UK Folk Festivals - England

Folk tradition and folk music. Folk dancing.

Something a bit different!
The Gloucester Cajun and Zydeco Festival is the longest running Cajun festival in Europe and will celebrate it's 19th year in 2012.
Featuring the best bands and musicians from around the world for a weekend of non-stop partying, music, dancing, workshops, and authentic Cajun cuisine.

Now in its 16th year.
A mid-winter folk event to "banish the winter blues". An event that preserved the roots of Folk tradition, showcased budding new talent, and created a friendly atmosphere.
A broad range of concerts, workshops, ceilidhs and children’s activities, plus there is a market place with stalls, and their infamous Real Ale Bar

For Winter Folk...
Concerts, Ceilidhs and sing-arounds.
Workshops jam sessions and Morris dancing.

This is the winter version of the well known Singers' festival and will feature workshops, folk clubs, singarounds and sessions. Have a look out for their summer festival in June.

One day event, by the same group that organise the larger Chester Festival.

Concert, ceilidh, sessions, all the usual stuff.

There are about 60 gigs of acoustic and electric blues-based music in 20 indoor venues.

Swanage hosts several festivals

Fundraiser for their main October festival

Manchester will once again be staging Europe's biggest Irish Festival.

Live Irish music, dance events, plus club and pub events. Europe's biggest Irish Festival spanning 10 days

This is a brand new festival this year, so give it some support if you can.

Bournemouth Folk Festival covers the broader definition of folk music, a great new festival is now in its second year, offering the best in folk music, song and dance.

Site incomplete when last visited.

Aims to give young, up and coming traditional Musicians and Dancers the chance to perform in a non-competitive environment.

It will see the return of some familiar faces and some new names, but lots more quality folk music, great beers, wonderful people and an atmospheric venue.

Concerts, workshop, dance displays, craft fairs, sessions.

Lots of things to keep you entertained.

There will be a good selection of food and drink including a great choice of real ales at the main venue. Some excellent village pubs, wine bars, restaurants, shops and bistros, all within easy walking distance of the main venue. There are also some lovely village and riverside walks around Wickham plus the historic Chesapeake Mill and Water Gardens that are well worth a visit.

Acoustic roots music for all tastes, as long as it's acoustic.

Web site not fully developed yet.

Shanty UK will provide opportunities for people of all ages and cultural backgrounds to observe, perform and participate in the celebration of maritime music and related activities and will work through education and demonstration to preserve the oral maritime tradition which is an important part of our national cultural heritage.

Crediton's Early Spring Festival.
Music, story tellers, Morris dancers.

The festival includes a vast array of competitions including crafts, performance and writing. Events of local interest nave been added to the programme of concerts, singarounds, barn dance, storytelling. theatre and street performance which includes a young people's pageant as part of the Border Cavalcade.

Fundraiser for their main festival in October

The festival will be based at the newly refurbished Old Fire Station. Oxford Folk Club and Foolish Folk will be hosting events on the Friday night, and there will be a concert at the Church of St Michaels at the North Gate on Saturday evening.

Events take place in various venues around Malton & Norton, North Yorkshire.

All Friday events will be held in Norton and all Saturday events, including the musicians session, will be held in Malton ...putting the venues within easy reach of public and performers in particular the musicians from the dance teams.

Small gathering of enthusiasts, limited number of tickets, usually. So get in there quick.

Concerts, Sessions, Dancing, Workshops, Ceilidh and much more.

Bringing live roots music to East Northhants. Includes workshops and dancers. Local and national talent from the folk world

Several award winning artists have recently been booked.

A great mix of folk, jazz, blues and anything else that they fancy! As long as it's all acoustic.

After 23 year's of exceptional performances from both international and British performers the Burnley National Blues Festival has become one of the great influences of the British blues scene. One of the longest running blues events in the UK.

Filey Folk Festival back for 2012 ! Now at three locations within the town.
No mention of prices, but was free last year.

Morris dancing, singing, traditional festival.
site not fully updated on our last visit.

The Folk Festival is promoted by the Upton upon Severn Folk Dance and Song Society and has a strong dance component, but with a fair bit of music thrown in too.

In its 40th year (yes, 40th!)
Host of events, with the weekend being the highlight.

Includes blues and roots. Another Isle of Mann festival

After making a come-back in Bristol after an incredible 32 years absence, it's here again.
Award winning bands, ceilidhs, workshops, sessions, singalongs, mummers, arts, crafts,indoor camping, and much more.
It's a guaranteed "rain-free" event, being indoors.

