IT will be a great start to the New Year for one folk band – who will discover if they have won Radio 2’s Young Folk Award.

After an intense performance weekend in Kendal, Cumbria, against ten other acts, Granny’s Attic were named one of four final nominees to scoop the prize.

The Worcester trio will be travelling to the Royal Albert Hall in February for the station’s annual folk awards to rub shoulders with top acts from the genre and find out if they have made the grade.

During the selection weekend they had masterclasses from members of Bellowhead, were interviewed for television and radio, and performed with the other bands on the shortlist.

The ten other artists came from a variety of folk backgrounds, from bluegrass to English folk, and the culmination of the whole event was a final concert hosted by Radio 2 Folk Show presenter Mark Radcliffe.

School friends 18-year-old George Sansome, of Claines, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, of Warndon Villages and Lewis Wood, of Penbury Street, Northwick, both aged 17, formed the band four years ago. The three teenagers began performing together while they were still all students at Bishop Perowne Performing Arts College. They have enjoyed playing festivals and gigs around the country as well as home town gigs at Worcester Music Festival and the Upton Festival.

George’s father, Geoff Sansome, said: “They are absolutely thrilled to be nominated.

“Even if they don’t get any further, just being able to carry the title nominee means an awful lot to them. They really could be on their way to the big time.

“The next day after it was announced on the radio that they had been nominated they already began receiving royalties for having their music played on the BBC and were booked for another folk festival.”

Next year promises to be busy for the band with the prospect of performing live for Radio 2’s Folk Show and at top UK festivals including the Cambridge Folk Festival.

To see and hear more of the band log on to grannysattic.org.uk.