An acclaimed young Somerset-based singer-songwriter and guitarist headlines the first Folk at the Maltings concert of the autumn season.

Kitty Macfarlane will return to the county on Friday, October 6, fresh from appearing at music festival Folk by the Oak in the grounds of Hatfield House in the summer.

Next week’s concert at the Maltings Arts Theatre will also include sets from the Abella Barn Dance Band from Bedfordshire and New Roots 2017 finalist Finn Collinson.

Kitty Macfarlane is making a name for herself nationally on the folk circuit.

She was a BBC Young Folk Award semi-finalist in 2015.

Her debut EP, Tide and Time, released in 2016, received outstanding reviews and national airplay on the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show and Tom Robinson’s show on BBC6 Music.

She is currently an associate artist at Halsway Manor, National Centre for Folk Arts, and has recently been awarded a creative bursary from the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) for a songwriting project.

Her lyrics combine honest snapshots of everyday humanity with the bigger questions that have connected minds and voices for centuries.

Mankind’s transactions with the planet, from those of small French fishing communities, to colossal nuclear power stations, work their way into her songs, alongside a deep interest in shared human experience.

Kitty’s songs are charged with a sense of place, more often than not her home county of Somerset.

Barn dance band Abella presents a musical journey through Great Britain, exploring the many and varied styles of dance music.

From traditional tunes to recent compositions, they illustrate how the British people have danced their way through the centuries, from Scotland to the south west, Wales to East Anglia.

New Roots 2017 finalist Finn Collinson is a multi-instrumentalist working predominantly in the field of English folk music.

He mainly specialises in recorder, but also plays mandolin, cello, bouzouki and guitar.

Also part of the duo Shorelark, he has recently completed a gap year during which he has developed a solo repertoire.

Tickets for the gig cost £12, students and concessions £11, and under-18s £7.50.

• Visit www.stalbansfolkmusic.org.uk for more details.

To book tickets, visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ovo