Cloth Eared Mule

Cloth Eared Mule and the North East folk scene

Cloth Eared Mule are a North East-based American Old Time duo featuring Matt Ord and Sid Hibbert. Between them, they bring fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin and vocals into a set built around traditional tunes and songs from the Appalachian mountains and beyond. It is music with deep roots, but the duo approach it as a living tradition rather than something preserved behind glass.

Their repertoire moves through old-time fiddle tunes, ballads and songs associated with the pre-Dust Bowl era, alongside material of more recent origin. That range gives Cloth Eared Mule room to shift between lively instrumental pieces and more reflective songs, while the compact two-person line-up keeps the arrangements close and conversational.

American Old Time music with a regional base

Although the material comes largely from American traditions, Cloth Eared Mule are firmly based in the North East. That combination gives the project an interesting place within the region’s folk scene. Rather than presenting Appalachian music as a distant historical form, Ord and Hibbert bring it into local listening rooms, pubs and grassroots venues where the tunes can work in the way they were always meant to: shared directly with an audience.

The instrumentation is a big part of the appeal. Both musicians move between stringed instruments, allowing fiddle-led tunes to sit alongside banjo, guitar and mandolin arrangements. Vocals add another layer, particularly on songs where the storytelling matters as much as the melody. The result is varied enough to keep a full set moving without losing the stripped-back character of a duo.

Cloth Eared Mule on the live circuit

Regional venues have increasingly brought Cloth Eared Mule into folk and traditional programmes. Dry Water Arts Centre has featured the duo in its Listening Room series, describing them as North East-based and highlighting their collection of old-time fiddle and banjo tunes. The Globe in Newcastle has also booked the pair alongside West Yorkshire old-time string band Sugarwell Hill, giving audiences a full evening rooted in American traditional music.

SoundBite North East includes Cloth Eared Mule within its live listings because the project adds something different to the area’s grassroots mix. The North East has a long folk tradition of its own, and the duo’s Appalachian focus brings another branch of traditional music into that landscape without feeling out of place.

For listeners drawn to acoustic music, fiddle tunes and songs that have travelled across generations, Cloth Eared Mule offer a direct route into the old-time tradition. Their North East base, multi-instrumental approach and regular regional performances make them a distinctive part of the current local folk circuit.