A trio of fledging singers from St Albans are flourishing after being taken under the wing of one of folk’s highest flying stars.

Said the Maiden have had a whirlwind few months after Dave Swarbrick spotted them on YouTube and asked them to support him on tour.

Jess Distill, 27, a marketing and press officer at The Alban Arena, Kathy Pilkington, 29, an archaeologist, and Hannah Elizabeth James, 30, a charity worker, have had to fit the gigs around their day jobs, travelling across the country in the evenings and weekends.

But on Saturday they will end the tour on a triumphant high with a gig on home turf at Harpenden Public Halls and in a few weeks will release début album, A Curious Tale.

Singer and woodwind player Jess says: “We’re really excited about performing in Harpenden as all our friends and family will be there. It should be a good gig.”

On touring with Dave she says: “It’s been really awesome, really good fun. We have never done anything like it before so it’s been a bit of a learning curve.”

The trio started singing together about three years ago at Redbourn Folk Club and what started out as ‘a bit of fun’ soon snowballed into regular gigs and an opening spot for Clannad at the Arena.

Their big break came after Dave saw them singing in an online video and got in touch through Helen Meissner from Folkstock Initiative, which helps launch young musicians.

Jess says: “At first we said ‘is there another Dave Swarbrick?’ as we couldn’t believe it could be him, but then we contacted him through Facebook and he said ‘yeah it’s me’. It was all a bit surreal.”

Their first gig was in Wales on April 5 and since then they have performed in Derbyshire, Bristol, Peterborough and beyond, picking up a wealth of advice along the way.

“Dave’s been brilliant,” says Jess. “He’s really keen to help the new generation of musicians. He’s a fiddle player and we have Hannah on violin and he’s been giving her new bows and bits to put on her violin to make it better.

“He’s hilarious to talk to and a bit of an old charmer.”

A Curious Tale will be available through saidthemaiden.co.uk

Harpenden Public Halls, Southdown Road, Harpenden, May 24, 7.30pm. Details: 01582 767525, harpendenpublichalls.co.uk