We head off to Purbeck Valley Folk Festival tomorrow for another great Bank Holiday weekend. This is our fifth time at the festival which manages to bottle everything we love about ‘festival’ into a long weekend, whether that be the music, great atmosphere, stuff for the kids to do or great ale and food.
Folk Award winners and nominees Lucy Ward along with Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman play the main stage in the afternoons.
The Proclaimers perform Saturday night and you can expect massed festival audience to be singing about walking 500 miles. On Friday night, Ireland’s Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter Villagers headline, and Eliza Carthy’s Wayward Band provide the finale on Sunday.
A surprise this year is Sam Duckworth who is more familiarly known under his output as ‘Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly”.
This year’s line-up is looking great, and there are some extra specials in amongst the names including a unique laid-back Songwriters Circle on the main stage Saturday afternoon from Nizlopi, Boo Hewerdine and Maz O’Connor who will also be performing individually over the weekend as well.
Something that is never missing from Purbeck is a good knees-up. Evening gigs in the barn from Sheelanagig, Holy Moly & the Crackers and Moscow Drug Club who hail from Bristol and combine swing, gypsy jazz, cabaret and tango as they give their MDC makeover to old and self-penned songs, including the one they’re named after:
And then there are the ceilidh bands which this year include Threepenny Bit and Dyer Cummings. You just need to remember your left from your right, which can get interesting after a few ales or ciders (of which there are plenty to choose from).
As always organisers, Catherine and Paul have managed to pull together a well-rounded line-up with the familiar and plenty of surprises thrown in. Combine this with magical family-friendly atmosphere and you have a clear winner.
For those going, make sure you check out the many new acts that appear at Purbeck annually including the Purbeck Rising showcase and the open-mic stage where we’ve enjoyed many a great night.
Check the full line-up here: www.purbeckvalleyfolkfestival.co.uk/line-up/line-up2016
There are still some tickets available so get in quick: www.purbeckvalleyfolkfestival.co.uk/shop/tickets
Check the previous Purbeck Folk Festival Field Sessions we’ve recorded here