It would be hard for us not to agree with Mike Harding that Sidmouth FolkWeek is ‘one of the best festivals on the planet!’ The 2016 festival will take place on 29th July – 5th August 2016 and already a limited number of their great season tickets are available at the lowest possible Super Early Bird prices.
As on previous years there are a number of Pre-Festival concerts which include the much loved poet and comic Pam Ayres; pioneers of folk-rock Steeleye Span and, back due to popular demand after last year’s sell-out, Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends.
Last year there was over 700 festival events including artist performances, workshops, storytelling, evening dances and more. To whet your appetite for 2016 they have announced a number of festival appearances including the dance-floor filling Seth Lakeman; Show of Hands who release their new album The Long Way Home in January and Sharon Shannon & Band and the mighty Shooglenifty. There is another great chance to catch Martin Simpson and Dom Flemmons as they perform songs inspired by the English and American folk traditions; Kathryn Tickell will be bringing her new project Superfolkus made up of a group of 15-25 year-olds who will be blasting traditional and contemporary tunes of Northumberland into new and uncharted territory; the John McCusker Band will be in celebration mode as the gifted and versatile musician celebrates his 25th year as a performer; the lively foot-stomping Le Vent Du Nord; Oysters 3 and Blazin Fiddles and Jamie Smith’s Mabon will all be providing plenty of party atmosphere as will Blackbeard’s Tea Party. Also performing are The Watershed Band featuring Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin, the ever wonderful Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Appalachian duo Anna & Elizabeth, the unforgettable Teeside folk trio The Young’Uns who we recently interviewed (read it here); a very rare performance from the legendary Robin Dransfield as well as the ever engaging Bob Fox, Whapwheasle and the multi-talented Lady Maisery.
EFDSS Folk Rising Plus series and the popular fRoots-curated Cellar Full of Folkadelia afternoon sessions are back to their original home in the atmospheric Cellar Bar at Kennaway House, with: Wizz Jones, the iconic acoustic blues guitarist and singer; one-off English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tymon Dogg; the “quite simply extraordinary” Rheingans Sisters; Lucy Farrell’s captivating songs; cinematic multi-instrumentalists Three Cane Whale and many more.
These and many, many more will be making Sidmouth FolkWeek another unforgettable experience.
See the website for full line-up details and ticket offers: www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk