Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden – The Wassail Christmas Tour 2025

Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden – The Wassail Christmas Tour 2025

Tuesday 18th November 2025, 7:30pm (doors open 7pm)

Location: Huntingdon Hall, Crowngate, Worcester, WR1 3LD

Tickets: £28.00 – available from the Worcester Theatres Box Office or call 01905 611427

Before there was carolling, there was wassailing, where seasonal songs were exchanged for money, food and ale. In the countryside trees were blessed, while in the towns wassaillers went house to house with their songs and calls for Christmas treats. Coming from the Anglo Saxon waes hael, ‘wassail’ is a toast wishing good health with a ‘be well’.

In November/December 2025 Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden combine their considerable talents and reputations within the UK folk scene, touring as a duo once again, for a nationwide wassail across key venues. Presenting seasonal, traditional material on a stage decorated for the occasion, they will take audiences back to some of the oldest songs in the English canon, telling Christmas tales, spreading good cheer and lighting up the darkest days of the year, ahead of Christmas Day itself.

In 2023 The Wassail hit the road for its first full tour, supported by the release of the seasonal album, ‘Glad Christmas Comes’ (Hudson Records):

‘Beautiful music from two of our very finest and most valuable artists currently working; Glad Christmas Comes is a very easy album to love.’ Folk Radio UK

The tour sold out in venues across the UK, with over 90% of tickets sold across the whole tour.

After a two year break, The Wassail returns to a host of very special venues in November/December 2025. Get your tickets while they are still available.

Jon Boden

One half of Spiers & Boden, lead singer of the mighty Bellowhead and with his own successful career as a soloist and with Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings and Jon Boden & The Remnant Strings, Jon has been a major name in English folk music for over twenty years with more BBC Folk Awards than any other artist. Add in a performance in the Hollywood movie About Time, his role singing/playing the theme tunes of both the BBC Radio 2 Folk show, The Archers and the Beyond Paradise TV series, and his place as a respected singer songwriter for both theatre and the folk scene, there is no question that Jon is a musical force to be reckoned with. Together with John Spiers, he also did a stint in The Ratcatchers, the backing band for Eliza Carthy in the mid-noughties, so has a long association and friendship with Eliza that has led naturally to the creation of The Wassail project.

‘The stand out performer of his generation’ The Guardian

‘Alone, Boden still has the energy of a twelve piece band’ EDS Magazine

Eliza Carthy

Twice nominated for the Mercury Prize and winner of innumerable other accolades over a 20-year career, Eliza has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists including, Paul Weller, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Patrick Wolf and Bob Neuwirth. Eliza grew up immersed in the world of traditional music. She still divides her time between touring and recording with her legendary parents, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson as well as engaging in numerous pioneering solo and band projects. She has co-presented the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, been a regular guest-presenter on the BBC Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe Show and has made many appearances on BBC TV’s 'Later…with Jools Holland'. Eliza was awarded an MBE for services to folk music in 2014.

‘Eliza Carthy is one of the figureheads of the English folk revival.’ Evening Standard

‘Brave and anything but predictable’ **** The Guardian www.eliza-carthy.com / www.jonboden.com

More info & music:

• Eliza Carthy website
• Spotify – The Wassail album
• Bandcamp – Glad Christmas Comes

✨ Book your tickets now and celebrate the season with two of the UK’s finest folk voices.

For more information contact: Terry O’Brien, Playpen Agency | 01953 850 810 | 07932 720 058 | terry@playpenmusic.co.uk

by Lucie Cooper