"On the Lonely Water is the admirable début EP from singer Mary Bateman - simple but effective throughout. Both Mary's vocals and her guitar accompaniment have the same pleasing softness and warmth to them."
Mary Bateman is a traditional folk singer and guitarist based in Wells, Somerset. After having spent some time dabbling in the London open mic arena, soaking up the lengthy Morris traditions and varied folk songs on the Oxford folk scene, and picking up the dockmen's ballads and sea shanties of the Bristol folk circuit, Mary has returned to her home county of Somerset to find out more about the county's rich history of people's song, and to begin work on writing a new collection of songs about the stories and landscapes of Somerset.
Stylistically, Mary's music is influenced by the highly-decorated Irish Sean-nós tradition, and Mary's sets often feature tradition folk music from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, as well as England and even some American folk songs. Major musical influences include Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, Jackie Oates, Anne Briggs, Niamh Parsons, Paddy and Brigid Tunney, Mary Dillon, Muireann Nic Ambhlaoimh, and Karan Casey.
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She released her acclaimed debut EP, On the Lonely Water, in July 2017.
You can stream or purchase her music on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, or get in touch to buy a CD copy of her EP.