Hello, and welcome to a festival-filled edition of The Folk Forecast! I’ve spent the last couple of weeks going to Warwick, Cambridge and Sidmouth, and am now away on holiday for a bit of a break, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind and I’m going to keep this quite short and sweet!

Things are looking pretty quiet on the online gig front over the next month, but there are LOTS of festivals to enjoy and some cracking new music too, so without further ado here’s the latest news…

This month’s playlist

Since we’re in the midst of festival season, here’s a festival playlist to set the mood for the next month. I’ll be looking to expand this one, if anyone has any suggestions!

Listen to the playlist

TOP PICKS: ONLINE

Things are looking pretty quiet online over the summer, as everyone heads off to festivals and on holiday. Here are a couple of things I’ve spotted - it looks like things will pick up a bit more when we get to September!

The Official Folk Albums Chart Show* — Tuesday 2 August, 7pm BST

Folk on Foot website, YouTube and podcast feed. Commissioned by English Folk Expo and compiled by the Official Charts Company.

See which albums have made the Official Folk Albums Chart this month, with Folk on Foot. I’ll also be on the show with Matthew as we meet up at Sidmouth Folk Festival to chat about the latest news! You can listen live or catch up later.

Free to access, but you can support the podcast by becoming a patron.

Find out more

Afternoon Tea Special with Paul Walker & Karen Pfeiffer — 12 August, 4pm BST

Paul Walker & Karen Pfeiffer on Facebook

Paul Walker & Karen Pfeiffer began hosting their ‘Afternoon Tea’ gigs during lockdown. Since things have opened up, they’ve continued to run occasional gigs to share some songs and keep in touch with fans. To watch, just head to their Facebook page on 12th August at 4pm, or catch up later.

Free to view.

Find out more

Piping Live! — 6-14 August

Piping Live!

Glasgow’s international piping festival, Piping Live, is available to watch online this year. This includes a concert with the Fred Morrison Trio and Paddy Keenan, competitions, recitals and more.

Tickets are available for individual events, or a festival pass is £75.

Find out more

Looking ahead to September

Live to Your Living Room* gigs will return on 9th September with Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth, followed by Lucy Farrell & M G Boulter, Chris Wood, Methera, Greg Russell and the Jackie Oates Trio.
The Shetland Songwriting Festival is running online again from 16th-18th September, hosted by Lucy Farrell, MG Boulter & Mathias Kom. Tickets include 12 hours of workshops, a ticket to the tutor concert (which is also available to book by itself via Live to your Living Room*), a 30 minute one-to-one session, a Sunday evening sharing session and a festival pack in the post.

TOP PICKS: IN PERSON

This month, it’s all about festivals, and as you can see, there are rather a lot of them in store…

