Jon Wilks is a singer, songwriter and acclaimed fingerpicking guitarist whose work is rooted in English folk traditions, memory, and place. Described by The Quietus as being "at the centre of the current folk scene," he began by exploring traditional songs from Birmingham and the wider Midlands, releasing two regionally focused albums: Midlife (2018) and Up the Cut (2021). His fourth solo album, Before I Knew What Had Begun I Had Already Lost (2023), was named Folk Album of the Month in The Guardian, and his latest, Needless Alley (2025), marks a shift toward original, autobiographical songwriting. "If you're looking for a thread," he says, "maybe it's the way we carry the past with us, whether we mean to or not. For me, the album is a patchwork of memories — what you'd find if you rummaged around in my head for an afternoon."
A former journalist for Time Out, The Guardian, and Dazed & Confused, Wilks brings a sharp storytelling sensibility to his songwriting and stagecraft. He founded and was the original editor of Tradfolk.co, and has been featured regularly on BBC Radio 2's Folk Show. He performs both solo and with his occasional band, The Grizzly Folk.
If you want to follow what he's working on, the best place is his newsletter at jonwilks.online — roughly monthly, about folk music, guitars, history, and whatever's next.