Imagine a world 400 years ago where children were used as chimney sweeps. The pay was low, it was a dirty trade and there was little reward for the men who did the job and even less for children.

The modern day Rochester Sweeps Festival is a colourful mix of contemporary music, dancing and entertainment with more than 60 Morris sides and entertainers celebrating throughout the three-day festival.

In its 14th year. This year they have put more of an accent on singers and songwriters and have cut down on some of the more ‘robust’ larger instrumental electric acts.

Folk and Rock together.

Holmfirth Festival of Folk sprang from the ashes of Holmfirth Folk Festival in 2005 and has grown into an extremely popular community based festival drawing in a large local audience in addition to the usual 'folkies'. The events take place in the local pubs and on the streets and the vast majority are free. Because of this, we don’t have a lot of money to spend on big names but be assured you will get quality. So if that is the kind of festival you like, we would love to see you!

It's yet another year for this festival that donates the proceeds to charity.

Runs twice a year, the other one is in September.

Be there. Donate. Feel good.

A mixture of folk music and folk dancing, with craft fairs. Public displays on Sunday are free, with two folk concerts (tickets required) on Saturday and Sunday, and music are several venues in the town

Concerts, Ceilidh, Dance Displays, Sessions and Singarounds

A music festival which brings a heady mix of concerts to chapels and churches, village halls and pubs, castles and barns in the glorious northern Yorkshire Dales. And talks; and exhibitions; and guided walks...

A mixture of music styles, includes acoustic and folk.

A prestigious and relaxed family friendly occasion for all generations with an eclectic programme of Unplugged and Acoustic music from the genres of Folk, Roots, Celtic, Blues, Pop, Rock, Ska, Blugrass and much more.
4 stages of entertainment and dozens of crafts and food tents together with a huge real ale tent over 200ft long, with a stage powered by bicycles.

Celebrating its 24th anniversary - which by coincidence is, in the US anyway, the anniversary where the presents are Musical Instruments!

This is the first of the two Off the Tracks festivals. A great family site.

The Festival on the Moor, with some of th eclassiest folk and acoustic music in Yorkshire.

From Friday 'til late Sunday. Concert marquee, Dance tent, Showground stage and more. On site camping, market and food stalls, crafts, children's festival and youth programme.

Family friendly festival based in Shepley, a small village on the Pennine fringe, in West Yorkshire between Huddersfield and Barnsley.

Mixture of music styles.

Music from Cornwall, and other countries, such as English and Celtic music. An entirely acoustic festival (apart from the ceilidhs), the festival offers a broad mix of singers, dancers and musicians.

Mixture of affordable and free events.

Concerts, Ceilidhs, workshops, singarounds, sessions, displays, craft fair, family events, children's entertainment.

This is a very popular long running event.

A festival which still retains its 'village' atmosphere, providing three and a half days packed with song, dance, workshops and dance displays.
Described as "one of the friendliest festivals" with "a superb town setting" and "a great line up", we think it really is the best way to start your summers folk activities

Extended length this year.
For a Bank Holiday that won’t break the bank, come to the annual Dulverton Folk Festival.

The Gate to Southwell Folk Festival is now established as one of the premier events in the Midlands Folk Calendar rivalling other well established festivals and receiving many accolades.

Ireby festival is for those who have a wide range of musical tastes, we don't focus an any specific genre, if it sounds good we'll give it a try. We will also keep you on the move too with a choice of venues.

So one for those with a wide range of musical tastes.

The Wallingford Blues and Beer Festival is an independently run charity festival and the money raised from it goes towards promoting live music in Wallingford and helping to promote youth development projects in the town and surrounding areas.

And what a great url for their site!

Includes dance, sessions, celidh, workshops, and music, all set in the delightful surroundings of Weymouth's old harbour

The 8th Wirral Folk On The Coast Festival is taking place at an exciting new venue in 2012!

A festival of music and dance which has been held on the Wirral peninsula for several years.

Many performers booked. Includes a singer-songwriter competition.

Site not yet properly updated for 2012.

This should be their 30th festival!

A weekend of the very best in traditional English and Celtic music and dance in and around the Minster town of Wimborne, Dorset.

Celidhs, Dance displays, children's entertainers, Market stalls.

A multi-media festival, covering a variety of styles, includes several groups popular at folk festivals.

Specialises in mainly local talent. Probably the longest-running free music festival in the country. Web site under construction when we visited.

