abylon Lane is a group of shapenote singers which was founded in 1997 by Steve Fletcher and Sheila Girling Macadam.

They have been leading the shapenote workshops at the Sidmouth Folk Week since  2007,  as well as performing at the Saturday 'Start the Week' concert.  They are back again for Sidmouth Folk Week 2011 in August.

In 2010 they appeared at the Teignmouth Folk Festival, with two workshops, but due to the timing of the 2011 Warwick Folk Festival, Babylon Lane is  unable to repeat their popular workshops of 2009 and 2010.

Members of the group have been singing shapenote music for more than 20 years, both in the UK and in the USA. Steve and Sheila have both taught singing schools in the UK, and Edwin and Tony  also lead West Gallery quires in Warwickshire (Immanuel's Ground), and Kent (The Marsh Warblers)  respectively. Ken Baddley and Lin Cawthorne have joined the group for some performances in previous years. Edwin, Sheila and Tony also reprised their long associations with Rachel Jordan as The Belcher Supply Co., at a workshop in Teignmouth in April 2010. All belong to the West Gallery Music Association. 

Babylon Lane offer workshops in shapenote music, using material from;

the 1991 edition of The Sacred Harp,
the 1998 edition of Northern Harmony, and
Norumbega Harmony, 2005,
as well as contemporary compositions in the genre by English writers.  

There is no charge for these workshops to community groups, although Babylon Lane would request a contribution to travel expenses, and overnight accommodation when necessary. Babylon Lane also offer workshops and singing schools to traditional folk festivals, and other musical and educational organisations on a negotiable basis, to include travel and other expenses.

For further information on shapenote singing in the UK please visit the UK Shapenote website.

For Babylon Lane workshop enquiries please contact either Sheila Girling Macadam or Steve Fletcher.

( NB. Please substitute @  for -at- in the email addresses.)