Artists Video's
Dervish
Ewan McLennan
Julie Fowlis
Waterson:Carthy
The Peatbog Faeries
Sheelanangig
The Old Dance School
The Queensbury Rules
The Weird String Band
Tony Wilson
Arena Artists
Music all weekend in the Beer Tent, late night Ceilidh and family afternoon Ceilidh, Workshops from Arabic Dance to Festival Photography, Mini Film Festival, Dance Sides, Puppet Shows, Street Circus, Storyteller, Song Walks, Music Song and Dance for Families, Children's Crafts, Market Stalls and Fantastic Food!
See the Programme page for details...
Music all weekend in the Beer Tent, late night Ceilidh and family afternoon Ceilidh, Workshops from Arabic Dance to Festival Photography, Mini Film Festival, Dance Sides, Puppet Shows, Street Circus, Storyteller, Song Walks, Music Song and Dance for Families, Children's Crafts, Market Stalls and Fantastic Food!
See the Programme page for details...
Main Marquee Artists
The Main Marquee features ticketed concerts with some of the best known names on the folk circuit performing along side some amazing up and coming acts.
You can buy tickets for individual concerts or a weekend package for all the main marquee events. See the Tickets and Programme page for details.
Dervish
www.dervish.ie
From the Great Wall of China to packed auditoriums in the Holy Land and more recently, being the first Irish band to perform at the greatest music festival in the world 'Rock in Rio' in front of an estimated audience of 240,000 people, Dervish have come a long way in eighteen years.
Dervish concert performances are a myriad of tones and moods ranging from high energy tunes, played with fluidity and intuitiveness, to beautifully measured songs, from charming lyrics of life and love, to inspiring melodies that lift audiences from their seats. Their musical genius and innovative approach has ensured that they will be always be a leading force in Irish music, bringing joy, excitement and fun to the music of the Irish tradition.
Julie Fowlis
www.juliefowlis.com
Mark Radcliffe hailed her voice and songs as "enchanting, beguiling and as fascinating as songs by Kate Bush and Björk" and KT Tunstall described her voice as "formidable and amazingly rhythmic". The elfin figure they are describing is Julie Fowlis, a talented singer and instrumentalist from Scotland. She is the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2008 and in a few short years has taken the music scene by storm, gathering a small army of fans around the world including an impressive list of celebrities including the afore mentioned Mark Radcliffe, KT Tunstall plus Ricky Gervais and Phil Selway from Radiohead.
Waterson:Carthy
www.watersoncarthy.com
For more than 30 years Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy have been at the forefront of the English folk scene. Joined by their daughter, highly acclaimed singer and fiddle player Eliza Carthy, together they form one of Britain's most successful and influential folk bands - Waterson:Carthy.
"There is a special magic when the clan (Waterson:Carthy) pools its resources. The effect is sensational" The Times
"Waterson:Carthy are indeed the spirit of folk music - past, present and future" The Morning Star
The Peatbog Faeries
www.peatbogfaeries.com
Based on the Isle of Skye, The Peatbog Faeries released their fifth album last summer and have played to audiences all over the world. In December 2008, the band won the award for 'Best Live Act' at the prestigious Scots Trad Music Awards having previously won it in 2005. Over the past couple of years the band have toured in Australia, Borneo, Canada and America as well as prominent festivals and gigs around the UK and Europe such as Glastonbury, Cambridge and Beautiful Days.
They are one of the leading bands in the new interpretation of traditional Scottish music. Crossing so many genres they are extremely hard to define, a good effort is psychedelic bagpipe funk!
Sheelanagig
www.sheelanagig.co.uk
Sheelanagig have been honing their eclectic blend of folk, jazz and world music since early 2005. Equally at home on festival stages, music venues and street corners the band have developed a devoted following with three album releases and a hectic touring schedule. Blistering live performances have made Sheelanagig festival favourites across the UK and into Europe, and caused dancefloor mayhem from the Scottish Islands to the South of Italy.
The five members of Sheelanagig bring a wide range of musical backgrounds to the band's unique sound, and are united by their commitment to energetic performance with the highest quality instrumental music.
Roy Bailey
www.roybailey.net
For 50+ years, Roy Bailey has been one of the UK Folk & Acoustic scene's most loved and admired performers. From his early days performing skiffle in student union bars, to his love of traditional songs and the stories they tell, onto developing a unique repertoire of songs of dissent and hope, he has performed on stages, TV and radio all over the world.