Large variety of acts, around 40 of them. In it's 29th year, Beverley was short-listed for Family Festival Award 2010.
During the festival weekend many of the pubs host various sessions and the streets are alight with various performances including morris dancers, children's entertainers, musicians and mummers entertaining locals and visitors alike.

Has three main aims in life

To create an enjoyable event for all involved

To raise money for the RNLI

To preserve and promote the maritime heritage of Falmouth and Cornwall

A weekend of dance and music in this lovely cathedral city.

Dances - Displays - Workshops - Morris Tours

Established and popular festival, but their web site is still being constructed.

The Big Session Festival is all about the special relationship we have with our customers. It is a Festival where artists, festival goers and the festival team all come together in celebration of great music, song and art.

A free festival featuring two entertainment areas, children's & workshop tents, over 120 stalls - charities, activists, spiritual groups, healers, crafts and fair-traders.

Not quite a folk festival, but it will appeal to some of you.

Originally the Ipswich Riverside Folk Festival
The Steamboat is located on a man-made, but tidal, cut of the river. As it’s a pub venue there are no accommodation facilities at the venue itself, but there are plenty of B&Bs and a nearby campsite, if you’re coming from outside town.

Music, dance, children's stuff, the event is now widely recognised as the largest free folk festival in the country. The festival has retained its unique, eclectic and idiosyncratic atmosphere.

Festival of organic arts and cultures. a mixture of music styles and events.

In its 4th year. A weekend of family fun set in a beautiful location on the the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, 16 miles east of Kendal in the south east corner of Cumbria.

A mixture of music genres, expect over 25 mainly Acoustic Acts covering Folk, Blues, Country, Bluegrass, Jazz & all points in between on 2 stages.

Web site not fully updated at th etime of our last visit.

An acoustic festival of music, voice, language & roots.

A two-day festival focusing on acoustic music, voices and song from around the world. A celebration and exploration of different cultures and languages at a time when we’re losing global cultural biological and linguistic diversity, HOME features unplugged sets from a wide range of outstanding international artists.

Concerts, Ceilidh, Sessions, Morris, Workshops.
Several local venues

Has an indoor event on the 23rd and an outdoor event on Sunday the 24th.

There will be around 50 events taking place in the village of Lymm including dance, drama, music, comedy and literature. During the Festival, Lymm celebrates the wealth and diversity of talents to be found amongst the members of the community, and provides plenty of opportunities for exploring and enjoying the local environment.

With music of all kinds, dance, drama, spoken word, comedy, visual arts and crafts

Roots music from both sides of the Atlantic.

Now in it's 5th year.

Festival on the island.
Website underconstruction on our last visit.

Cornbury is eccentric, charming and irresistible - a homespun melting pot, with a variety of music styles to be heard.

Something a bit different.

An explosion of bands and performers combining brass with folk, opera, dance and spectacular outdoor theatre descends on County Durham to fill some stunning venues and City streets with music and fantastic visual effects. With new, cutting edge collaborations, digital trails and established and emerging bands trumping brass in every genre imaginable, it’s a feast of international cultures and sounds. BRASS 2012; an exceptional festival of sound.

Established festival in Yorkshire, popular with many people. Craft fair, sessions, and award winning headline acts.

Steam trains, music, dance, sessions, steam trains.

A self-contained festival of music, song and dance in an idyllic setting adjacent to a steam railway.

Site not yet complete

A general arts festival, with a variety of types of events, including some folk music.

(There's a separate Folk Festival in February.)

They claim to be...
The friendliest folk festival in England, held at the beautiful village of Priddy, high on the magnificent Mendip Hills in sunny Somerset.
Who are we to disagree.

Down where the cider apples grow lives a small friendly festival.

And this is it's tenth year!

Long established festival.

Site not yet fully updated on our last visit

Bromsgrove is at the heart of the beautiful Worcestershire countryside, The folk festival is definitely in the "small and friendly" category....but don't let that fool you! In our 400 seater marquee you will, this year, be "up close and personal" with the artists. Add to this concerts in our MiniMarquee with artists that you will want to get to know better, sessions in and around the pub where the festival is based, dance displays, morning walks, and of course the World Dry Foam Flinging Championships. A great weekend where you will be on first name terms with everybody else by the end of the weekend.

With its beautiful cathedral towering majestically above the surrounding countryside, the City of Ely lies in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens, famed for spectacular sunsets and the vast open sky. What better location for a weekend of the best in folk music and dance?

