Stu Hanna & Debbie Hanna are the husband & wife duo Megson. Three times nominated in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and double winners of the 2011 Spiral Earth awards they draw heavily on their Teesside heritage to create a unique brand of folk music. Their infectious sound is a mix of heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars and mandolas. As fRoots magazine puts it, “if you don’t like the music here then you have a problem”.
In the eight years since megson began, the duo have played up and down the country, gaining a devoted fanbase and selling out many of their extensive tour dates. Their growing talent was recognised not only with 3 nominations for best duo in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2009 ~ 2011 but also with burgeoning interest from the major broadsheets. Their last album ‘The Longshot’ had rave reviews from the national press with 4 star reviews from Mojo, The Financial Times, Uncut, The Sunday Express and The Guardian, who ran a major feature on them. The independent has listed Megson in their top gigs to see section on numerous occasions.
In 2011 Megson took a break from music as they welcomed their little girl Lola Wren into the world. Unable to stay away too long they looked for a project that would combine their new roles as parents with their musical passions. ‘When I Was A Lad’ was the end result, an album of old and new children’s folk songs to be released in September 2012. Stu has also kept himself busy over this period, producing albums for the Cecil Sharp Project, the award winning album by Lucy Ward and a forthcoming release on Navigator Records for The Young’Uns.