Recognized among the foremost British folk musicians of his era, Jon Boden—who sings, plays fiddle, and handles guitar—gained attention in the late 2000s through his leadership of the popular festival act Bellowhead, yet he also sustained an active path apart from the ensemble that persisted after its breakup in 2016. Beginning in 2011 he has sustained an enduring collaboration with John Spiers, while additionally assembling the Remnant Kings and issuing several ambitious solo efforts, among them Rose in June in 2019.
Although born in Chicago in 1977, he grew up in Winchester, England, where he pursued medieval studies at Durham and later obtained a master’s degree in composition for musical theater from the London College of Music. Boden encountered his enduring musical associate John Spiers unexpectedly in an Oxford pub; the two quickly became close companions and established the duo Spiers & Boden, with Spiers on melodeon and Boden contributing fiddle, guitar, and vocals. Their first recording, Through & Through, appeared on Fellside in 2001, and further duo albums followed. In 2004 the pair launched the eleven-piece “folk big band” Bellowhead for a performance at the Oxford Folk Festival. The group’s energetic, boisterous approach quickly resonated, especially among younger listeners, and they ultimately produced five well-received studio albums, all featuring Boden as frontman and chief arranger, before disbanding in 2016.
His first solo release, Painted Lady, came out in 2006. The ambitious post-apocalyptic song cycle Songs from the Floodplain arrived in 2009, and he promoted it on tour with the newly formed Remnant Kings. Boden consistently championed the social and democratic potential of folk music, emphasizing its accessibility to ordinary people. In 2010 he launched the A Folk Song a Day initiative, recording and posting one traditional song daily on its website throughout an entire year, later gathering the tracks into twelve monthly albums. During Spiers & Boden’s 2013 Backyard tour, the duo tailored sets to each venue’s locale by incorporating audience suggestions. Following Bellowhead’s dissolution, Boden commenced work on his third solo album, Afterglow, issued in 2017. Like its predecessor it employed a post-apocalyptic theme, yet it adopted a grittier, urban character shaped by prog rock and world music. Supported by the Remnant Kings, he reemerged in 2019 with Rose in June, blending original compositions and traditional material.
