“Jon Wilks is the real deal. He has a deep love for folk music which is coupled with intelligence, curiosity and musicianship. He is a fine guitar player, a really good singer and an excellent writer to boot. What he does is capture the essence of his material.”
Martin Simpson
“Jon’s a badman fingerpicking guitarist and leading exponent of the songs of old Albion.”
Carl Barât, The Libertines
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Shorter version
Jon Wilks is a singer, songwriter, and “badman fingerpicking guitarist” (Carl Barât, The Libertines) known for his deeply personal take on English folk music. Formerly an editor at Time Out, he draws on storytelling instincts to perform songs steeped in memory, place, and tradition. His albums Midlife and Up the Cut explored Birmingham’s folk heritage, while Before I Knew What Had Begun I Had Already Lost was named Folk Album of the Month in The Guardian. His fifth solo album, Needless Alley (2025), is a patchwork of memories — “what you’d find if you rummaged around in my head for an afternoon.” He performs solo and with his occasional band, The Grizzly Folk.
Longer version
Jon Wilks is a singer, songwriter and acclaimed fingerpicking guitarist whose work is rooted in English folk traditions, memory, and place. Described by The Quietus as being “at the centre of the current folk scene,” he began by exploring traditional songs from Birmingham and the wider Midlands, releasing two regionally focused albums: Midlife (2018) and Up the Cut (2021). His fourth solo album, Before I Knew What Had Begun I Had Already Lost (2023), was named Folk Album of the Month in The Guardian, and his latest, Needless Alley (2025), marks a shift toward original, autobiographical songwriting. “If you’re looking for a thread,” he says, “maybe it’s the way we carry the past with us, whether we mean to or not. For me, the album is a patchwork of memories — what you’d find if you rummaged around in my head for an afternoon.”
A former journalist for Time Out, The Guardian, and Dazed & Confused, Wilks brings a sharp storytelling sensibility to his songwriting and stagecraft. He founded and was the original editor of Tradfolk.co, and has been featured regularly on BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show. He performs both solo and with his occasional band, The Grizzly Folk. In 2025, he co-curates The Life and Songs of Martin Carthy, a major tribute concert at EartH, London, featuring Graham Coxon, Peggy Seeger, Billy Bragg and many more folk luminaries.