jiva - About us

Although based in the north east of England, we regularly travel further afield to perform - and are available to play at folk clubs, concert venues, festivals, corporate and social functions, fundraisers, coffee mornings, etc (with our own state of the art Bose L1 sound system if required)... or even a 'house concert' in your front room!

We first sang together in the early 70s in our local folk club, 'The Jerry' in Prudhoe. Val moved to London while Jimmy remained in the North East enjoying modest success with Equinox, Bluestone Edge and ATS and also running the Rising Sun folk club in Crawcrook.

We formed jiva when Jimmy (the 'ji' in jiva) and Val (the 'va') got together again in 2002 after 30 years. Val moved back to Northumberland after contacting Jimmy via Friends Reunited. Since then we have been building our reputation as performers of self-penned material and our own arrangements of other carefully chosen songs.

40 years after having first met, we finally tied the knot - travelling to America in 2009 to be married at Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, California.

jiva Wedding at Taylor Guitars, El Cajon, California
12 August 2009
Slideshow: Some of the 'unofficial' photos
Song: Dancing On A Saturday Night (© Allan Taylor)

Our repertoire is contemporary with a growing number of self-penned songs. We both play 6 and 12 string Taylor guitars and both sing. The combination of both voices and contrasting guitar styles makes for a gentle and relaxed sound.

Lyrics, soundclips and videos are available from the Songs section of the website.

We've happily agreed to requests to 'top the bill' at folk clubs, to play at festivals, and to provide live music for local charities and fund-raising events.

jiva have also played official support slots for: Allan Taylor, Anthony John Clarke, Ben Sands, Cathryn Craig & Brian Willoughby, Bram Taylor, Dana & Susan Robinson, George Welch, Ian Bruce, Jez Lowe (solo), Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies, Jim Bainbridge, Joe Stead, Marian Bradfield, Pegleg Ferret, Pete Quinn, Simon Haworth & Andy May, Steve & Kristi Nebel, and Tom McConville.

We regularly perform at singarounds, residents nights etc, and have played floor spots on professional guest nights featuring: Bob Fox, Dick Gaughan, Harvey Andrews, Martin Simpson, Roy Bailey, and Spiers & Boden.

Get in touch if you'd like to see us at your venue or event. Email and phone details are at the bottom of every page on the website.

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