Now with more than 50 years as a performer, Roy is as compelling, entertaining, thought provoking and moving as ever before. Colin Irwin writes of Roy's new CD 'Below the Radar' as being
"… so impeccable it must surely merit consideration as the best thing he's ever done." (fRoots June 2009)
The Old Dance School
www.theolddanceschool.com
The Old Dance School's exhilarating concoction of explosive, white-knuckle folk is blowing up a storm on the festival scene this summer. The twinkly-eyed six piece band features dueling fiddles and hair-raising world percussion galvanizing their intricate compositions which evoke images of wind-swept headlands, witches and wild vertical adventures.
The Scoville Units
www.thescovilleunits.com
The Scoville Units - A new celtic / bluegrass band featuring ex-members of Flook & Daily Planet!
The Queensberry Rules
www.thequeensberryrules.com
Having spent three years serving their apprenticeship in the folk clubs of Britain The Queensberry's capture the essence of small-town England, with songs based on local traditions and a wider critique of modern life.
The Wierdsting Band
www.wierdstring.co.uk
The wierdstring band. a wholly intriguing (and completely unexpected) mixture of fiddle, double bass and the acoustic guitar, bring you all of those elements and, just for good measure, chuck in some more bits of folk, gypsy swing, heavy rock, ski, home-fired treasures and far-flung flotsam.
The Balkanics
www.myspace.com/thebalkanicsband
With their unique blend of sizzling Balkan and Klezmer tunes, Lancaster's Balkanics Band deliver a big-band sound that ranges from driving dance rhythms to moments of melancholic introspection.
Since forming in 2007 they have been gigging throughout the northwest of England to increasingly large and enthusiastic audiences. Their idiosyncratic style reflects the diverse musical backgrounds of the band members, which include Balkan, Klezmer, traditional Irish, Scottish and English music, as well as rock, dance and classical.
Ewan McLennan
www.ewanmclennan.co.uk
Ewan's singing and playing covers a broad range from traditional ballads sung unaccompanied, to dance tunes or melancholic airs arranged for the guitar, and, as importantly, his own contemporary songwriting that follows firmly in the folk tradition.
Having grown up in Scotland, Scottish songs and tunes naturally form a large part of his repertoire. However, his singing and playing around Yorkshire where he has lived for the last four years, his study of the songs of the working class movement in Britain and America, and his love of Irish traditional singing all ensure that the origins and focus of his songs are varied. Ewan's accomplished guitar work and unique vocal style convey his passion for the music he sings and writes.
Tony Wilson
www.tonywilson.co.uk
Tony is a storyteller par excellence how has performed to over 200,000 people from Shetland to Cornwall, from Northern Ireland and Wales to Ipswich. He's also a very fine singer and a does a great job as compere of our evening concerts in the main marquee.
Bill Lloyd
http://tiny.cc/rho8t
Bill is a gem of the local music scene and a one man folk festival! He has a big voice, a 5 string banjo and also plays the smallpipes. He sings a mix of traditional songs, contemporary Americana, mountain music and his own material. He's our afternoon compere in the Main Marquee and you'll find him performing in the Arena events!
The Main Marquee features ticketed concerts with some of the best known names on the folk circuit performing along side some amazing up and coming acts.
You can buy tickets for individual concerts or a weekend package for all the main marquee events. See the Tickets and Programme page for details.
Dervish
www.dervish.ie
From the Great Wall of China to packed auditoriums in the Holy Land and more recently, being the first Irish band to perform at the greatest music festival in the world 'Rock in Rio' in front of an estimated audience of 240,000 people, Dervish have come a long way in eighteen years.
Dervish concert performances are a myriad of tones and moods ranging from high energy tunes, played with fluidity and intuitiveness, to beautifully measured songs, from charming lyrics of life and love, to inspiring melodies that lift audiences from their seats. Their musical genius and innovative approach has ensured that they will be always be a leading force in Irish music, bringing joy, excitement and fun to the music of the Irish tradition.
Julie Fowlis
www.juliefowlis.com
Mark Radcliffe hailed her voice and songs as "enchanting, beguiling and as fascinating as songs by Kate Bush and Björk" and KT Tunstall described her voice as "formidable and amazingly rhythmic". The elfin figure they are describing is Julie Fowlis, a talented singer and instrumentalist from Scotland. She is the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2008 and in a few short years has taken the music scene by storm, gathering a small army of fans around the world including an impressive list of celebrities including the afore mentioned Mark Radcliffe, KT Tunstall plus Ricky Gervais and Phil Selway from Radiohead.
Waterson:Carthy
www.watersoncarthy.com
For more than 30 years Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy have been at the forefront of the English folk scene. Joined by their daughter, highly acclaimed singer and fiddle player Eliza Carthy, together they form one of Britain's most successful and influential folk bands - Waterson:Carthy.
