Jon Wilks
Jon Wilks is a prominent fingerpicking guitarist and singer who performs traditional English folk songs, broadside ballads, and his own writings. His talent has been recognised by Guitarist, one of the world’s biggest guitar magazines, which featured him as one-to-watch in 2022. Jon’s upcoming 5th solo album, out in Autumn 2025, marks a return to original material, having spent recent years delving deep into traditional ballads and broadsides. Needless Alley is a folk-rock album rooted in themes of memory, time and place, with a strong current of nostalgia. Both lyrically and sonically, it looks back at the sounds Jon connected with in his teens, shaped by early songwriting instincts and formative band experiences. The title and title track relate to a street in Birmingham, Jon’s home city, on which he used to busk as a teenager. The album features musicians Jon has known for years, in some cases decades. It celebrates longstanding musical friendships and reflects on personal history through place and atmosphere.
‘Wilks proves once again what a stand-out talent he really is. There is an honesty and compassion in Wilks’s writing and performance, which is entirely charming.’ KlofMag
‘Pulls off that niftiest of tricks – paying due homage to the traditions whilst sounding original and contemporary.’ Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2, 2025