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While singing has been an ever present element of Chantelle’s life, it wasn’t until her mid-twenties that she fully embraced folk music in her life. Her main area of interest is folk ballads; the telling of a story through the medium of song and it is these that feature strongly in her repertoire. Chantelle sings unaccompanied, and with her shruti box, guitar, harp, hurdy gurdy or percussion (not all at the same time, though). When it comes to ballads, Chantelle focuses on carrying the story across to the audience with instrumentation used to add emphasis and texture.

In addition to her solo work, Chantelle is currently performing as part of the following acts:

Chantelle Smith and Richard Wileman (improvisation, songs and storytelling inspired by Eerie England, the mythology of the British Isles and the Gothic).
The Ivy Green (following in the footsteps of Alfred Williams; a folk duo with Jessie Thompson)
Fortuna Mundi (as part of an inter-changeable group of medieval minstrels lead by musician and storyteller Clare Goodall)
Fry, Smith and Wileman (a trio consisting of Richard Wileman on guitar and vocals; Amy Fry on clarinet, saxophone and vocals; and Chantelle Smith on guitar, harp, bodhran, hurdy gurdy and vocals)
Evening Star (a trio consisting of Chantelle Smith, Jessie Thompson and Neil Mercer)

Chantelle has released two solo EPs; the first, The Gates of Elfinland (released in 2017), contains songs featuring mythical and unnatural beings and is available in both CD and download format; the second, Bonefire, was released in 2020 in digital only format and contains unaccompanied songs of a spooky nature.

Chantelle has also released an album with Richard Wileman in 2026 titled ‘Samhain Tree’ which is available as a digital download on Bandcamp or physical media on ElasticStage.

Chantelle has also added tracks to other projects:

Queen of Spindles, vocals on Track 3 “Gathering Summer In” (artist: Talis Kimberley. Marchwood Media, 2012)
Spirit, choral backing vocals on Tracks 1, 3 and 5 (band: LEGEND, Ravenheart Music 2013).
Cloth of Gold, bodhran on Track 1 “Corn Jenny” (artist: Talis Kimberley. Marchwood Media, 2016)
The Forked Road, vocals on Track 7, harp, bodhran (artist: Richard Wileman. Believer’s Roast, 2024)

In addition to her music, Chantelle was also a contributor to The History Press’s 2017 anthology Ballad Tales, providing a prose retelling of the British folk ballad The Grey Selkie. Copies of Ballad Tales can be purchased directly from Chantelle at gigs or by e-mail, or from The History Press.