The Folk Festival is based on a single site which includes marquees, camping facilities, food stalls, trade stands, real-ale bar, real toilets, showers, children's entertainment.

Web site incomplete on our last visit.
Furness Tradition is a folk-arts development group based in the Furness market town of Ulverston on the edge of the Lake District in north-west England. The group was initiated by volunteers to celebrate, encourage and make familiar the musical inheritance of the Furness and South Lakeland area of South Cumbria.

Organised by a brewery, so there is something to do if it rains...
Now in its 4th year.

Rothbury Traditional Music Festival is a small, friendly, community based music festival set in the heart of Northumberland in Rothbury in the beautiful Coquet Valley. Over the last three decades Rothbury Festival has established a unique atmosphere that has drawn musicians and singers from throughout the country and beyond to spend a weekend sharing music and experiencing Northumbrian traditions.

Located just to the east of Milton Keynes, this one day event features street entertainments, pub sessions ceilidh, and of course a main stage. And kids entertainment too.

Stainsby Festival is a well-established, intimate and family friendly event in a beautiful rural setting. Held in large marquees on a greenfield site at Brunt's Farm in the picturesque hamlet of Stainsby Derbyshire, it features mainly folk and world music.

Great folk and world music in traditional marquees, crafts stalls, children’s entertainment, music workshops of every kind, a singer’s competition and walkabout events.

Two main stages.
Many top acts booked already.
This is it's 39th year.

Supports a local children's charity.

Many big names come to this one day event.

Since the formation of the Blues Committee in 2001 there has been two aims, to produce a festival to promote Blues Music in Upton Upon Severn, and to support the local community. To achieve these aims the Upton Blues Festival has always, and will always be free from any admission charge.

What more can you want than the blues for free? 60 or 70 bands perhaps?

Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the premier music events in Europe and one of the longest running and most famous folk festivals in the world. It has become hugely popular and a regular sell out attracting ten thousand people, many of whom return year after year.
The Festival is renowned for its eclectic mix of music and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. The best traditional folk artists from the UK and Ireland rub shoulders with more contemporary acts.

Singers and musicians, street entertainers and Morris dancers - it seems that anybody and everybody who enjoys folk music heads for Warwick in July each year.

Since its humble beginnings in 1979, the annual Warwick Folk Festival has developed into one of the most highly regarded folk events on the national and international scene, attracting fans from all over Britain and as far afield as the USA and Australia

Site underconstruction on our last visit

Trowbridge Village Pump Festival has 38 years history of being one of the safest, most family friendly festivals. This year we are doing even more for kids of all ages by dedicating the whole of Arena 2 (the island by the manor house) to family entertainment.

Incorporating Stokes Bay Festival.
Located in an attractive rural setting on rolling farmland alongside the Community Centre between Mill Lane and Blind Lane on the outskirts of Wickham village.
Large number of great acts booked already.
Plus lots of attractions to keep you ammused

The 40th Wadebridge Folk Festival, site undergoing an update soon. Spread over several venues, this large festival features music (of course), a craft fair, workshops and sessions, and children's events.

With over 600 events to choose from, Sidmouth FolkWeek is unique. Whether you dive into the week-long festival experience, give the weekend or a single day a try, or dip in and out of individual concerts, workshops and ceilidhs, Sidmouth is a great festival.

Bluegrass festival in its 12th year.
It is run more like a party for a bit of fun. It is a place to relax, meet new people, or meet up with old friends and listen to the music in a lovely location.

Famous reunion festival taking place in Oxfordshire, for the legendary Fairport Convention. And lots of guests.

An international festival, so a bit different to the norm. Artists from many countries, for those that like world music. In its 48th year.

During Folk Week, life in Broadstairs really is set to music. In the parks, pubs, gardens and on the beaches and promenade- there really is a festival vibe in the town – nobody who arrives in Broadstairs during Folk Week wonders whether there is an event taking place – it’s inescapable – in the best possible way!

A friendly traditional festival, with highlights including Ceilidh, Song & Music Sessions, Dartmoor Stepdance and Broomdance Championships, Dartmoor Fayre, Craft Displays, Dances, Music Hall, Sunday Ramble, Folk Service, Pub Sessions & Children's Events.PLUS - Craft tent, Sideshows, Demonstrations, Dance Displays, Children's Entertainers and much more...The festival continues to attract some of the top national and local artists as guests, maintaining its reputation as one of the top events in the folk calendar.

Seaside festival, includes singer/songwriter competition.
Folk music, dance and song.

