Bromyard Folk Festival 2012 (From Hereford Times)

Bromyard Folk Festival 2012

4:00pm Friday 17th August 2012 in Music & Dance

SOME of the most outstanding local, national and international traditional folk musicians will be heading to Bromyard next month for a weekend of concerts, ceilidhs and displays offering more than 170 hours of traditional music, song and dance.

Certain to be a big draw are Spiers and Boden, founding members of Bellowhead, who, ten years into a fruitful collaboration, have graduated from being the dangerous new kids on the block to being a solid headlining mainstay on the folk scene.

Musicianship and inventiveness is a given with the focus on delivering a big, thumping night out with showmanship, humour and raw energy.

Also on the extensive line-up are The Mighty Doonans, formed 30 years ago by the late John Doonan with sons Mick and Kevin to play a full repertoire of Irish tunes, the majority passed down from John’s father, who was himself a renowned fiddler.

Then there’s Session A9, described as a “Scottish super group” and “the best band to have come out of Scotland in 100 years”.

Nancy Kerr and James Fagan were winners of the 2011 BBC Radio 2 folk award for best duo.

The Copper Family have been singing their songs for decades – some have been sung by seven generations of the family – lovingly preserving them for the future.

Then there’s The Askew Sisters, James Findley Trio and many, many more.

LET'S DANCE

Other Bromyard guests include last year’s winner of the festival’s Fred Jordan Memorial Competition, talented young Yorkshire lass Lydia Noble. The annual competition is open to singers under 25 years of age and past winners have included established folk stars Jim Moray, Maz O’Connor and Niamh Boadle.

On the Saturday, there’s also a busy programme of dances and dance workshops from 10am to 10pm at the Falcon Ballroom in Bromyard town centre and there’s a series of ceilidh dances throughout the weekend with the best bands and callers on the traditional folk scene.

The festival also hosts many dance teams, including this year the Faithful City Morris, Bradshaw Mummers and City Clickers among others.

Festival director Dick Dixon is delighted that the Bromyard event is popular with music fans of all ages.

“Bromyard Folk Festival is a perfect setting for musicians and singers across the generations to perform together,” he said. “It’s proof positive that the future of folk music is safe in the hands of such an accomplished new generation of artists.”

Sponsored by Wye Valley Brewery, the Co-op and Caplor, the festival is one of the longest standing UK festivals and offers a wealth of entertainment for all ages. The main site is just outside the town, but, as always, there will be plenty of music and dancing in the streets and pubs of Bromyard itself.

Weekend and day tickets are available with discounts for families and NUS card holders.

Children 10 and under are free, but must be accompanied by an adult. Bromyard Folk Festival runs from September 7 to 9.

For full details and to book, visit bromyardfolkfestival.co.uk or call the box office on 01432 340555.