the group that splintered from them in 1973 Jack the Lad, and another group from which they gained some members Hedgehog Pie, who, for a time, provided a regional answer to the British folk rock of bands like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. These groups have been seen as continuing an exploration of regional identity through folk music. Between their demise and revival in the 1990s, the local scene continued through groups like the more traditional Doonan family, which contained some of the finest folk flute players in the region. These groups have been seen as continuing an exploration of regional identity through folk music. Another prolific figure from the 1970s to 2000s was Eric Boswell. While best known for writing the Christmas song Little Donkey, Boswell's local ballads like I've Got A Little Whippet, Sweet Waters Of Tyne and Tyneside's Where I Come From often featured on Tyne Tees and at Newcastle City Hall Geordierama concerts and The Little Waster Bobby Thompson and various others made recordings. Boswell's songs continue to be performed in folk clubs. Colin Ross, has been influential not only as a player and teacher of the Northumbrian pipes, but has also been an important pipemaker, as David G. Burleigh was. Distinctive local sounds were much more marked in the next generation of traditional Northumbrian folk musicians such as Ed Pickford and Jez Lowe, who have reinvigorated the local scene and artists like fiddler Nancy Kerr and piper Kathryn Tickell have gained international reputations, appearing on records with artists including Kate Rusby, Eliza Carthy and even Sting. In 2003 June Tabor stimulated interest in the Border ballads with her highly regarded album An Echo of Hooves. Thanks to the efforts of musicians like these in 2001 Newcastle University was the first to offer a performance-based degree programme in folk and traditional music in England. Currently the region has over thirty active folk clubs and hosts several major folk festivals, including the Traditional Music Festival at Rothbury. Contemporary music in Northumbria There are many artists and acts that have formed in the North East such as the Lighthouse Family and Dubstar (Newcastle upon Tyne), Maxïmo Park (Singer from Billingham, other band members met in Newcastle) The Futureheads and Field Music (Sunderland) as well as China Drum (from Ovingham). Musicians and singers that were born and raised in the region include Sting, Bryan Ferry, Dave Stewart, Mark Knopfler,