Kate Rusby... has announced three Christmas tour dates next month in the region for Harrogate, York and Gateshead. With a career spanning nearly 25 years in music, Yorkshire-born Rusby is one of the finest interpreters of traditional folk songs and one of our most emotive original songwriters – melding old and new so you can barely see the join. She's a Mercury Prize nominee, Folk Singer of the Year, Best Live Act, Best Album and Best Original Song winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

See the video on Rusby explaining the importance of Yorkshire Carols https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMh6QjMkvzE

which comes after 15 years of enchanting audiences with Rusby’s Christmas tour – captured for her 2013 Live At Christmas concert DVD.

Rusby’s band of merry musicians this December will comprise of: Damien O’Kane on guitar, tenor guitar and banjo; Aaron Jones on bouzouki; Nick Cooke on diatonic accordion and Duncan Lyall on double bass. She will also be joined on stage by a fabulous brass quintet. She's also sharing a local South Yorkshire tradition going back 200 years when people flocked to their local public houses to sing their own, unique variations of familiar carols that, as Rusby says, "Were kicked out of churches during the Victorian era for being too happy".

This tour will feature tracks from her third Christmas album, released late 2015, plus songs and carols from all three Rusby Christmas releases, together with songs from this year's Life in a Paper Boat, her 14th studio album launched last month.

* December 15: Harrogate Royal Hall harrogatetheatre.co.uk or 01423-502116; Dec 18: York Barbican yorkbarbican.co.uk or 0844-854-2757. Dec 20: Gateshead The Sage sagegateshead.com or 0191-443-4661