The Urban Folk Quartet are to head the lineup of exciting folk and acoustic acts at the first ever folk festival in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey. The all-day event on the 6 May also features Kim Lowings & The Greenwood, The Outside Track, Kitty MacFarlane, Jack Cookson and Suntrap. Young and up-and-coming acts will perform in the courtyard at the Riverhouse Barn – a beautifully converted 18th-century barn which is now a thriving arts centre.
The day features two main sessions from lunchtime until late, starting with four-piece local favourites Suntrap, followed by singer-songwriter Jack Cookson – nominated for the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award – then Somerset-based singer and songwriter Kitty Macfarlane and closes with The Outside Track – a five-piece band that fuses Scots, Irish and Cape Breton songs, tunes and stepdance.
“Their commitment is to create new music using the music of their native lands (Scotland, Ireland and Cape Breton) as cornerstones. In which endeavour they undoubtedly succeed, for Light Up The Dark is another supremely strong release…There really is no dull moment amongst this generously-stocked (56-minute) selection.” FRUK
“Kitty MacFarlane is a major talent, and “Tide and Time” is a bit of a triumph” FRUK
Kim Lowings and The Greenwood open the evening session at 7.30pm, performing folk songs with a contemporary twist – an energetic blend of original compositions and traditional songs.
“Lowings has been steadily climbing the folk league table since her Drifting Point EP debut back in 2011. Welcome to the first division.” FRUK
Bringing the day to a rousing close are Joe Broughton, Paloma Trigás, Tom Chapman and Dan Walsh – The Urban Folk Quartet. Four highly accomplished musicians, a dozen instruments and four voices coming together to craft a knockout show of globally-influenced, electrifying acoustic music that has been taking the international folk scene by storm.
https://soundcloud.com/folk-radio-uk/urban-folk-quartet-five
On The Escape, their 2015 studio album: “This is the band at their brilliant best and for those that know their UFQ, it’s what they do so very well, only more so. For those less familiar, start here, absorb it thoroughly, but then see them live as soon as you can” FRUK
‘UFQ are impossibly wonderful.’ fRoots
‘Seriously exceptional musicians.’ R2 (Rock ‘n’ Reel)
‘Up there with the best of them – amazing musicians.’ BBC Radio 2 Folk Show
Tickets for the festival are available from the Riverhouse Barn website:
£15 daytime only, and £30 for the full day:
https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/book/selection/74315
Or 18 for just the evening:
https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/book/selection/75603
For details of The Riverhouse’s popular series of lunchtime folk concerts including Oka Venga (25 Feb) and Jackie Oates (18 Mar) visit here:
https://thelittleboxoffice.com/riverhouse/calendar?category=75