Second Megson, who have a pretty wide range. Debbie had classical singing training and has a pure voice, Stu has a punk background. Some traditional material and their own songs. Saw them at The Old Down in Somerset, but they're from Teesside.

I do recommend David and Issy Emeney especially with Kate Riaz (cellist) who I also saw at the Old Down on their own and as support act for The Devil's Interval. They live in Cheddar and usually perform in the south west and east but can get about - I see from their giglist they're in the north east in a year's time, and they were at Ryburn 3 Step in Yorkshire earlier this year.

They should hit your buttons - mostly traditional stuff but also their own material in a traditional style. All the songs on their Myspace page are original except Turpin the Blade. Listen esp to "The Skies Turned Grey" there, a haunting song about the mighty men of Whitehall disposing of animals during foot and mouth: "Born in the morning/Condemned by the evening/They led the lambs to slaughter/And the skies turned grey". People might have heard John Kirkpatrick doing this. Issy is a melodeon tutor and some of their pieces are tunes only.

While I am shilling for local bands, I like Dragonsfly based in Somerset, a Celtic/Eastern fusion band who also play schottisches (sp?) and French stuff.

Also I second Tom Bliss, who is sometimes solo and sometimes with Tom Napper.

I also like Kirsty McGee and Matt Martin but I haven't seen her/them live. All her own songs, I think, so not much traditional there, and she calls her self a hobopop artist so she might not be your thing, possibly a tad too much between-the-wars Americana-style sometimes.