Barnsley folk favourite Kate Rusby will return to her roots later this year to play a gig in front of a home crowd.

 

Kate, who turned 40 last month, has been praised for reinvigorating the folk music genre while staying true to its roots. She is set to appear at Horizon Community College's theatre on March 29 from 7.30pm and tickets are expected to sell well.

 

Kate, who has headlined various British national folk festivals, is one of the most famous contemporary folk singers in England and was dubbed the 'Barnsley Nightingale' by veteran broadcaster Mike Harding.

 

She has been described as a 'superstar of the British acoustic scene' and 'the first lady of young folkies'. The mother-of-two, who is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize, was born into a family of musicians.

 

After learning to play guitar, the fiddle and piano, as well as learning to sing, she played in many local folk festivals as a child and teenager. Her first album was made with friend and fellow Barnsley singer, Kathryn Roberts, who won this year's Radio 2 Folk Award for best duo with her partner Sean Lakeman.

 

Kate's debut solo album, Hourglass, was released in 1995 and she's sold more than a million records and won four Radio 2 Folk Awards. Since then she has gone on to receive acclaim both in this country and abroad. Her family, parents Ann and Steve, along with brother Joe and sister Emma, continue to help her with her professional career and running the family label and studio, Pure Records, which is based in Barnsley.