Bromyard looks forward to its annual folk extravaganza
10:03am Thursday 28th August 2008
BROMYARD Folk Festival, the UK’s biggest and longest-running celebration of folk music, opens for its 41st year on Friday, September 12, with a wealth of the country’s most popular folk acts ready to take to the stage in a weekend crammed with more than 170 hours of traditional music, song and dance.
The festival kicks off on Friday at 8pm with a concert, a grand ceilidh and a ‘folk club’ on-site, a torchlight Morris procession through the town at 9pm and a late-night song session at 11.45pm.
This year, a free outdoor concert outside the Hop Pole Hotel brings the festival right into the town centre to give locals a taste of what’s on offer. The concert, which starts at 7.30pm on Saturday, September 13, stars Brazilian-themed band the Sambassadors of Groove, backed by versatile dance band Steamchicken.
“We have people who travel to Bromyard Folk Festival from as far afield as France and Canada,” says Lynn Barker, of the festival committee.
“But we’ve noticed that people from Herefordshire make up only a small part of our audience. The free concert has been organised to bring the festival to those people who aren’t familiar with it.”
An impressive line-up includes Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes on Friday, September 12. Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, Show of Hands, are widely acknowledged as the finest acoustic roots duo in England, with fans including Peter Gabriel, Jools Holland and Johnnie Walker.
Saturday sees Irish traditional music sensation, Cherish the Ladies, on stage. Taking their name from the name of a traditional Irish jig, the group initially won recognition as the first and only all-women traditional Irish band. In a relatively short time, they soon established themselves as musicians and performers without peer and have won many thousands of fans.
Also on the line-up are Spiers and Boden, Tarras, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, The Omega 3, Faustus, Bob Fox, Mike and Ali Vass, Kerfuffle, Park Bench Social Club, Sarah McQuaid, Wheeler Street, Jack McNeill and Charlie Heys, Whapweasel, The QP, Steamchicken, Brian Peters, Malthouse Passage, Ceridwen Davies, Maz O’Connor, Dr Sunshine, Tunewrights, Martyn Harvey, Johnny Collins, John Waltham, Jim Mageean, Mary Humphreys and Anahata, Jan’s Blackboard Van and more.
Throughout Saturday and Sunday, visitors will find workshops, singarounds, meet-the-artist sessions, concerts and dance displays, with folk services in local churches on Sunday.
Another popular event is the Fred Jordan Memorial competition, open to the many young singers across the UK who are keeping traditional song alive. The prize for the competition, in memory of the late Fred Jordan, Shropshire’s most famous singer of traditional song, includes a booking at next year’s festival and this year sees last year’s winner, talented 17-year-old Maz O’Connor from Cumbria appearing.
“Last year saw the 40th anniversary of this prestigious event,” says festival director Dick Dixon.
“We’re delighted the festival is as popular as ever, thanks to the exciting and talented young acts breathing new life into traditional music.”
For full programme details, visit bromyard-folk-festival.org