Sam Lee and Rachel Sermanni are to headline FolkeFest: Folkestone Contemporary Folk Festival, a new folk festival for Folkestone being held from 21-27 March 2022. The festival will feature 40 diverse acts alongside numerous diverse events, including street theatre, film and dance, workshops, talks and even clog dancing. It has an incredible lineup…if you love FRUK, then this lineup is sure to appeal to many of you.
The week-long multi-venue multi-arts festival will be closed by BBC Young Folk Award winner Maddie Morris whose LGBTQAI+ political folk songs will also highlight the festival’s inclusive approach to folk music.
The week-long Folkestone Contemporary Folk Festival is centred around the town’s thriving Creative Quarter. It is funded by the Festivals Fund from Creative Folkestone and the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, with further support from Kent County Council’s Build Back Better Fund.
The festival’s diverse lineup sets it apart. It highlights its progressive approach in representing artists and music today and provides a platform to elevate unsigned and early career performers.
Those in the lineup that you may be more familiar with include Mercury Prize-nominated folk singer Sam Lee, a man of many hats – including writer, conservationist, song collector, award-winning promoter, broadcaster and activist. Sam has been instrumental in exposing new talents through the likes of the Nest Collective, and he is among the many young movers and shakers out there today who have helped to reshape the British folk scene. His music is both unique and inspiring, drawing on a mass of influences and offering great relevance to the world we occupy today, something that’s more than apparent on Old Wow.
In truth, it’s great to see so many artists now transcending boundaries and genre, something Rachel Sermanni is no stranger to, something reflected in her music and outside. Her curiosity and experience gave birth to an inspiring podcast series that I encourage you to listen to – Rachel Sermanni’s Finger That Points to the Moon. Her latest EP, Swallow Me, was a deep-dive into motherhood and was praised for its vulnerability and honesty.
Margate’s ‘broken folk’ duo Lunatraktors will be making a welcome appearance. Their ‘Missing Star‘ album was unlike anything we heard before, which Billy Rough described as “A powerful comment on the politics of our day, it deserves a wider listen, and I, for one, would love to see this performed live. A timely recording. We need this.” You heard him…a must-see.
One of the most memorable choirs I’ve heard is the London Contemporary Voices (LCV). As mentioned above, there are many diverse activities during the week-long festival. Those who enjoyed Nathan Evans’ lockdown hit Wellerman will undoubtedly appreciate the Folk Songs and Shanties Workshop being led by singers from the LCV choir on Sunday, 27th March.
It was thanks to Sam Brookes that I first heard LCV when he recorded a number of his songs with them underneath the river Thames in the dramatic Woolwich Foot Tunnel. It’s recorded in full 3D Binaural – so listen with headphones. Sam will also be performing at the festival, a singer we have declared a national treasure on these pages.
Another FRUK favourite is the Shovel Dance Collective, described as nurturing the history of the source material; they bring sensibilities drawn from drone, improvisation, and metal. In so doing, aiming to uncover proto-feminist narratives and queer histories and to make heard the voices of the working people that created and create the wealth of the world. In his review of their Offcuts and Oddities release, Richard Hollingham ends his review of “Offcuts and Oddities” there must be more to come – please. Is that not a strong enough push to go and see them live?
The lineup for this festival is so up our street…another FRUK favourite that’s appearing is Milkweed. Thomas Blake reviewed their debut winter-themed EP which he described as something of an outlier…They seem intent on reviving the more outlandish, eccentric traditions of folk music, where old and new religions intermingle and where strange, bewitching sounds proliferate.
Other acts joining the incredible inaugural line-up at Folkestone Quarterhouse on 26th March include award-winning local violinist and composer Anna Phoebe from Deal (a regular collaborator of Nitin Sawhney) and celebrated folk musician Martha Tilston. Martha certainly reached new levels recently when she not only crowdfunded the finances to make a movie called The Tape, but she also wrote, starred in it and directed it. She knows no bounds!
As mentioned in our recent album review of The Tape, the soundtrack is a glowing testament to her ever-burgeoning songwriting, musical and vocal brilliance.
Also appearing is Faversham’s folk-rock band Green Diesel released their fourth album last year, reviewed here. Mike Davies concludes, “Like the eco-friendly biofuel after which they’re named, drawing on the organic components of their influences, Green Diesel bring a renewable energy source to the world of traditional and progressive folk. Fill your tank.”
Young folk recorder pioneer Finn Collinson and dreamy Nepali singer-songwriter Yugal Gurung will support the main acts – Folkestone has long been home to a sizeable Nepalese community due to the nearby barracks of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
As mentioned above, Folkestone Contemporary Folk Festival intends to act as a platform to elevate unsigned and early career performers, as well as raise topics such as “Future Folklore” in the age of AI, virtual reality and multi-culturalism. Artist and researcher Dr Lucy Wright will discuss BIPOC and feminist representations in folk traditions, whilst Syrian oud virtuoso Rihab Azar will wow audiences at Folkestone Parish Church.
Of note is how many LGBTQAI+ artists are performing at the festival. Festival Director Didier Rochard, who has previously co-directed Folkestone Pride, said:
“LGBTQAI+ people have been left out of many of the history books, but we know they were there. Our new festival helps re-instate the queer in folk, complementing a lot of other good work being done by pioneering folk groups around the country. The folk scene should not be a museum space – it should be a vibrant space that anyone can move into and inhabit; a place for learning about our cultural heritage and for documenting and celebrating the culture of today through numerous creative mediums. The enthusiasm for our first festival has been absolutely heart-warming – artists are delighted to be showing their work in public once again.”
Solidarity and community through song have long been associated with folk music so it’s exciting to see a festival like FolkeFest being so embracing and progressive in its approach.
The festival is timed to coincide with the Spring Equinox and should see locals from #FolkestoneMusicTown emerge from a lockdown hibernation to embrace live performing arts. Tickets for the main Quarterhouse show are priced at only £25 for seven top drawer artists. Other events throughout the week Pay What You Want.
FolkeFest: Folkestone Contemporary Folk Festival – 21-27 March 2022
Venues involved: Folkestone Quarterhouse and The Clearing bar, UCA Brewery Tap Project Space, DIY4FOLKE, The Chambers, Folkestone Parish Church, Folklore Bar, SpaceBox Gallery, Kipps Alehouse.
Find out more here: https://www.folkefestival.org/