Leading folk singer, songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist Martin Simpson makes his latest appearance on the Cumbrian stage this weekend.

Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he performs a selection of them all on stage at The Kirkgate, in Cockermouth, on Saturday, September 24.

After 45 years as a professional musician, Martin is undoubtedly one of the finest acoustic and slide guitar players in the world and his interpretations of traditional songs are widely-acknowledged as masterpieces of storytelling.

There is no-one who has more successfully combined the diverse elements of British, Afro-American and old-timey music, and his 15 years living in the US were well spent.

Simpson's own songwriting has produced some real gems from the truck-stop epic Love Never Dies to the moving Never Any Good and One Day.

His career includes collaborations on stage and record with June Tabor, Jackson Browne, Martin Carthy, Cara Dillon, Martin Taylor, Steve Miller, Dick Gaughan and Dom Flemons.

He has been nominated an astounding 27 times in the 15 years of the BBC Radio 2 folk awards, more than any other performer, and has won musician of the year twice.

In 2014, his album Vagrant Stanzas was nominated for album of the year but it was as a member of The Full English that he collectively took home awards for best group and album of the year.

Last year he appeared in a new trio with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr and they released the album Murmurs to critical acclaim.

Whether playing American old-time music, blues, a Dylan song or his own material, Simpson is unpredictable, individual and a guitarist of immense subtlety.

He appearance at the Kirkgate on Saturday, gets under way at 8pm, and tickets are available from the venue's box office.