Treebeard listings

Treebeard was formed in 1998 by Haze & World Turtle brothers Chris & Paul McMahon plus Paul Chisnell (Haze, Three Legged Cat, Old Pekuliar), Gordon Walker (Ant Hill Mob & guest on World Turtle's 'Wilderness of Eden') and Ceri Ashton (of The Outlandish Knights & Hiraeth) on flute.

The band play new, World Turtle & Haze originals as well as a selection of rock, pop, folk (& even country!) songs & tunes in their own inimitable way, and are regulars on the beer festival circuit, playing Sheffield, Derby, Tamworth, Newark, Stockport, Lincoln & Barnsley festivals.

They describe their style as 'Heavy Wood', and are currently working on the follow up to their debut CD 'Heavy Wood' released on Gabadon Records. Their track ‘Train' is featured on the ‘Forged in Sheffield' folk compilation CD.

Line-up:-

Paul Chisnell - bodhran, djembe, hand drums, talking drum, snare, congas, tambourine, vocals.

Chris McMahon - 12 string acoustic guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, mandola, accordion, vocals.

Paul McMahon - 6 string acoustic guitar, mandolin, semi acoustic bass, contra bass balalaika, vocals.

Gordon Walker - violin, mandolin, vocals.

Ceri Ashton - flute, viola, fiddle, vocals.

"The set was a clever blend of originals & cover material, made all the more enjoyable by the friendly and fun loving attitude on stage." John Drinkall (Fishponds, Matlock Bath)

"A superb accompaniment with beer" Newark CAMRA (Newark Beer Festival)

"...These guys are such good entertainers: the five piece play a set of cover versions of songs, from the last twenty years or so, on a huge variety of instruments ... excellent fun." New Horizons (Whitchurch Festival)

"...a brilliantly executed set, with terrific audience interaction all the way through. These guys are all skilful musicians and what's more they really know how to entertain a crowd." New Horizons (Whitchurch Festival)

"Humour mixed with ability made them an excellent band to watch and enjoy."

Classic Rock Society (Rotherham Rocks)

"a skilful mixture of traditional and modern that works incredibly well and seems to have a secret ingredient for helping the beer go down...it was all a lot of fun, a real musical treat - so make a note to see them if you can. Highly recommended. Hilary Drysdale" (Golden Fleece, Nottingham)

"They were very lively and very fun to watch and to listen to. We got all the usual folky-type songs you'd expect from a band with a fiddler, including the lovely Nothing Ever Happens, which I hadn't heard for ages, and some more bizarre ones thrown in, just to confuse members of the audience naively believing them to be "merely" a folk band. They played a lovely Russian song with crazy, huge, triangular stringed instruments and a Russian hat. Yes, one of the band wore a Russian hat. The flautist added a definite "Clannad" style to the songs, and they even had a guest bearded tree-stump with them too. The fiddle was played fabulously. It sounded as if the fiddler had been possessed. It looked like it as well, especially when he wore a devil's mask for one of the songs. He kept swapping it with a straw hat when they were playing a song about Johnny and the Devil. Don't ask. Just don't. Very scary."
Hannah Vickers (St Michael's Hall, Wombwell Festival)

"The breadth of the bands material is huge ranging from 'The Devil came Down to Georgia', made famous by Charlie Daniel's to ‘Layla' by Eric Clapton and ‘Babylon' by David Gray. Should you prefer rockier numbers then you wont be disappointed either with tracks like ‘Coz I love you' by Slade and ‘Ace Of Spades' by Motorhead included as part of their set. More recent material includes covers of songs like ‘The Drugs Don't Work' by the Verve and ‘Don't Get Me Wrong' by the Pretenders.

Above all, Treebeard are a fun band to watch. The great thing ... is that you never know what is coming next." Stockport Beer Festival

"Descendants of Gandalf, bring a hobbit" South Wingfield Sports & Social Club