About
About us
LGBTQIA+ people have always existed so where are they in our folk music, song, stories, and dance?
Queer Folk was born out of this question. We work to highlight LGBTQIA+ history and narratives buried in the archives, as well as amplify LGBTQIA+ artists today.
Queer Folk was founded by Sophie Crawford and George Sansome and now encompasses a network of many more musicians, dancers, songwriters, music fans, and likeminded LGBTQIA+ people.
Through residencies at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and with Britten Pears Arts, Sophie and George found a wealth of queer folk songs and material ripe to be queered. They often get together to perform these songs, give talks, and lead workshops on queer folk music.
Queer Folk run regular Queer Ceilidh Dance Parties at Cecil Sharp House in London, a monthly radio show at Voices Radio, and often host workshops, concerts, and LGBTQIA+ artist showcases. Check out our events page to see what we’ve got on!
Our Team
Sophie Crawford
Sophie Crawford’s album Silver Pin was Mainly Norfolk’s album of the year in 2018, and her theatre work includes War Horse (West End), Translunar Paradise (International Tour), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe), As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe).
George Sansome
George Sansome is a musician based in Leeds, UK. He has been a member of trad English trio Granny’s Attic since 2009, on guitar and vocals. He also performs in a duo with Matt Quinn, and regularly plays for dancing with a number of ceilidh bands. His debut solo album was one of Songlines magazine’s Essential 10 Folk Albums of 2020.
Lisa Heywood
Lisa Heywood is a ceilidh and barn dance caller with over 10 years of experience teaching dances at festivals, parties, weddings and other events across the UK. She is known for her creative and enthusiastic style, and aims to make every dance as inclusive as possible. She has been vocal in her promotion of “gender-free” calling – teaching the dance moves without any reference to gender – and creating safer spaces at folk dances. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row talking about gender free calling.