Many acts booked already.

Beautiful Days is the Levellers festival which takes place at Escot Park in the heart of Devon and 2012 is the festival's 10th anniversary. We're a family music festival with six stages, site art, a huge children's area in the centre of the festival, comedy, theatre, family camping, a healing area, licensed real ale bars from Otter Brewery & carefully selected food and craft stalls.

The festival features some well known and talented main acts, plus local and national, up and coming artists.

Seven days of dancing in the streets, music and singing in the pubs, concerts and dances until late into the night, and a whole lot more. Seven days of meeting old friends and making new ones.

With over 600 events, this long-standing celebration of the traditional music, dance and song of the British Isles has taken on the trappings of a tradition in its own right.

Web site just being updated, not much info yet. but rated as one of th etop ten gigs by The Independant

A traditional village festival, with trade, crafts, and music fair.
A Street Arts Festival across three open stages with wall to wall programming of dance, comedy, music, magic, puppetry, storytelling and Circus Workshops for all ages. It’s a Real Ale Festival and the best ice cream in the country.

This is a new festival, in East Anglia (hence the name).

And although in it's firstyear, it already has some welknown big names signed up. It's organised by two experienced suffolk production companies, Gig in th ePark and For the Win, so with their experience they should produce a great event.

Shrewsbury Folk Festival has a reputation for delivering the very finest acts from the UK and around the world, always searching to find new authentic artists as well as providing a platform for established performers, and never forgetting to add some fun and diversity to our concerts. We try to bring quality in depth.

The SEVENTH FREE Acoustic Festival in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.

Activities based mainly around the pubs in the Town centre of Burnham-on-Sea.

Large number of acts confirmed now.

And the easiset web address to remember! It must make everyone else jealous.

In its 40th year!
The Fylde Folk Festival attracts around 3000 people every year including festival & club organisers, agents, concert promoters, arts organisations etc who have come to enjoy the music and the friendly atmosphere in the various hotels, pubs and outdoor events.
Lots of big name acts.

Our tradition of an eclectic folk selection continues this year.

Showcasing unsigned acts right alongside well established international artists makes for a really exciting bill.

The second Off the Tracks festival of the year.

A great family festival with lots of things going on.

Web site still under development on our last visit.

But the festival seems to be twice as big as last year.

Swanage comes alive with hundreds of Morris dancers in their bright costumes and jingling bells, and folk music lovers, every year for the weekend on the second Friday after the August Bank Holiday Monday.
Concerts, join-in sessions, workshops, as well as dancers

Old Time American Music Festival.
Workshops . Concerts . Slow Jams
Picking Sessions .

(Ignore the repetitive warnings about Java, they have a heavyweight primitive menu system, just click the Run button.)

A unique mixture of folk, roots, blues and world music in the glorious East Sussex countryside.

From the creators of The Black Horse Festival

Claims to be he best folk cultural event in the Welsh Border area - featuring over 170 hours of entertainment into just one weekend of traditional music, song and dance.

Who are we to argue?

It's yet another year for this festival that donates the proceeds to charity.

Runs twice a year, the other one is in May.

Be there. Donate. Feel good.

A boutique festival in the bohemian enclave of Ramsbottom (that's what it says!) Varied program with several different genres, and some folk music.

Sea shanties and more. Show­cas­ing unsigned and newly estab­lished musi­cal tal­ent (both local and regional), with poets, DJs and artists

Website incomplete on our last visit.

Many acts already booked, and more to come.
Supported by The Northern Rock Foundation
Badapple Theatre Support the MS Society

Web site incomplete when last visited.
Tenterden Folk Festival is a four day long festival of folk song, music and dance. Tenterden, situated in the ancient Weald of Kent, about 12 miles west of Ashford, is an ideal setting for this friendly, family folk festival. It features one of the widest High Streets in the country lined with historic and listed buildings, numerous friendly pubs and restaurants and green verges.

This will be the 12th Anniversary Festival, and promises to be every bit as good as all the others.

Various musical genres are presented, at various venues. Rock, folk, acoustic, pop and more. All at bargain prices too!

Once again, the two Lewes folk clubs, The Royal Oak and The Lewes Saturday Folk Club are combining their efforts to promote this festival, largely based in their own clubrooms and other venues in the town

Web site incomplete on our last visit

Celebrating cornwall's distinctive heritage of traditional music, dance, songs, story telling and our links with Brittany, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales

We like to include a few not quite folk but sort of folk festivals, like this one. Just to broaden your outlook a bit.