"There is a special magic when the clan (Waterson:Carthy) pools its resources. The effect is sensational" The Times
"Waterson:Carthy are indeed the spirit of folk music - past, present and future" The Morning Star
The Peatbog Faeries
www.peatbogfaeries.com
Based on the Isle of Skye, The Peatbog Faeries released their fifth album last summer and have played to audiences all over the world. In December 2008, the band won the award for 'Best Live Act' at the prestigious Scots Trad Music Awards having previously won it in 2005. Over the past couple of years the band have toured in Australia, Borneo, Canada and America as well as prominent festivals and gigs around the UK and Europe such as Glastonbury, Cambridge and Beautiful Days.
They are one of the leading bands in the new interpretation of traditional Scottish music. Crossing so many genres they are extremely hard to define, a good effort is psychedelic bagpipe funk!
Sheelanagig
www.sheelanagig.co.uk
Sheelanagig have been honing their eclectic blend of folk, jazz and world music since early 2005. Equally at home on festival stages, music venues and street corners the band have developed a devoted following with three album releases and a hectic touring schedule. Blistering live performances have made Sheelanagig festival favourites across the UK and into Europe, and caused dancefloor mayhem from the Scottish Islands to the South of Italy.
The five members of Sheelanagig bring a wide range of musical backgrounds to the band's unique sound, and are united by their commitment to energetic performance with the highest quality instrumental music.
Roy Bailey
www.roybailey.net
For 50+ years, Roy Bailey has been one of the UK Folk & Acoustic scene's most loved and admired performers. From his early days performing skiffle in student union bars, to his love of traditional songs and the stories they tell, onto developing a unique repertoire of songs of dissent and hope, he has performed on stages, TV and radio all over the world.
Now with more than 50 years as a performer, Roy is as compelling, entertaining, thought provoking and moving as ever before. Colin Irwin writes of Roy's new CD 'Below the Radar' as being
"… so impeccable it must surely merit consideration as the best thing he's ever done." (fRoots June 2009)
The Old Dance School
www.theolddanceschool.com
The Old Dance School's exhilarating concoction of explosive, white-knuckle folk is blowing up a storm on the festival scene this summer. The twinkly-eyed six piece band features dueling fiddles and hair-raising world percussion galvanizing their intricate compositions which evoke images of wind-swept headlands, witches and wild vertical adventures.
The Scoville Units
www.thescovilleunits.com
The Scoville Units - A new celtic / bluegrass band featuring ex-members of Flook & Daily Planet!
The Queensberry Rules
www.thequeensberryrules.com
Having spent three years serving their apprenticeship in the folk clubs of Britain The Queensberry's capture the essence of small-town England, with songs based on local traditions and a wider critique of modern life.
The Wierdsting Band
www.wierdstring.co.uk
The wierdstring band. a wholly intriguing (and completely unexpected) mixture of fiddle, double bass and the acoustic guitar, bring you all of those elements and, just for good measure, chuck in some more bits of folk, gypsy swing, heavy rock, ski, home-fired treasures and far-flung flotsam.
The Balkanics
www.myspace.com/thebalkanicsband
With their unique blend of sizzling Balkan and Klezmer tunes, Lancaster's Balkanics Band deliver a big-band sound that ranges from driving dance rhythms to moments of melancholic introspection.
Since forming in 2007 they have been gigging throughout the northwest of England to increasingly large and enthusiastic audiences. Their idiosyncratic style reflects the diverse musical backgrounds of the band members, which include Balkan, Klezmer, traditional Irish, Scottish and English music, as well as rock, dance and classical.
Ewan McLennan
www.ewanmclennan.co.uk
Ewan's singing and playing covers a broad range from traditional ballads sung unaccompanied, to dance tunes or melancholic airs arranged for the guitar, and, as importantly, his own contemporary songwriting that follows firmly in the folk tradition.
Having grown up in Scotland, Scottish songs and tunes naturally form a large part of his repertoire. However, his singing and playing around Yorkshire where he has lived for the last four years, his study of the songs of the working class movement in Britain and America, and his love of Irish traditional singing all ensure that the origins and focus of his songs are varied. Ewan's accomplished guitar work and unique vocal style convey his passion for the music he sings and writes.
Tony Wilson
www.tonywilson.co.uk
Tony is a storyteller par excellence how has performed to over 200,000 people from Shetland to Cornwall, from Northern Ireland and Wales to Ipswich. He's also a very fine singer and a does a great job as compere of our evening concerts in the main marquee.
Bill Lloyd
http://tiny.cc/rho8t
Bill is a gem of the local music scene and a one man folk festival! He has a big voice, a 5 string banjo and also plays the smallpipes. He sings a mix of traditional songs, contemporary Americana, mountain music and his own material. He's our afternoon compere in the Main Marquee and you'll find him performing in the Arena events!