Award-winning folk darling Megan Henwood is back – but with something more serious, emotional and dark. Don’t tell the purists! Tim Hughes finds out more

Megan Henwood has spent her young life immersed in folk music.

Since making her festival debut in Henley at the age of nine, through to winning the BBC Young Folk Award at 20, the Oxford singer-songwriter has been a darling of English folk, with her passionate take on lilting English roots music winning over crowds everywhere from Cropredy and Glastonbury to the purist heartlands of the Sidmouth and Cambridge folk festivals.

So, at 28, she can be forgiven for wanting to try something a little bit different.

For her new album, Megan has introduced elements of pop, soul and blues, while the lyrics reference personal experiences and even pain. The result is honest, emotional and dark – and all the better for it.

“It’s a lot less folky than the last one,” she tells me. “There are a few more electronic, world music and even hip-hop elements. I’ve never consciously written within any genre confines. The music that I listen to and appreciate is very wide, and I write as I go.

“If I only tried to write what I thought a folk audience would want to listen to, that would limit me.

“There’s a lot more scope and it’s a lot darker than the last record, but there’s also a more positive, feisty outlook.”

The album, Head, Heart, Hand took two years to make – including the time it took to build a recording studio with her brother Joe, with whom she won the BBC Young Folk Award and recorded debut Making Waves.

“It was built out of straw bales,” she says. Bales? I ask, certain I had misheard. “Yes, we took an old farm building near Wallingford, packed it with 580 straw bales and plastered over them. The texture is really good for sound insulation and acoustics.”

She goes on: “It has taken a long time to get the record done, but I didn’t want to feel any pressure or to turn my back on anything and rush things. I wanted it to take as long as it takes.”

Megan, who lives in Iffley Road, says the album is a real product of Oxford.

“I love Oxford,” she says. “I’ve been here for four years and find it a really inspirational place to live.”

Another big inspiration was her family, particularly her uncle, the eminent Cornish physiotherapist Louis Gifford, who died last year after a career helping others conquer pain.

“There are a few personal story songs and the title is from the last track on the album (Painkiller) about my uncle,” says Megan. “He was an open-minded forward thinker who healed thousands of people. He was a really inspirational man. It was amazing for me to capture what I’ve been trying to say for a long time.”

The record is not out until July, but Megan is showcasing tunes on a national tour which concludes at Oxford’s Holywell Music Room, on May 17. “I’ve had my head down but am coming out of my hiding place all guns blazing,” she says.

“It’s going to be a really special night. There’s an intimate vibe and that amazing room will suit our music.

“There’s a completely different atmosphere when you play these songs live – and people that maybe hadn’t thought my music was their tea bag are giving it a listen. I hope people aren’t put off by the fact it’s different – but I am not here to be put into a neat little box.”

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Megan Henwood plays Oxford’s Holywell Music Room on May 17. Support from Matt Chanarin and Rachel Ries. 
See meganhenwood.com 
Head, Heart, Hand, will be released July 10 on Dharma Records.