old time mountain musiC
Old time mountain music and driving fiddle tunes
Square Peg are a trio of musicians from across the UK, celebrating the traditional music of Appalachia. Blending traditional instrumentation with vocal harmonies, they hearken back to the roots of the Old Time folk music of South West Virginia.
"The music is so authentic it’s hard to believe they are from West Yorkshire"
- Andy Sharrocks
NICK
Nick’s love of old time music was first ignited when he stumbled across footage of Enoch Rutherford nonchalantly playing break-neck speed banjo on his porch in south-west Virginia. He’s never looked back!
EMILY
Coming from a classical piano background, Emily was taken by the energy, honesty and raw sound of Old Time music and quickly sought to pick up the guitar and vocal style.
LOTTE
Since a mysterious bearded man at the Crossroads lent her his own double bass (the infamous "Sloog"), Lotte has developed her own style and added rhythm and richness to the sound of Square Peg.
2026 LIVE SHOWS
5th July - Sowerby Festival, Yorkshire
10-12th July - Great North Folk Festival, Whitby, Yorkshire
18th July - Beat Herder Festival, Clitheroe, Lancashire
1st August - Barrel At Bude, Cornwall
2nd August - Driftwood, St Agnes, Cornwall
17th August - Three Wise Monkeys, Todmorden, Yorkshire
12th September - The Green Note, Camden, London
25th October - Greyston Unity, Halifax, Yorkshire
REVIEWS
Have you ever thought, I’d like to listen to some old time American mountain music?
Well let me point you in the right direction to some real authentic old American music performed by Square Peg, who are Nick Pimbert on banjo, fiddle guitar and vocals, and Emily Johnson on guitar, fiddle banjo and vocals.
And what vocals these two command, with harmonies which can easily be compared to sibling harmonies, like The Everly Brothers. There is something special about sibling harmonies and to get harmonies like this without the same blood flowing through the veins is a rare occurrence.
But these two are so in sync musically its out of this world. You can feel their love for old mountain music and an enthusiasm which flows through their playing. They draw inspiration from The Rutherford Family, The Cabin Creek Boys, The Whitetop Mountain Band Gap Civil, Ola Belle Reid and The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and I can hear more than a passing reference to The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
All the songs are traditional but with structures and variations created by Nick and Emily. As you listen to this album of nine songs, you can see old families in the Appalacians drinking some Pettimore’s Moonshine whilst jigging around to the music, whooping and a hollering as the night goes on. The music is so authentic it’s hard to believe you can often find them having a drink in Yorkshires Todmorden.
- Andy Sharrocks
I absolutely love the spirit and drive that form the foundation of Square Peg and this album. I love the variety on the album - solo banjo tracks, harmony singing, and of course plenty of driving fiddle tunes. You can feel the band’s love for the old-timers of Southwest Virginia and the surrounding region throughout the album. I love that it ends with a gospel tune - just like we would do at our local square dance the Alleghany Jubilee. I hope you’ll check out the album and check them out live!
- Lucas Pasley, Gap Civil