The long running International Guitar Festival is based in the Wirral. The festival celebrates all things guitar, presenting concerts, workshops and related events throughout November. This year’s festival features the usual eclectic mix of genres and artists that highlight the importance of the guitar within every form of music. Acoustic, yes, but not sure about folky.

Winter Festival
The Grand Ceilidh, Concerts, Singarounds, Music Sessions, Poetry & Storytelling, Real Ale Bars, Workshops (Guitar, Harmonica, Percussion & Songwriting), Folk Clubs, Meet the Artiste, Friday evening "Rock 'n' Roll Party", Late Night Specials (Week-end Ticket Holders Only), "Themed" shows and sessions, Dance Displays, Craft Fair, The Famous "Bedworth Voices Concert", plus much more!

With more than 17 hours of free entertainment planned, it must be worth the price of a pint. Please be generous with your donations.

This is the second year for this charity organised event, featuring music, ale, hog roast and lots of fun,

Small local festival, part of the Golowan Festival Week

A small, one day - well, one evening - event.

Not to be confused with another festival in Cambridge, this is a world music festival with events spread over two weeks. Not just music either.

Web site incomplete when last visited

This is a non-profit festival for the community.
This will not just be a music festival. There will be numerous additional attractions to the Live Acts such as morris and dance troupes, music and dance workshops, children's activities, childrens arts and crafts tent, emergency service displays and presentations together with other individual entertainers.

Website incomplete

Various folk / acoustic bands artists. Headliners – Cloudstreet.
Aimed to offer a broad musical aspect (including Irish music) by bringing together a vast mixture of musical tastes and genres.
Includes Morris Dancing and Belly Dancing

A Winter singalong, to start the year. Come along and join in or just enjoy the music.

And as this is their first ever winter mini-fest, do try to support it.

An informal gathering, not a lot of info available, mentioned under news section

A small festival centered on a pub.

The Winter Folk Festival - Napton is aiming to raise as much money as possible for the charity JJ's Memorial Fund - www.jjsmemorialfund.org

14 very different and extremely talented acts. Solos, duos and bands performing traditional and contemporary folk music, Sea Shantys and Folk Rock - something for everybody.

A village based festival featuring many performers rooted in the traditional singing, dancing and music of Kent, Essex and Sussex.

Tunes, songs and stepdancing from old friends and special guests. The focus will be on traditional and old-fashioned entertainment, and events will include a tunes session

Fantastic developments engulf Oxford Folk Festival as we enter our eigth year. We are delighted to announce that John Spiers and Jon Boden are joining June Tabor as patrons of the Festival – it seems only fitting, since these two home-grown superstars have conquered the world of English folk!

A small, friendly, non-corporate, music festival in a Village Hall, with an emphasis on local bands and musicians. There are two stages, a pub for sessions, and ample room for Morris sides (which are welcome, contact us if you are part of one and wish to join us.) The ethos is DIY - if you want to join in, bring an instrument and start a session. The more the merrier!

There will be a full range of workshops each morning and teatime throughout the Festival weekend. Workshops will be held in the Lysses House Hotel. Admission to workshops is free to Festival season ticket holders. Also dance displays and a Craft Fayre and Musical Instruments Fayre all weekend. Plus informal sessions you can join.

Concerts, dances, sessions, workshops and manufacturers. All focused on the hurdy-gurdy.

Clennell Hall has hosted the “Clennell Hall Folk Festival” for the last four years each May, steadily building on its success. Word of mouth has helped to spread the news of this great friendly little festival.

The fourth WOOD festival, celebrating music and nature in the beautiful surroundings of Braziers Park, Oxfordshire.
The event runs entirely on renewable energy and aims to highlight green issues and through participation promote an ecologically friendly lifestyle.

Just announced...

A small, intimate festival based on our 132 acre organic farm, with great guests, concerts, ceilidhs, workshops, family dance, children’s entertainment, resident story teller and accommodation in our residential centre or camping, both fully catered from our organic farm produce.

Ticket price includes ALL food over the weekend.

Enjoy a relaxed weekend with music, song, dance and great food
Very Limited Number of Weekend Tickets Available
Please Book Early

Was Food and Folk Festival. The initial idea was to create a festival of both food and drink as well as folk music, so the Hartington Food and Folk Festival began. Each year the event has grown and developed and in 2011 we took the decision to stop the Food Festival part due to lack of support from local food producers. However it has given us the chance to showcase local, national and international folk, traditional and acoustic acts as well as being recognised as being one of Britain’s best intimate folk festivals.

