Event Date and Time
Fri 04 July - Sun 06 July
All Day
Location
Conkers
Categories
The National Forest Folk Festival – a unique festival held at CONKERS where over 15 groups are performing over the weekend.
Friday 4th, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July
A weekend of great events for the whole family!
STEELEYE SPAN
SHOOGLENIFTY
THE SHEE
THE MIGHTY DOONANS
MONSTER CEILIDH BAND
LADY MAISERY
SUNJAY BRAYNE
PETE MORTON
KATHRYN ROBERTS AND SEAN LAKEMAN
KELLY’S HEROES
TYDE
THE YOUNG’UNS
SPREE
AURIGA
CLUTCHING AT STRAWS
BONFIRE RADICALS
HAND ON HEART
PETE WHITE’S SUITCASE CIRCUS
and so much more!
Crafts, sessions, ceilidh dancing – and the wonderful Conkers Discovery Park to explore!
Buy now and don’t miss out on Full Weekend Tickets. There are 6 concerts and a ceilidh on offer this year, and the key feature of the festival is that none of the events clash, so it is possible to see absolutely everything on offer. Visitors to the festival can buy tickets for one concerts, more than one, or all of them.
Discounted prices apply when tickets for more than one concert are purchased. If you buy for TWO concerts, you save £5. If you buy for THREE concerts, you save £10.
FRIDAY EVENING £24 (Child 4-14 £12)
SATURDAY AFTERNOON £18 (Child 4-14 £9)
SATURDAY EVENING £21 (Child 4-14 £10.50)
SUNDAY AFTERNOON £17 (Child 4-14 £8.50)
WEEKENDER £65 (One child age 4-14 FREE with each paying adult) Children (4-14 years of age) HALF PRICE
Children under 4 years of age FREE to all events
To book your tickets online please see below (or any special offer tickets please call CONKERS on 01283 216633)
http://www.visitconkers.com/events/national-forest-folk-festival–127
Camping is a five minutes walk away and is just £7 per unit per night. Level site. Showers, toilets.
FRIDAY EVENING – 4th July (£24)
On the Friday evening the strong and exciting line-up is certain to fill the auditorium to capacity. STEELEYE SPAN have a career that has taken in an astounding six decades, Not just a legendary name in British music but also a link to the classic days of rock and folk music. Contemporaries of the likes of Led Zeppelin and Fairport Convention, they have gone on to change the face of folk music forever, taking it from small clubs and festivals into the world of chart topping albums and international tours.Maddy Prior has been the voice of the band for all but five of their forty two years together, and she is joined by fiddle player extraordinaire Peter Knight, Rick Kemp on bass, drummer Liam Genockey, guitarist Julian Littman, and multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn. Steeleye Expect to hear many of the familiar classics next to gems both old and new, all delivered with a burning passion and unrivalled experience.
THE MONSTER CEILIDH BAND Continue to astonish and excite audiences across the UK with their heady mix of traditional jigs and reels, combining accordion, Scottish Borders fiddle, mandocello and dub-heavy electric bass, augmented by drums and laptop providing extraordinary rhythms. Their experimentation with electronic beats, “simply stunning” (Songlines), has its roots in the traditional but has produced something innovative, contemporary and dynamic. They have had so many hugely successful festival appearances including Glastonbury, Malaysia, Russia, Bestival, Knockengorroch, Glade, Sidmouth, Broadstairs, Purbeck and Cambridge. Their live performance is something that R2 described as an “unbeatable live experience”.
HAND ON HEART Will open the evening, and the Festival as a whole, with Festival organisers Nina Szifris and Mike Scott, along with Jonathan Trout on violin, playing their mix of traditional and contemporary music. They have a unique approach to combining folk and classical elements, whether the song is from Robert Burns, Leonard Cohen or their own. Following this concert is a late night event featuring an eclectic mix of top performers playing into the early hours. Purchase your tickets online or call 01283 216633
SATURDAY AFTERNOON – 5th July(£18) THE SHEE are an exceptional all-female band with three strong singers alongside astonishing instrumental prowess. Their diverse range of musical influences combine to produce and adventurous brew of folk, gaelic and bluegrass. The arrangements feature accordion, fiddles, harp, mandolin and flute played so beautifully that their performances are always enchanting.