Sidmouth Folk Festival, 29 July-5 August - I’ve just been to Sidmouth for a couple of days, and had the best time! The festival is going on all week, so there’s still a chance to catch some of it if you fancy - artists still in store include Martin Simpson, Spiers & Boden, Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones and lots, LOTS more.
Wickham Festival, 4-7 August - Line-up including Levellers, Oysterband, The Longest Johns, Grace Petrie, Spiers & Boden, Show of Hands, The Dhol Foundation, a DJ set from Johnny Kalsi and more.
Broadstairs Folk Week, 5-12 August - Show of Hands, Lindisfarne, Spiers and Boden, Sharon Shannon, The Longest Johns, The Magpie Arc, Belinda O’Hooley, Flook and more.
Cropredy, 11-13 August - Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Seth Lakeman, Martyn Joseph, Emily Barker and more.
Saltburn Folk Festival - 11-14 Aug - O’Hooley & Tidow, Narthen, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan, Granny’s Attic*, Janice Burns & Jon Doran*, Jez Lowe, Holly and the Reivers and more.
The Magpies Festival, 12-13 August - John Smith, Seth Lakeman, The Drystones, The Jellyman’s Daughter, Honey & The Bear and more.
Mull of Kintyre Music Festival - 17-21 Aug - Lots of great events to get the whole community involved, including a young folk night, a gaelic concert and a festival parade. There will also be music from the likes of Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, Elephant Sessions, Trail West, Rhuvaal and more.
Green Man - 18-21 Aug - Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, John Francis Flynn, Katherine Priddy and more.
Purbeck Valley Folk Festival - 19-21 Aug - Show of Hands, Michael McGoldrick Band, The Magpie Arc, Rioghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet, Ballet Folk, National Youth Folk Ensemble and more.
FolkEast - 19-21 Aug - It’s the 10 year anniversary of FolkEast this year, and for the anniversary they’ve brought back some of the artists who’ve played over the last 10 years, including one of my favourites, The Imagined Village! I was there for the first festival and am really excited to return. The line-up also includes Spiers & Boden, The Young’Uns, Kate Rusby, The Unthanks and Gigspanner Big Band & Raynor Winn’s Saltlines show.
Beautiful Days - 19-21 Aug - Flogging Molly, Levellers, Seasick Steve, Fisherman’s Friends, The Imagined Village, Eliza Carthy and the Restitution, Seth Lakeman, Thea Gilmore, The Trials of Cato, Billy Bragg, The Unthanks and more.
Whitby Folk Week - 20-26 Aug - Ceilidhs, workshops, sessions and dance displays galore, plus concerts from artists including Melrose Quartet, The Wilsons and lots more.
Between the Trees - 26-28 Aug (Wales) - John Smith, The Drystones, Katherine Priddy, The Magpies, The Ciderhouse Rebellion and more.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival - 26-29 Aug - Edward II, Judy Collins, Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, The Rheingans Sisters, Hannah James & Toby Kuhn, Lady Nade, Miranda Sykes, Show of Hands, Sam Sweeney Band, The Unthanks, Thea Gilmore, The Breath and more.
Towersey Folk Festival - 26-29 Aug - Bill Bailey, Kate Rusby, Imelda May, Kris Drever, The Longest Johns, Gigspanner Big Band and more.
Greenbelt - 26-29 Aug - Anaïs Mitchell, Wildwood Kin, Thea Gilmore, The Young’Uns, Martyn Joseph, Granny’s Attic* and more, plus poets including Simon Armitage and comedians including Shappi Khorsandi.
Moseley Folk & Arts Festival - 2-4 Sep - Seasick Steve, The Longest Johns, Martin Carthy, John Francis Flynn, John Cooper Clarke, Simon Armitage and more.
Indoor Festival of Folk - 3 Sep - Cecil Sharp House - The Magpie Arc, Knight & Spiers, Bella Hardy, Blair Dunlop, Lizzy Hardingham and Matthew Bannister in conversation with Maddy Prior and Peter Knight.
Bromyard Folk Festival - 8-11 Sep - Mànran, Michael McGoldrick, John Kirkpatrick, Granny’s Attic*, Sam Carter and more.
Swanage Folk Festival - 9-11 Sep - Oysterband, Seth Lakeman, Faustus and more.
Brighton and Hove Folk Festival - 10 Sep - Martin & Eliza Carthy, Gwenifer Raymond, Germa Adan and more. Festival patron, the renowned illustrator and political cartoonist Chris Riddell, will be live-drawing to the music. The festival needs to sell some advance tickets as soon as possible to go ahead, so don’t delay if you fancy going along!
Ceòl Cholasa - 15-18 Sep - Ruth Notman, Project Smok, Kinnaris Quintet and more.

This is just a selection of festivals taking place over the next few weeks. To see details of even more folk festivals coming up in the UK, this website is really handy!

NEW RELEASES

19 August - Fisherman’s Friends - One and All
The sequel to the Fisherman’s Friends film, One and All, is out on 19th August, and a soundtrack is being released on the same day. Alongside the band, it also features Imelda May, who plays the character Aubrey Flynn in the film. The Fisherman’s Friends musical is also coming in October, so look out for that too!
2 September - Jackie Oates - Gracious Wings
Jackie Oates is releasing her new album, Gracious Wings, at the beginning of next month, featuring English folk songs, self-penned material and the odd unexpected cover version! It includes collaborations with John Spiers, Mike Cosgrave, Jon Wilks, Megan Henwood and John Parker.

RECORD OF THE MONTH

Record of the Month is Revel by Tarren, which is out on 29th August. This new trio features some familiar faces, including Alex Garden, Danny Pedler and Sid Goldsmith. Playing an array of instruments between them – from violin, viola and cittern to accordion, concertina and hurdy-gurdy – Tarren are strongly anchored in tradition, although the majority of their material is entirely new. With a sense of celebration and playfulness befitting of the album’s title, they seek out the joy in each song or tune, with mesmerisingly beautiful results. Highly recommended!

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The Folk Forecast is created for artists, for audiences and for the UK folk scene. All information is correct to the best of our knowledge. If you have queries about the events listed, please contact the artists or promoters. If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future newsletters, please email TheFolkForecast@gmail.com. We may not be able to include absolutely everything, but we’re interested in UK folk events with a broad appeal, and would particularly welcome suggestions from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Folk Forecast is compiled by one person, so please bear with me if I can’t get back to you right away.

* Alongside The Folk Forecast, I work with other organisations including Live to Your Living Room, Soundpost, Folk on Foot, Fancourt Music (Granny’s Attic and Janice Burns & Jon Doran), and individual artists including Jo Freya. Events where I have some involvement with the promoter, agency or artist are marked with a star for transparency. Although I have various affiliations, I strive to be fair and inclusive and tell you about anything I think you’ll enjoy!

The Folk Forecast

The Folk Forecast: August 2022