·September 2, 2026·2 min read

Floyds Row Make Old Folk Songs Feel Lived-In on The Carlisle Sessions

Floyds Row’s The Carlisle Sessions reaches pretty far back. The group has grown from an Oxford-based project into a folk-classical collective drawing from early music, folk, and classical traditions, with performances across the UK and US along the way. BroadwayWorld has described their sound as a meeting point between “chamber elegance” and “folk resonance,” and that balance comes through clearly here. Across 5 tracks, the EP pulls from folk songs, dance tunes, and texts that have been passed around for centuries.

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Centuries-old music, without the museum treatment

“George Washington’s Favorite Cotillion” opens the record with accordion, strings and percussion moving at an easy clip. It is bright and nimble, with the violin carrying much of the melodic character while the rhythm underneath keeps nudging the piece forward. There is classical precision here, but not classical stiffness.

Emily Noël enters on “Henry Martin,” and her soprano immediately changes the texture of the record. Her voice is remarkably clear against the darker instrumental backdrop. Floyds Row are smart about how much they put around her, too. The arrangement stays sparse enough for the story to remain the point.

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“Jackaroe” continues in that vein, although there is more weight to it. Noël’s controlled vocal sits against violin, accordion and strings without either side competing for attention. Then “Maiden Lane / Kettle Drum” drops the vocals altogether. It is probably the most playful stretch of the EP, with the ensemble leaning into the dance origins of the music and letting the rhythm do the work.

The closer, “The Song of Robin Hood & His Huntes-Men,” is an interesting curveball. Chris Ferebee composed new music around historical Robin Hood text, yet it doesn’t sound noticeably newer than anything surrounding it. That says quite a bit about how naturally Floyds Row understand this musical language.

Old texts find a new musical home

At just under twenty minutes, The Carlisle Sessions doesn’t overstay its welcome. More importantly, it doesn’t try too hard to convince you that this music is historically important. Floyds Row simply play it well enough to remind you why people kept playing it in the first place.