Marquee concert stage / Rolling Folk Club / Musicians Sessions / Singarounds / Songwriters Showcase / Singing Workshop / Morris Dancing / Bob Dylan 70th Birthday Celebration / Yorkshire Folk Songs Event / Poems & Pints, and more

A tradition in the making - song, music, dance and village life
Great guests, song sessions, music sessions, events in the pub, dance and ceilidh, concerts, music, song and dance workshops, morris sides, young musicians sessions, camping, village breakfasts, food stalls.

Its a very family friendly festival with FREE kids places available now.

Its also non-profit making, so all support is welcome.

Informality is the keynote for this popular enthusiasts gathering.

A FREE WEEKEND of Music Sessions and Singarounds in and around the 'famed city of Robin Hood's Bay' on the beautiful Yorkshire Coast.

Site incomplete on last visit

This year will be the 11th Annual Bradninch Music Festival. The Bradninch Music Groups’ aim is to make music accessible to the community and promote creative performers. The Group promotes concerts, the playing of informal music, lectures, open stage events, workshops, community music making.

Hiring fair, craft market and music, of course.
Real Ale bar, sing a round and sessions, meet the artists. A new and improved caterer, with sensible prices.

A great festival with some folk stars too.

Not just folk music of course, but it will appeal to some of you.

This festival covers a large number of events of many different types. It includes several folk music events.

It will probably appeal in different ways to different people. Saturday 18th has a free event. Search their site for more details.

If you haven't heard of this one, what planet are you from? ;)
Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and a template for all the festivals that have come after it. The difference is that Glastonbury has all the best aspects of being at a Festival in one astonishing bundle.

Droylsden Folk Festival Weekend has put itself firmly on the map as one of the premier folk music festivals in the North West of England, attracting well-known performers and local artistes with its friendly, laid-back approach to having a good time.

Set in a stunning location near Englands book town, Sedbergh Folkfest is one of the Country's best folk festivals. It has a very friendly atmosphere and a programme of events with something for everyone.

Virtually on the Kent / London border the Crayside Folk Day is taking place in the Seven Stars, a Grade 2 listed riverside pub designated a landmark building.

Site incomplete when we last visited.

A mixture of local acts, dancers and ceilidh band, acoustic session on Friday, live music all day Saturday.

Site incomplete on last visit.

Held on one stage, so you miss nothing! Four major concerts. Come to one. Come to some. Come to the whole weekend! Discounts mean one thing - the more you come to, the more you save!

The 14th Show of Hands family festival will once again take place at Abbotsbury’s glorious Sub Tropical Gardens near Weymouth. Over six hours of non-stop open-air entertainment on Abbotsbury’s West Lawn

Managed by key personnel from the hugely successful Spratton Folk Festival, the new Merry Tom Folk Festival already has a full lineup of 12 nationally and locally recognised bands.

The event is planned as a family oriented, easily accessible summer festival featuring a wide range of live music supported by children’s entertainment, workshops, food and craft stalls as well as onsite camping facilities.

Celebrating traditional and contemporary folk music, song and dance at Milborne St Andrew Sports Club. There will be some of the best of the local amateur singers and musicians, as well as those from further a field. There is also the opportunity for aspiring singers and musicians to have a go in a friendly atmosphere at the Sports Club.

Sessions, ceilidh, and workshops.

This is a Facebook site, which means it is restricted to those who have joined Facebook.

Small intimate festival.

Every summer we hold the annual Folk and Blues Festival in the grounds of Ruskin House. The festival features many of the regular musicians who play at the Sunday evening club along with a performance by a team of Irish dancers, Scottish Pipers, a bouncy castle and a barbecue. Oh, and a bar.

A new festival, web site incomplete when we visited.

Great live music all day
50 local musicians, singers and bands
Guest Ales
Good food and drink
BBQ

Now in its 11th year.

This year, over 40 bands and 150 individual musicians from all over the globe will be performing in the main stage marquee, in the pubs and clubs and on an outdoor stage and on the street, to thousands of visitors from all over the UK.

The blues are sometimes considered to be folk music, and besides a bit of variety never done any harm.

The World Music Festival. International event, including a taste of roots music.

An alternative, independent, festival, evenings only, at the same time as the Sidmouth week.

The Event is still small but has gained in popularity in recent years with both artist's and audiences who enjoy the friendly atmosphere and laid-back 'local vibe' being described as "An intimate celebration of our musical heritage featuring some of the biggest and newest acts in world Folk Roots music."

