Bernard Hoskin is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based near Cambridge, England. He has been performing both solo and in various groups at folk clubs and festivals in England for fifteen years. His work has been influenced by a diverse range of artists including, Paul Simon, Bert Jansch, Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Papa Wemba as well as English and Celtic traditional music. Primarily a guitarist, he also plays bass, keyboards and mandolin.
In 1988-89 he was the lead singer and guitarist in the Cambridge folk group, Maverick, and since then he has continued to work as both a solo performer and in a duo with saxophone and flute player, Mike Clifford, of the blues group, The Backyard Band. From 1985 to 1995 he produced seven albums of his own songs that were released on cassette.
In December 1996, he released his first album on CD, "Second Chances", featuring new arrangements of the most popular songs from his previous recordings. As well as Mike Clifford, the band included Sandra O'Neill of Alias Grace on backing vocals plus Ian Newman on electric and double bass. This line up became the Bernard Hoskin Band who made their debut at the Sawston Folk Day in 1997 and performed at a number of clubs and festivals in 1998. Further solo performances followed in 1999.
An album of new material, "Look At The World", was recorded with this band in the summer of 1997 and was released in January 1998. It combined original material with modern arrangements of traditional songs. Marketed over the Internet the album has received air play on radio stations in Britain, America, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Portugal. British magazine Rock 'n' Reel described it as
"breezy folk-pop that is rich in melody, harmonies, and is as catchy as possible" with "technically brilliant guitar and vocals".
Independent Songwriter magazine in the USA wrote: "The future of the world, pollution, historical references, these are all covered with a driving and enthusiastic passion that can be felt from beginning to end of this project. Lyrical attention to detail and unusually hypnotic musical interpretation make this a fine indie product with deep substance".
Visit the club run by Bernard - 