Steeleye Span Tickets

After three decades, Steeleye Span's rocket-fueled version of traditional British music is still strong and fresh. Maddy Prior's voice is better than ever, even if dancing around the club during an instrumental break can leave her breathless these days. Their new fiddler player is fantastic, the substitute bass player (who learned the set in an afternoon several shows ago) is rock steady, and the long time guitarist and drummer are still great, too. An added bonus was hearing new songs from the record "Wintersmith" they did last year with Sir Terry Pratchett, based on some of his Discworld books: original music rooted in trad and beautifully conveying Pratchett's signature wacky but profound writing style.

We have been fans of Maddy Pryor and Steeleye Span for 40+ years, here and in Britain. It was great to hear the old songs again, as well as new ones. Her interpretations always change slightly, so the songs never seem old, and her voice is as clear as ever. We brought my sister from Arizona along for this performance - she had never heard of them, but ended up buying a CD and getting an autograph. Incredibly enjoyable evening.

As a Steeleye Span fan since discovering them in 1972, I have to say that this show was worth the 43-year (gulp) wait! Their musicianship is superb and their harmonious vocals... well let me just say that lead singer Maddy Pryor, if anything, sounds even better now than she did the first time I heard her sing. The group still performs their irresistible and infectious blend of traditional ballads backed by electric instruments, and they sound as timeless as ever. A highlight of the show for me was "All Around My Hat," one of my favorite of their songs. Maddy asked the audience to sing the chorus with her, after reciting it, and mentioned how embarrassing it was when she made this request at a festival and no one participated. She didn't have that problem at the Birchmere - not only did the audience participate, she stopped singing and the group stopped playing at the end, and let the audience sing the chorus entirely unassisted. If I ever have the chance to see Steeleye Span again I'm definitely going to take it. This one one of the best shows I've ever seen.

My wife, a fan of Span, and I went to the Birchmere to hear them and were blown away! They did lots of their traditional stuff and were wonderful. Maddy Prior is charming and sings beautifully; more alto than she used to be, but wonderful. And, in the second half of this show, they did some "modernized' versions of traditional stuff. They went into much heavier, rockier style, and Wow!! There are bands today who couldn't match them! I could feel the music deep in my gut. Just OUTSTANDING!

Superb. Stupendous. Awesome. Breathtaking. There aren't enough over-the-top words to convey how good Steeleye's live show was. Maddy Prior's voice is still as clear and strong as it was 40 years ago. And -- although longtime fans will probably consider this heresy -- new fiddle player Jessie May Smart is every bit as electrifying as Peter Knight ever was.

First off, we're huge fans of the Birchmere. So that's a given. Steeleye Span and Maddy Prior are favorites of my husband (I have no idea of the number of albums he has of theirs, but it is a lot). Having little familiarity with the band, but great appreciation for the music, I left having had a wonderful time, a skip in my step, and another great evening to remember!

I have enjoyed the music of Steeleye Span for years.. The concert was great with Maddy Priors vocals.

I've been waiting 40 years to see this band and finally got to. The show was excellent - Maddy Prior was in fine voice. The addition of the young violinist was most excellent!

We've followed Steeleye Span, and like groups like the Pentangle and Fairport for 40+ years. The Birchmere is a gruesome venue to get to from Md. First act was fantastic. Second act, as their voices got weaker, the electronic amplification got louder, to an almost painful level. Why can't they stay acoustic? Birchmere - onion straws were excellent, rest was mediocre. Very annoying with the servers continuously going among the tables during the performance. Super group. Dated performance. Horrible drive. Stick with your memories, and albums and CDs

Loved the show. They were great. My husband who isn't a fan really liked that they explained each song and said a little about it before singing. I liked the new versions of some old songs. For example When I Was on Horseback was never really a favorite but this time they really made the instrumentals dramatic, a beautiful counterpoint to Maddy's singing, which was superb as ever. she also did autographs and pictures after, which is just above and beyond.