Top names and generations of fans head for a lively weekend of music and dance at Bromyard Folk Festival
- New Festival website now online
- Extra two weeks to buy discount tickets – now available until 13 August
Leading acoustic roots duo Show Of Hands, and Britain’s most famous folk family The Watersons are among the big attractions for this year’s Bromyard Folk Festival on the weekend of September 10-12.
The Herefordshire event is the leading folk gathering in the Borders area and packs 170 hours of entertainment into a lively weekend of music, song and dance.
The multi-award winning Show Of Hands features singer and writer of powerful songs, Steve Knightley and superb multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. They have played three sell-out shows at The Royal Albert Hall and will be appearing with double-bass player Miranda Sykes.
The weekend offers a rare chance to see the full line-up of The Waterson Family, who have been ambassadors for British folk music for almost half a century. The familiar core members of Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy are joined by Mike Waterson, Mike’s daughters Rachel and Eleanor, his wife Ann, and Oliver Knight and Maria Gilhooley, son and daughter of the much missed Lal Waterson.
Other Bromyard guests include a lively blend of music and step dancing for The Doonans, a comic blend of classical and music hall from Belshazzar’s Feast, powerfully arranged music on squeezebox and fiddle from the dynamic Damien Barber and Mike Wilson and the welcome return of one of the country’s top ceilidh bands Whapweasel.
Sponsored by Wye Valley Brewery, the Festival features hundreds of singers, musicians and dancers from across the UK. The main Festival site is just outside the picturesque town of Bromyard but there will also be plenty of music and dancing in the streets and pubs of the town centre.
The Festival also boasts some spectacular morris dancing, workshops, children’s entertainment, craft fair, real ale bars and food.
Festival Director, Dick Dixon, is delighted that Bromyard is popular with music fans of all ages, with many young performers and audiences keeping traditional music alive and relevant to today’s tastes. He says, ‘This is one of the longest running folk festivals in the country and it’s great to see new generations of fans turning up each year.
‘Some of the best young singers on the circuit today are former winners of the Fred Jordan Memorial Competition which we hold every year as part of the Festival.’
Weekend and day tickets are available with discounts for families, NUS card holders, juniors and young adults. All tickets are now offered at a reduced price until August 13. The ticket price increase has been held back because of the last-minute website changes. Enquiries and requests for information updates can be made on 07935 747 904 or by visiting the new Festival website on www.bromyardfolkfestival.co.uk
