The 39th St Neots Folk Festival is fast approaching.
Run by St Neots Folk Club, the musical extravaganza takes place on June 10, June 11 and June 12, based at The Priory Centre, St Neots.
Friday evening kicks off the event with a showcase night featuring local artists Jack Sharp, Anna Hester, Lottie Greenhow and The East Corner Trio, finalists from the New Roots competition.
Saturday begins with a 'Day of Dance' featuring traditional sides dancing around the town at various spots including the Market Square, The Pig & Falcon, The Coach House and Cinema Plaza.
The Saturday evening concert headliners are acclaimed folk duo John Spiers and Jon Boden, supported by Gaelforce.
Spiers & Boden first rocketed onto the folk scene in 2001, quickly winning a clutch of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and going on to form and front the extraordinarily successful folk big band Bellowhead.
The duo reformed in 2021 after a seven-year hiatus, arriving with a brand new album, Fallow Ground, which reached number 3 in the Official Folk Albums Chart and was a Mojo top 10 folk album of 2021.
Following on from October 2021’s comeback tour, with its numerous sell out dates, Spiers & Boden hit the road again for their only UK tour this year – with St Neots one of the lucky venues.
There will be a singing harmony workshop run by Jon Boden for 30 minutes before the doors open for the concert.
There's free entry for the workshop, but booking is essential for numbers. No need for a festival ticket to attend the workshop. Book by emailing stneotsfolkclub@aol.com or calling 01234 376278.
Concert support Gaelforce are a four-piece Celtic folk rock band featuring fiddle, electric guitars, bass, electronic drum kit and vocals.
During Sunday afternoon there's free entry to an Open Stage session at Art & Soul Café from 2pm to 4pm. Performance spots can be booked or just turn up.
Sunday evening's concert features trio Granny’s Attic and Jack in a Barrel.
With exceptional musicianship and boundless energy, Granny’s Attic are going from strength to strength.
Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (melodeon, anglo concertina, vocals), George Sansome (guitar, vocals) and Lewis Wood (violin, vocals) have honed their skills touring the UK and Europe since 2009.
They are much loved by audiences up and down the country, with bookings everywhere from Cambridge Folk Festival to Cecil Sharp House.
Jack in a Barrel are a seven-piece a capella group from Turvey, Bedfordshire.
They sing a range of traditional and “sounds traditional” songs, from standards like John Ball to more reflective numbers like John Tams’ Devonshire Carol, taking in the odd shanty and music hall number along the way.
Festival tickets are available from the Folk Club (any Tuesday evening), Priory Centre and online at www.stneotsfolkclub.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here