AHHH... folk music! Woolly jumpers, pewter tankards, and blokes with bushy beards wassailing (whatever that is).

Or at least, that’s what it used to be like – well, a bit. Now, of course, folk is sexy.

Inspired by our islands’ rich, and often unsung, musical heritage, a younger generation of folkies is making British roots music hot news.

And at the forefront of the new wave of English folk is Yorkshire lass Eliza Carthy, right.

The daughter of folk royalty – Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy – she has helped revitalise what had become a tired and dusty genre.

Twice nominated for the Mercury Prize, Eliza has a groaning trophy cabinet, bagging scores of accolades over 20 years. She is also, surreally, an artist in residence in Antarctica.

Last week, Eliza launched her new album Neptune, and gives us a taste this weekend when she headlines our very own Wood Festival, before returning to the area with a set at Wychwood Festival, in Cheltenham, on June 5.

Keen listeners may notice it is a far more stripped-down and intimate affair than 2008’s Dreams of Breathing Underwater.

She said: “It’s just me and my lovely, talented and stylish band in a room playing together, like the Romans did, in a couple of weeks.

“The material on the album is ordered chronologically and is about the last 10 years of my life.

“I’m still an old romantic though and partial to odd quotes from old television programmes.”