There's a UFO heading to The Quarter in Leicester next week,

writes Steve Pumfrey

.

UFO being Urban Folk Quartet, who play at the Halford Street spot on Wednesday, March 17.

The band are fronted by fiddler Paloma Trigas, who toured for many years with the Chieftains and Carlos Nunez, and Joe Broughton, another musician keen to go it alone after years with the Albion Band.

Joining them are Frank Moon, from Eastern European music converts The Destroyers. Moon is another member of a thriving roots scene in Birmingham.

Completing the quartet is Tom Chapman, who has drummed in several of Broughton's spin-off projects.

Paloma told The Week: "Our careers have taken parallel paths as we have toured the world and now we want to play in our own band.

"There's a really thriving fusion scene in Birmingham and we've all got different influences.

"We've also got our debut album released within the next five or six weeks on Fellside records."

BBC Radio 2 folk singer of the year Chris Wood is playing in Uppingham on Saturday at the Goldmark Gallery, tickets £25, 01572 821424. Poet Bob Rollett and violinist Freya Goldmark are also at the gallery on March 22.