T’S been more than 30 years since British folk music surfed the mainstream wave back in the heady, hairy days of the mid-Seventies.

But as Kate Rusby’s popularity demonstrates, the genre is never far from our hearts.

An eight-album career, spanning 15 years so far, has seen the Barnsley songstress – still just 33 – receive numerous plaudits including a Mercury nomination for 1999 album Sleepless, and BBC Radio 2 Best Folk Singer of the Year Award in 2000.

Her latest album, Awkward Annie, made the Indie chart top ten.

Backed by her talented acoustic four-piece band which includes award-winning accordionist Andy Cutting, she delighted her Welsh audience with a sparkling selection of self-penned and traditional songs taken from across her considerable repertoire in a set lasting nearly two hours.

Among the highlights were rousing versions of White Cockade and William and Davy, as well as a spellbinding Lark, played solo with just guitar.

The night was rounded off with her version of the Sandy Denny classic, Who Knows Where The Time Goes? her latest single, and a spin-off from her musical involvement in the BBC sit-com Jam and Jerusalem.

Rusby’s voice is a rare and beautiful thing. Free from vocal pyrotechnics, its power and strength lie in its sheer crystal clarity.

She held us rapt with an effortless performance, interspersing numbers with her own brand of wacky humour.

As an artist, she breathes new life into traditional songs, infusing them with a verve and vitality for a new generation of folk devotees.