Festival, to Celtic Connections, Edinburgh Tradfest and Cecil Sharp House, the duo are highly sought after across the UK and beyond.

They’ve performed in top venues across Europe, including Tivoli Vredenburg (Utrecht), Le Trianon (Paris), and Islington Assembly Hall (London) whilst on a support tour with pagan folk outfit, FAUN.

In January 2026, they were invited to perform their songs with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, with arrangements written by Pippa Murphy as part of a Celtic Connections concert celebrating the best of Scottish song.

The duo’s second studio album, Great Joy to the New, is a culmination of the years they’ve known each other and their own yearly tradition of exploring folk songs centred around the theme of winter. One of the biggest rewards of this album was collaborating with Jon Boden to write arrangements for a 5-piece brass band. The album still showcases the quiet, intimate moments that Burns & Doran are known for, with the occasional moments of delight or sentimentality that a brass band can bring.

They will be playing at The Assembly Rooms in Presteigne on Saturday, November 28, 2026, at 8pm, with doors open at 7.30pm.

The duo's winter gigs have become something of a tradition over the last few years, and they’re heading out to perform the songs from Great Joy to the New one last time before a well-deserved break.

People have always forged customs to survive the winter, with rituals that bring people together and bring light to the dark nights. These rituals have often been born of necessity. Beautiful, colourful, musical traditions, linked by the common cause of sustaining us spiritually, mentally, or financially through a harsh winter.

Burns & Doran’s album and live show explore these themes through a collection of traditional folk songs about Christmas, winter, and optimism for the new year.

Tickets are £15 for adults and £10 for under 25's and they are available at The Workhouse Gallery, Presteigne or online at: https://wegottickets.com/f/21301