With their unique blend of sizzling Balkan and Klezmer tunes, Lancaster's Balkanics Band deliver a big-band sound that ranges from driving dance rhythms to moments of melancholic introspection.

Since forming in 2007 they have been gigging throughout the northwest of England to increasingly large and enthusiastic audiences. Their idiosyncratic style reflects the diverse musical backgrounds of the band members, which include Balkan, Klezmer, traditional Irish, Scottish and English music, as well as rock, dance and classical.

The band are:

Jane Lawrence: Fiddle.

Jane is well known for her fiddle playing in the North West, and as well as working full-time as a music teacher she has also run fiddle workshops, such as the popular HoBow group. She has played with several groups, including the trio, Tabuka, and was a founder member of the group Chouchenn. Jane’s enduring musical influence is Klezmer music and it is from her repertoire that much of the band’s Klezmer material is drawn.

Hugh Tuffen: Cello.

Hugh comes from a background in classical music but always felt that Bach and Dvorak were essentially folk music played by serious people. Since last summer he's been discovering the fun to be had playing folk music folk style and now there's no looking back!

Sian Phillips: Accordion.

Sian has a background in theatre and circus has worked with Horse and Bamboo, and D.N.A Puppets in Preston. She has played with Mojas (African jazz band West Wales) Cloud Cuckoo Machynlleth, T’it Filles, Cajun music in Bangor, Dynamo Zetor, Leeds, Pete Keelan and Whak, Perth, Australia, Vardos (briefly) Australia and found The Balkanics Band in Lancaster of all places. She works as a music teacher and runs folk music workshops. Sian especially likes playing for dancing; as she says, “it brings this music alive”.

Roger Purves: Bouzouki, Guitar, Mandolin.

Roger's mandolin and bouzouki playing is about as rock-steady as it comes - his exciting, flowing style was developed in the years he spent among sessions in the West of Ireland and Northern England, and his repertoire serves as an impressive anthology of dance tunes from Ireland, Scotland, Eastern Europe and beyond. Roger graduated on the Folk & Traditional music degree at the University of Newcastle upon-Tyne in 2005.

Paul Ferguson: Fiddle, Guitar.

Paul is from Cumbria. He plays the fiddle from a largely Irish perspective, and the guitar with a possible lack of perspective. He eats a lot of cheese and likes the sound of water. His fiddle is the most expensive thing he owns - which isn't saying a lot. Paul spent a lot of time in the 80s and 90s playing in the west of Ireland, as well as spending a few summers playing in Brittany. In the mid 90s he had a brief stint with Cumbrian band Striding Edge, but then due to injury spent the best part of the last 12 years unable to play a note. Aside from a short period with Roger and Joe in Crooked Lune in 2007, on the few occasions he has been able he has spent most of his time playing fiddle in the pub.

Dan Fox: Percussion.

Dan Fox is a freelance musician, artist and techie. He plays percussion, trombone, melodeon, bellophone and laptop and in The Balkanics Band he plays a home made percussion kit. He has a background in theatre and grew up on the road with 'Welfare State International' and spent five years in Holland learning to play in odd time signatures and creating large scale outdoor shows with Dogtroep. Dan also co directs and makes the instruments for Boom Dang percussion band, founded 'Anglo-Dutch quartet Salt', plays bass drum in the jazz sreetband 'Tongues of Fire' and is one half of flamenco duo Fitz & Fox. Dan often works with sound and has built a directional audio system called Hysss. Last year he started the festival radio station Solfest FM. He recently worked with Cornerhouse and FACT to make two interactive wireless backpacks that trigger sound and video and is currently developing an interactive touring installation combining sound, video and puppets called Shadow Play.