As mentioned recently, returns after a two-year hiatus and Cambridge Folk Festival is delighted to announce the first artists for its 2022 line-up, as tickets go on sale today, Tuesday 07 December: https://www.cambridgelive.org.uk/folk-festival/tickets
Returning to headline in 2022 (28 – 31 July 2022), international chart-topper Passenger, who progressed from his 2011 debut on emerging talent stage The Den to headlining Stage 1 in 2015 – when he also drew record crowds with an impromptu busking session. His number one single Let Her Go scooped an Ivor Novello Award and a Brit Award nomination for single of the year.
Appearing for the first time since 2010, Seasick Steve and making a second appearance at the Festival are St. Paul and the Broken Bones, an American eight-piece soul band from Birmingham, Alabama.
Multi-award-winning Clannad who, in an exceptional 50-year career have taken Irish music and language to a worldwide audience, make a much-anticipated return to play the Festival’s first-ever Folk Legends slot during their farewell tour, while Suzanne Vega celebrates her catalogue of hits with her current live album, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories.
Cambridge is excited to host the unmissable Spell Songs. Their second album Spell Songs ii: Let the Light In is released this week (reviewed here) a musical companion to The Lost Words and The Lost Spells books by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, which combines music, literature, language and art to reawaken our love of the wild. The Spell Songs ensemble features the renowned talents of Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux. In the recent Folk Radio album review, Billy Rough concludes:
Beautifully produced by Andy Bell, Spell Songs II: Let The Light In is a timely and beguiling listen. Perhaps because of its organic and thoughtful nature, the album is at its best in the intimate and reflective listens. It is a collection to share and reflect upon. So, gather round, cherish the songs, Macfarlane’s words and Morris’s imagery and steep yourself deep in the natural world that surrounds us and prepare to be spellbound.
A very welcome return for Festival favourites Spiers And Boden, described by The Guardian as “the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene”, who are back with a brand new album Fallow Ground. The duo were our Artists of the Month in September and the Folk Radio review of their album concludes:
At the album’s heart, though, is the utter joy of two friends making music together. Throughout, Spiers’ melodeon and Boden’s fiddle dance with delight. It is a rare indulgence to hear new songs and tunes from Spiers and Boden and to join them as they revel in the pleasure of their duet. Fallow Ground is a joyful, exciting, and beautifully produced release. It’s great to have them back.
Read our interview with the duo here.
Rising star of the contemporary folk roots music scene, Katherine Priddy, made a huge splash with her 2021 album The Eternal Rocks Beneath. Katherine was also an Artist of the Month on Folk Radio for February and her album was described in our review as “A debut of true substance, it’s like searching for a simple shelter and stumbling upon a diamond mine.” You can also read our in-depth interview with Katherine here.
Also playing in 2022, highly rated, alt. folk band This Is The Kit, aka Kate Stables and her band (Rozi Plain, Jamie Whitby-Coles, Neil Smith).
Featuring Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, Show of Hands are also in the lineup. Their 2019 album, Battlefield Dance Floor was one of our Featured Albums of the Month which Danny Neill described as “arguably their most fully realised collection to date”.
One of the world’s foremost Gaelic singers and Scotland’s inaugural ‘Tosgaire na Gàidhlig’ (National Gaelic Ambassador), Julie Fowlis, whose crystalline vocals have enchanted audiences on her own solo albums, high profile collaborations and her film and TV work.
South America’s hugely popular Chico Trujillo, aka ‘The Latin Gogol Bordello’, purveyors of a barnstorming mixture of nueva cumbia chilena (New Chilean Rock) and hints of rock, punk and ska.
Triple BBC Folk Awards winners, The Young’uns – three huge-hearted lads from the North of England singing folk songs for our times with heart and humour.
With flutes and whistles, guitar and bodhran, Flook spin traditionally rooted tunes into an enthralling mix of fiery technical brilliance, delicate ensemble playing and bold imagination. They released Ancora in 2019, picking up where they left off with Haven 14 years before. In a live setting, they are sure to delight the Cambridge Folk Festival crowd.
Rising blues prodigy, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram from Clarksdale, Mississippi with a sound that encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Prince and whose current album 662 has been Grammy nominated.
Dundalk Irish folk trio The Mary Wallopers (Brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy and Seán McKenna) are to make their first appearance – Described as a space where Wayne’s World meets Irish ballads and their raw energy as “the Clancy Brothers meet John Lydon”…you get the picture – it will be a scream. We interviewed earlier this year.
Formed in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales and celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, The Spooky Men’s Chorale are sure to be an instant hit with Georgian table songs, pin-drop beautiful ballads, highly inappropriate covers, and immaculate man anthems!
Bringing 100 years of American music, plus original compositions, Davina & The Vagabonds, whose shows are filled with New Orleans charm, Memphis soul swagger, Kurt Weill-esque sounds and tender gospel passages.
Manchester-based alt-folk duo The Breath, featuring guitarist Stuart McCallum and BBC Folk Award winner, singer Ríoghnach Connolly.
Essex-born folk songwriter well-known for his honest and self-deprecating writing, Beans on Toast; a cult hero for singing simple songs that tackle big issues.
Seven-piece Americana soul band from Venice, California, Dustbowl Revival, known for their free-flowing and joyous live shows, combining their funk rhythm and brass section with a fast-picking string band section.
Young, energetic, master musician from Guinea, N’famady Kouyaté, a talented multi-instrumentalist wowing audiences with modern interpretations of traditional West African Mandingue songs.
Hailing from the Welsh valleys, VRï re-interpret Wales’ rich and diverse musical repertoire into a joyous celebration of Welsh identity, sung in the Welsh language.
Tapestri, the bilingual female-fronted band featuring Welsh singer-songwriters Lowri Evans and Sera Zyborska whose heartfelt songs take in Americana, Roots, Folk and Country.
South Wales-based singer/songwriter, The Honest Poet, who performs a unique blend of hip hop, spoken word and soul with open and honest lyrics.
“After a two-year break, I’m so excited to see the Cambridge Folk Festival return to Cherry Hinton Hall,” said Cllr Anna Smith, Leader of the Council and Executive Councillor for Communities. “For many including, including me, the festival is a highlight of the summer. I’ll be booking my ticket straight away.”
Cambridge Folk Festival takes place 28 – 31 July 2022 in the picturesque grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, Cambridge. Early booking advisable. Purchase tickets from: https://www.cambridgelive.org.uk/folk-festival/tickets