Folk duo Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow round off their autumn tour with the final show in the Colne Valley.

They will play Slaithwaite Civic Hall on Saturday, December 23, at 7.30pm, and so the Golcar musicians are truly coming home for Christmas.

They are touring their album WinterFolk, a collection of original, contemporary and traditional winter songs.

The album reflects on some of the darker hued aspects of yuletide, considering the season in an alternative, real way, from the absence or loss of children to domestic violence at Christmas, from global warming to poverty, religion, displacement, migration and loneliness.

Together with an invitation to indulge in some of the real gorgeousness of winter, by the fireside, a favourite record playing, glass in hand, it could also be described as ‘The Introvert’s Guide to Christmas’.

BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner Ben Walker has contributed timeless, contemporary classical string arrangements, reminiscent of the melancholic beauty of Max Richter and the iconic arrangements of Nick Drake’s songs by Harry Robinson.

Belinda and Heidi have recomposed some of their own winter songs from early albums Silent June and The Fragile into mature, poignant and considered interpretations.

They have also written their very own WinterFolk Carol, confirming their reputation as ‘exceptional songwriters’, earning them three Radio 2 Folk Award nominations, two five star reviews in The Guardian and three appearances in Mojo’s Top 10 Folk Albums of the Year.

Having the originality and skill to invite comparison with the most celebrated harmony duos, from early Simon and Garfunkel to the iconic Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Belinda and Heidi’s powerful, deeply moving and soulful

performances are infused with an honesty and empathy that has the quality to disarm the hardest of hearts.

O’Hooley & Tidow are at the forefront of the contemporary folk music scene, whether recording and touring extensively in their duo, leading refugee and migrant musicians in their recent Arts Council England commission The Passerine or inviting other political and feminist musicians to join them in their trailblazing super group Coven.