Folk by the Oak, the UK’s largest one-day folk festival have confirmed the full line-up for their Hertfordshire festival on Sunday 15 July, with Scottish songstress Amy Macdonald taking Folk by the Oak’s finale slot as one of her few UK festival gigs this year.
Her finely honed acoustic set will showcase songs from albums including Under the Stars, released in 2017, and This is the Life the album that shot Amy to fame in 2007 and launched a career selling over 12 million records worldwide. A dedicated live performer and probably one of the most successful young Scottish singer-songwriters on the festival circuit today, Amy has earned a reputation for lively and effervescent performances, easily hitting the level of energy Folk by the Oak regulars have come to expect from their main stage firework finale.
Another big name joining the line-up is ‘Bard of Barking’, Billy Bragg. “We’ve always had an eye on Billy for our Main Stage” said Adam Slough, Festival Director for Folk by the Oak. “His ability to marry his informed political opinions with exceptional song-writing and remarkable live performances has made him a stand-out artist and one we know our audience will enjoy welcoming to our festival. We are very proud to have him joining us this year.”
Also on the Main Stage bill are BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominees for ‘Best Group’ Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band, whose live shows are famous for their incredible energy and vitality. First formed in 2013, the combination of traditional material pared with inventive arrangements and new work, brought to life by the many and varied talents of Eliza and the band members has ensured ongoing success and much acclaim for the live performances of this boundary-pushing project. Their album, Big Machine, which will feature heavily in their Folk by the Oak set, is also in the running for a Folk Award for ‘Best Album’.
Returning to the festival, having played the first ever Folk by the Oak back in 2008, is ‘Folk Singer of the Year’ nominee Julie Fowlis. Although usually known to sing in Scottish Gaelic, her ability to transcend language has allowed Julie to become a firmly established world music artist with multiple awards and accolades and now a fifth studio album, Alterum, to her name. With her flawless and bewitching vocals, her festival performance of Alterum, promises to take the audience on a magical and memorable journey that is perfect for an afternoon festival set.
2 acts that have previously performed on the festival’s second stage enjoy a return to Folk by the Oak as 2018 Main Stage artists. Last year’s Acorn Stage headliners, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, gave such a memorable and captivating performance that they have been immediately invited back to the festival’s Main Stage. Sam and The Boys are also enjoying a nomination for ‘Best Group’ in this year’s Folk Awards. Also returning will be The Young’uns, whose 2015 Acorn Stage performance was hailed as a triumph of spine-tingling harmonies and sparkling wit. In the last few years the Young’uns have deservedly secured their rightful place at the forefront of the English Folk Scene, a nomination for yet another Folk Award, this year for ‘Best Original Track’, and a return to Folk by the Oak in 2018!
Opening the main stage will be the critically acclaimed and multi-award winning Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita. This sublime pairing of Welsh harpist Catrin and Senegalese kora player Seckou will be performing work from their long-awaited second album SOAR (currently a Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio). The album takes flight on the wings of the osprey, the magnificent bird of prey recently returned to Wales after centuries of absence. The osprey makes an annual 3,000-mile migration from the coasts of West Africa to the estuaries of Wales, making it the perfect muse for this acclaimed duo and resulting in an album of remarkable, entrancing, intricate and enthralling music
Established in 2012, the Folk by the Oak Acorn Stage has become a platform for a new generation of folk artists, with many talented newcomers performing in recent years. Always as carefully curated as the Main Stage, this year the Acorn Stage will be headlined by the critically acclaimed ‘Guerilla Buskers’ CC Smugglers, whose dedication, showmanship and serious musical talent have seen them rise rapidly from busking outside Old Crow Medicine Show gigs to this coveted headline slot on the Folk by the Oak Acorn Stage.
The penultimate Acorn act this year also has some serious street cred, with live reviews variously describing them as ‘frank’, ‘uncompromising’, ‘raw’, ‘no-nonsense’ and ‘urgent’. East London 5 piece folk band Stick in the Wheel give a contemporary twist to much loved traditional tracks alongside uncompromising original material.
The Acorn Stage will also host: Anglo-Irish all-female bluegrass band Midnight Skyracer, an all-star line-up of some of the UK’s top instrumentalists and singers, including the Carrivick Sisters; the sublime Folk/Americana trio Alden, Patterson & Dashwood; the exceptionally talented Radio 2 Young Folk Award Nominees The Drystones; the unusual and enthralling musical storyteller Harri Endersby and the up-and-coming talents of the London Youth Folk Ensemble.
As well as a full day of back to back sublime folk, roots and acoustic music, Folk by the Oak also provides an inspiring family area, packed with fun for all ages. Being a one day festival with a compact and leafy site, the family area is close enough to the main stage action that no grown-ups need to miss out while the kids are being entertained!
For more detailed artist information and links to social media go to http://www.folkbytheoak.com/line-up/.
Advance priced tickets are now on sale at www.folkbytheoak.com
Ticket Giveaway
We have three pairs of tickets to giveaway to Folk by the Oak on 15 July 2018.
To enter simply email us here: info@klofmag.com. In your email include “Folk by the Oak” in the subject along with your name and address in the body of the message. Last entries by 10:00 am 15 June 2018.
*Terms & conditions apply:
- Only one entry per household.
- Winners will be chosen at random on 15 June 2018.
- The winners will be informed soon thereafter.
- Your information will not be shared with any other parties other than the winners contact details which will be passed on to the organisers/promoters.
Folk Radio UK’s full terms can be found here.