Stick in the Wheel

Hailing from London, Stick in the Wheel operate as a British folk ensemble. Nicola Kearney on vocals and Ian Carter handling guitar, production, and accordion established the project, later joined in performance by their close associates Ellie, Fran, and Si. The collective set out to blend an array of sounds stretching from traditional folk through alternative electronic music to indie folk, resulting in original material that they wrote, tracked, and presented across London and nearby locales. Their first release, the EP titled EP 1, appeared in April 2013, with a second effort, Cuts—produced solely for BBC Radio 2—following in February 2014. Bones, their next EP, surfaced that May, preceding the independent full-length From Here in 2015. At the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards that year the group earned nods for Best Emerging Act and Best Traditional Track with “Bedlam.” A split single alongside the U.K. political folk outfit Lynched arrived in 2016. The following year brought From Here: English Folk Field Recordings, an assortment of live performances captured at sites throughout the country alongside supporters and other folk devotees to document the contemporary landscape. Stick in the Wheel delivered their second album, Follow Them True, in 2018. After issuing the follow-up live collection From Here: English Folk Field Recordings, Vol. 2 and the second mixtape Against the Loathsome Beyond, the band unveiled their third LP, Hold Fast, toward the end of 2020.