Web site incomplete on last visit

This is a new and exciting festival, and it is going to be in it's second year and will be providing concerts education and opportunities to play folk music in this vibrant and culturally rich city. A variety of venues around the city will be used.

Taking place in Grove, near Wantage in rural Oxfordshire, WHFF is a small, friendly festival for folk fans who enjoy making new friends. WHFF has been described as just like a weekend-long party - and that’s just how we like it!!

Musicport @ Scarborough Fair on the Sunday will be a festival of folk and world music. Founded in the 13th century, this is one of the few festivals with it's own folk song!

A day of the best of the local folk scene.

A mixture of music styles. Something for everyone.

Once again we've included a few bluegrass festivals to give you a bit more variety. And besides, we noticed a few folk stars in the line up...

(We're not trying to cover every such festival, just a few samples for you enjoyment.)

Music, dance, steam and beer.

Says it all, really.
10th Anniversary.

Very little info available, some details under main site's news page

This festival has now been CANCELLED.

This is an artist-run festival that radiates talent. Includes open mic, sing-arounds, jam sessions, workshops Morris dancing, crafts demos and stalls.


So far, over 40 artists performing.

Come and join in the singing with some of the country's finest traditional singers, all hand picked from folk clubs and festivals around the country, some well-known, some not heard of, but all of a high standard. A harvest of song complemented by good company, good food and drink.

Everything on one site: move from sing to sing. Campsite, Bed & Breakfast and food tents all within easy reach

One of our main objectives, being a small Festival, is to ensure that all visitors have an event to attend, be it concert, singaround, music session, workshop or dance display.
The festival has gradually expanded to cater for the tastes and interests of travelling folk music enthusiasts and local residents alike.

The best folk cultural event in the Welsh Border area - featuring over 170 hours of entertainment into just one weekend of traditional music, song and dance.

The organically grown music festival. mix of various styles, with a good dose of acoustic music

Several different genres of music at this festival. Could appeal to some of you.

A great fusion this year of the best of Kent’s traditional folk and dance with the ‘New’ Folk of Deal’s ‘Smugglers Sessions’ plus a fantastic slice of World Music with Nuru Kane.

Website rather incomplete when we last visited.

The 20th Otley Folk Festival. Our line-up includes artists from the old days (some of them appearing in sepia), alongside some of the many up-and-coming young musicians on the scene today (in glorious Otley-Colour), plus some established folk icons (can't think of a colour for them).

Note the little Enter button at the bottom of their splash page.

Enjoy a friendly and relaxed celebration of live music and culture around a free outdoor stage in the beautiful village of Priston, 6 miles from Bath. The festival boasts an impressive line-up of live music (traditional, jazz, world, blues, rock, classical, choral) on a free open-air stage, as well as kids’ events, morris dancing, singing and dance workshops, children's art project, performance poetry, book talk, market stalls, food/drink etc. Ticketed events are also staged in local venues over the weekend.

A mixture of free open air entertainment, concerts, music sessions, classic boats, pub sessions and singarounds during the festival weekend. Events take place throughout the old town of Harwich at several local venues.

Another FREE event at Swanage! How do they do it!
Free Admission to 40 gigs in 15 indoor venues
Open Mic daily, Electric Jam Sessions, Buskers, Blues Steam Train rides
Festival Friendly Accommodation

Shares web site with the earlier Hardraw Gathering, so you usually only see the info for the next one coming, not both at once.

October one has a bias towards acoustic and roots music.

Song sessions, Morris dancing, ceilidh Site not fully updated

A world music event, many different styles. Check the line up to see if it appeals to your tastes.

Another great blues festival (we've added a few more after some requests)

A unique festival of celebrating the power of political music and arts, with a strong emphasis on folk music.

A new festival, so give it some support!

Offering a great mix of artists, with something for everyone, plus some Morris Dancing and Mummers Play too.

Tech Note - this site takes a while to load as it is a single Flash file.

A great big weekend break at Butlins, with many top acts booked.

A small event, with ceilidhs and concerts.

Often the last festival of the year.

Located on the edge of the southern-most Lake of the Broads network in East Suffolk, Broad Roots was founded in 2011 to promote and encourage participation in folk, roots, acoustic and traditional music and arts in the area.

Broad Roots aims to organise concerts, festivals, workshops and other events that embrace the entire spectrum of folk, roots, acoustic and traditional music across a wide variety of cultures and genres.