Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Artists, Performers and Storytellers

Kerieva

Romany musician and activist Kerieva can entertain one moment and inspire the next. She’s equally at home playing the violin or singing on a stage or rabble rousing in Romany slums from Glasgow to Budapest. Her heritage is as diverse as her interests, she’s part Irish and part Manouche (French Romany) has a degree in performing arts and masters degree in human rights.

Kerieva is a mysterious and charismatic performer, who thoroughly engages her audiences. Her long-awaited self-titled album is now on general release. Her music traverses through a beguiling mix of influences – Gypsy jazz, ska, rhumba, cabaret and trad - sung in an array of languages including various dialects of Romanés, (the Gypsy language), enabling her to inhabit convincingly the characters of her songs.

Watching Kerieva live you can expect a theatrically expressive performance as she hauntingly recreates through the intensity of her voice, the sounds, flavours and visual landscapes of her intriguing life.

Read more about Kerieva >

Jake Bowers - Journalist, Romani Gypsy

Jake Bowers is a Romani journalist and a regular contributor to the Guardian and BBC Radio 4.

Up until this summer he presented 'Rokker Radio' every Sunday evening BBC Three Counties Radio's weekend programme for the travelling community.

The show focuses on the issues affecting the whole of the travelling community and provides an opportunity for them to talk about subjects which are rarely aired outside the community. The station hopes that by reporting their stories in a balanced way some of the myths about Gypsies and Travellers will be dispelled.

Jake says: "Rokker Radio is the only programme for Traveller communities on UK radio, and I think it will be the first time since the 1930's that the BBC has broadcast programming which is actually produced by a rural ethnic minority."

Jake discusses GRTHM >

Michael Collins - Writer and Actor, Irish Traveller

Michael is a professional actor and has been on TV, the Theatre and in Film. He also visits all parts of the UK performing and giving drama workshops to help inspire new talent.

Michael will be performing his play 'It's a Cultural Thing, or is it?' as part of GRTHM. You can view a clip below.

It's a Cultural Thing, or is it? >

Romani Rad

Romani Rad is a group of Roma dancers and musicians from Poland who are regular players in many different events and festivals throughout London and the UK.

Read more >

Romipen

Formed in April 2008 specially for Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month the members of Romipen are people who love Slovak and Gypsy folklore.

The ensemble consists of two parts: a Gypsy band of Marek Konček (Cigánska kapela Mareka Končeka) and solo dancers Vlado Michalko & Linda Luptáková.

Find out more >

Orchard Family

Tom, Jean and their son Ashley come from true Gypsy stock, a stock that has strong music traditions. Known as The Orchard Family, their ancestors have lived in Devon and Cornwall for more than 400 hundred years. All the Gypsies in that area would look forward to their families providing the entertainment at their gatherings such as fairs and weddings etc.

Tom learned to step dance and play his melodeon from his dad and started to play and dance in public when he was only 6 years old. Jean learned old traditional songs from her mother Amy Birch, who learned them from her mother. She learned to play the recorder at school and then taught herself the penny whistle after she married Tom. Their eldest son Richard always showed a keen interest in learning to play the melodeon and soon their family became a band when their 2nd and 3rd sons Nathan and Anthony started singing and playing the bodrahn and bones.

Sadly, Nathan and Anthony were killed in a car accident, while Richard married and had a family of his own. Soon after their youngest son Ashley took up the melodeon and brought the band back together. They play their old family traditional stuff and also modern folk that they have picked up along the way.

William Dundun - Musician, Storyteller, Irish Traveller

William grew up around Irish Music.

"It would have been a miracle not to pick it up. We enjoy telling and receiving stories and showing children that there is more to life than television. Travellers telling stories and playing music is important as many young children and the general public don't know what the Traveller and Gypsy community is like.

Jess Smith - Storyteller and Scottish Traveller

Jess is a best selling author and also travels the world telling stories

Jess Smith was raised in a large family of Scottish Travellers. As a traditional storyteller and writer she is in great demand for live performances and workshops throughout the UK.

Jess recorded an audio CD of seven stories called Dragonory for the Travellers Storytelling Project in Leeds in 2006. Though now sold out, you can listen to one of the stories below.

Listen to "Dragonory" >

Sheila Stewart MBE - Ballad Singer, Storyteller, Author, Scottish Traveller

Sheila comes from the family "The Stewarts of Blairgowrie" who are famous throughout the world for their songs and stories. They are Scottish Travellers who have an ancient, oral culture. "Ever since I was a child I was taught to sing the old ballads to carry on the tradition".

Listen to Sheila sing "Jock Stewart" >