The Magpie Arc
The folk-rock act spreading their wings with a little help from Maddy Prior and Ian Anderson.
“I nearly fell of my chair when an email with name ‘Ian Anderson’ on it came into my inbox.”
Prog vibes abound as an excited Alex Hunter sits before us on the other side of a screen in a Zoom call. The Edinburgh-based bassist and founder member of folk-rock collective The Magpie Arc is surrounded by framed posters by favourite acts such as Rush and 10cc and our chat will be peppered with references to Genesis and Jethro Tull too.
Hunter was always on the folk scene. In 2012 he met singer-songwriter Adam Holmes, a favourite of the BBC Folk Awards. “Adam was superb, a real diamond in-the-rough,” he says, “but he was practically moving from couch-to-couch. I started playing with him, then managing him.”
In a lightbulb moment, Hunter thought of creating a folk-rock group to feature himself and Holmes, plus some other high-level “folkies”, as Hunter puts it. Award-winning fiddle player and vocalist Nancy Kerr was on the bucket list. “There are dynasties in folk, like the Watersons, and Nancy’s the daughter of Sandra Kerr, a performer who went on to write the music for [magical 70s kid’s show] 'Bagpuss', voicing the rag doll, Madeleine.”
Kerr told Hunter she had just the person for percussion 'and' production, her collaborator Tom A Wright. “We still needed a star centre forward, though,” says Hunter, “an electric guitar player.” Holmes suggested the talented Mr Martin Simpson, well-known for his acoustic prowess. Simpson was “flummoxed” by the proposition, says Hunter, “but then he immediately went out and bought about eight electric guitars. And that was the first line-up!”
In the last couple of years Holmes and Simpson have left the group, but The Magpie Arc’s catalogue has benefitted from everyone’s input, with, since 2021, three EP releases and a debut album, 'Glamour In The Grey', from 2022. Most recently, in December 2025 a second album, 'Gil Brenton' has come out, featuring another folk star on guitar, Findlay Napier, as well as guest turns from Nancy’s connection Maddy Prior, and Jethro Tull big cheese Ian Anderson. The latter was secured thanks to… 'Prog' magazine!
“I’m a subscriber,” Hunter says. “When [recent Tull album] 'Curious Ruminant' was coming out Ian mentioned in his 'Prog' interview that he likes to play on other people’s music. I’m a massive Jethro Tull fan; they were my second ever gig, in 1978. I emailed his management, his son James, and within 24 hours Ian agreed to listen to the track I hoped he play on.
Send off files for 'The Mantle', a positive response came back. “I nearly fell of my chair when an email with name ‘Ian Anderson’ on it came into my inbox. He liked it but he had some technical questions.”
A week later, Anderson informed Hunter that the part was done, but he wasn’t happy with it. In a week he’d redo it.
“That was wonderful to read, his level of care,” says Hunter. “On the record it’s four minutes long, later this year we’ll be putting out a full 12-minute version.”
And if that sounds prog, The Magpie Arc’s next mission is, “something that Rush tried to do, but didn’t – a concept around Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,” Hunter says. “It’s basically distilling a 1,000 page poem into a 10-minute song. But Nancy’s determined to do it!”
- Jo Kendall
PROG FILE
Line-up: Nancy Kerr (vocals, fiddle), Tom A Wright (vocals, drums, keyboards. Guitars), Alex Hunter (electric bass)
Sounds like: Steeleye Span, Jade and Horslips jamming in a barn.
Current release: 'Gil Brenton', self-released
Website: The Magpie Arc