Brighton-based ensemble The Witchcraft and Vagrancy Act revive the darker traditions of folk music through eerie reinterpretations and original compositions, writes MICHAEL BULLY
Brighton and Hove-based horror folk ensemble The Witchcraft And Vagrancy Act (TWAVA) Bandcamp page states that the band:
“Combine experimental arrangements with traditional songs and tunes to unearth the dark side of folk music, murder and misery, as TWAVA create their uniquely spooky interpretation of the folk canon”.
All three members of the outfit are accomplished musicians: lead vocalist Richard Craig has worked with Martin and Eliza Carthy, and Phil Beer. George Gavin has released his own album as a singer-songwriter, as well as creating analogue and lo-fi sound.
Both have performed in pub folk bands. Iaonnis Zigras has performed in goth rock, prog and Greek folk music groups.
The three members all take part in vocals. Between them they play violin, electric guitar, acoustic and 12-string guitar, banjo, whistles, frame-drum, and use some electronic sound effects.
Part of the band’s mission is to research grim songs from the past.
Not surprising for a band naming themselves after legislation from 1735. Richard Craig has contributed to The Folk Horror Handbook.
In a recent interview Mr Craig states that the band attempt to “Undermine the rose-tinted view many have of the past, particularly when viewed through folk music. Traditional music often conjures ideas that everybody was prancing around a maypole and celebrating the seasons. While this was certainly a part of our past, the miseries were much more prominent and were often shared in stories and songs.” (Interview with ‘Bleak Chesney Wold’ blog, 25 February 2026)
Well, certainly no songs about the joys of sheep shearing at mid-summer or fumbles in the cuckoo’s nest. Even their jolliest song concerns being trapped in a pub which is on fire, apart from a few short jigs and a hornpipe. Their last released track, from October 2025, is ‘The Hearse Song’, a macabre Victorian ditty, about dead bodies decomposing and becoming food for worms.
I became a convert to TWAVA after seeing them perform the traditional standard The Cutty Wren, using both acoustic and electric instruments, and odd snatches of feedback.
The vocal delivery is chilling, depicting the frightening ritual killing theme of the song. Although a standard that has been performed and recorded by quite a number of artists, TWAVA lure one into a nightmare with their version.
Two Brothers concerns sibling rivalry ending in murder, and the dead rising from their grave. Pendle is a lament, relating to the witch trial of 1612. All three tracks can be found on the band’s CD ‘The Witchcraft and Vagrancy Act’ (from 2024).
At the Komedia Club in Brighton, TWAVA performed their own music to an abridged version of the Danish-Swedish 1922 silent film Haxan, looking at demonology, sorcery and witchcraft through the ages. Their soundtrack has not been released yet. It is hoped to stage the event again in 2027.
As for musical influences, the three members cite quite a collection: folk horror film soundtracks, dark cabaret, some indie folk, Tom Waits, Bellowhead, Eliza Carthy, The Wayward Band, Lau and Lankum.
2026 will see a new album, an autumn tour, and a Brighton horror folk party for Halloween. Also future songs around such notable figures as Mathew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General.
You can find out more about the band at its website: https://witchcraftandvagrancy.com/
