OKEHAMPTON-based folk arts charity Wren Music presents a solo concert by Phil Beer, one of the UK?s most popular folk and roots artists, on Saturday October 6, at the town?s Fairplace Church. Phil is probably best known as one half of the immensely popular Devon duo Show Of Hands, over the last fifteen years, regularly selling out major venues such as London?s Royal Albert Hall. The duo was voted Best Live Act in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2004, capped only by being voted most famous Devonian in a 2007 BBC poll! Phil Beer?s reputation as a multi-instrumental wizard, on fiddle and on anything plucked (mandolin, guitar, cuatro, ukulele, etc, etc), has gained him international status for decades. Yet these rare skills also have their roots in the musical traditions of Southwest England. He was born in Exminster, Devon, and his mother, who is Cornish, still plays organ in her local chapel; in his spare time, his father was a violinist in local dance bands. Phil first began to play fiddle, guitar and mandolin whilst still at school in Teignmouth. He played his first gig when he was 14 and by the time he was 16 he was performing regularly. He joined the Albion Band in 1984 and stayed with them until 1991, touring extensively at home and abroad, and recorded many albums. His virtuosity has been frequently called on for session work, most notably on the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels album. The concert will also feature a supporting performance from The Wren Band with excerpts from their new show Songs and Stories of the Greenwood. The Wren Band brings together two generations of Westcountry musicians and singers firmly at the forefront of the folk tradition. Marilyn Tucker, Paul Wilson, David Faulkner and Matt Norman are all singers, as well as playing bagpipes, accordion, mandolin, whistles, guitars and tabors. Tickets for the concert are £8 full price or £6 for full-time students and people in receipt of income-related benefit, and are available from Wren Music, 1 St James Street, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1DW. Cheques should be made payable to Wren. Advance booking is recommended to ensure a seat. For further information, contact Wren Music by email [email protected]">[email protected] or call 01837 53754.