PETE MORTON Is a “local lad” who started out as a busker on the streets of Europe, and he has entertained all over the globe with his unique and involving style of song-writing and passionate vocal delivery. The folk tradition plays a big part in Pete’s style and he often borrows from folk song to sit with remarkable ease amid his very present day unruly mix of social comment,humour, politics, love and personal insight. Along with his well known songs such as ‘Another Train’, ‘The Shepherds Song’, and ‘When we Sing Together’, his ‘frapping’ (folk rap) technique of marrying traditional folk choruses with rap have been well received, and rightly so!
THE YOUNG’UNS Are from Teeside, and are inspired by their own locality in their own song-writing and also in the songs they choose from the tradition. They combine their a capella singing with instrumentation from guitar and accordion. They were shortlisted for the final of Spotlight England at the huge international festival at Celtic Connections in Glasgow last year.
KATHRYN ROBERTS AND SEAN LAKEMAN Have been lynchpins of the UK’s folk-acoustic revival over the last two decades. With Kathryn’s sublime voice and effortless delivery, Sean’s masterly arrangements and brilliant guitar work, it is easy to see why they won the gong for Best Duo at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The concert will be opened by SPREE, a 6-piece band who play celtic music with a very modern approach, including saxophones, guitar and flute. There will then be a TEA TIME CEILIDH for dancers of all abilities to join in and and express themselves through their feet! Purchase your tickets online or call 01283 216633
SATURDAY EVENING – 5th July(£21)
The Saturday evening concert features three storming acts which is certain to make for a fantastic event.
SHOOGLENIFTY formed in Edinburgh, have a strong fanbase for their energised, contemporary roots material which soon became one of Scotland’s most unique musical exports. This six-man band is credited being the originators of ‘acid-croft’, a fiery and infectious blend of Celtic traditional music and dance grooves that band members describe as “hypno-folkadelic ambient trad.” A supremely dexterous and witty live band, their energetic live performances have kept them in constant demand around the world.
LADY MAISERY were nominated for the ‘Horizon’ BBC Folk Award 2012 and for ‘Best Debut’ at the Spiral Awards 2012. Forged from the voices of Hannah James (Kerfuffle, duo with Sam Sweeney, and Maddy Prior), Hazel Askew (The Askew Sisters, The Artisans) and Rowan Rheingans (Fidola), Lady Maisery explore vocal harmony to breathtaking effect, through their fresh interpretations of songs and ballads.Lady Maisery break new ground as one of the first UK groups to explore the tradition of diddling or tune singing, which has nearly died out in England, but is still prevalent in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. Whether singing unaccompanied, or with backing from their combined instrumental talents on accordion, harp and fiddle, be prepared to be enchanted by rich harmonies and sumptuous clashes.
TYDE open the evening concert. In July 2008 they played in the first and only Folk Prom at the Royal Albert Hall and performed in the finals of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards that year. Their music is dynamic with a unity of playing rarely seen on the live music scene with modern, punchy, danceable tunes, carefully arranged songs and intricate, emotional slow sets. It’s the mixture of raw energy, prodigious musical ability and clever, fresh arrangements that make Tyde something different. Another late-night concert follows, and includes CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, possibly the first band to be a threat to Mumford and Sons for powerful chord-driven songs. Purchase your tickets online or call 01283 216633
SUNDAY AFTERNOON – 6th July (£17)
The festival finishes on the Sunday afternoon with a fantastic range of performers who bring something for everyone. Closing the Festival are THE MIGHTY DOONANS who have developed from the redoubtable “Doonan Family Band” – part of the English folk scene for many years with a deserved reputation for their imaginative and innovative interpretations of traditional songs and ability to introduce other genres of music and dance to their thoroughly entertaining performances. Their philosophy is to create a massive musical powerhouse with incredible vocal performances. Their stage show embraces traditional folk music and step dance, in a glorious mix of rock and jazz influences.
SUNJAY BRAYNE was winner of the Wath Festival Young Performers Award 2012, BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Nominee 2012 & New Roots Competition Finalist 2012 – formidable for somebody who is just 20. Sunjay’s reputation is growing all the time and as it does the demand for his music grows too. Influenced by the blues, but drawing heavily from genres such as folk, country and rock, from here he goes from strength to strength, having already built a solid platform with his many accolades.
KELLY’S HEROES are a true favourite in the Midlands for anyone who loves Irish music, or just like to see a band giving it everything with such quality and energy. Featuring melodeon, guitar, fiddle, whistle and feat singing, Kelly’s Heroes never let their audience down. Great fun!
AURIYGA are a 6-piece Birmingham based folk band. Their unique instrumentation and approach to arrangements has helped them to achieve their sound, drawing upon influences from traditional folk, pop and Klezmer. Full of energy their set provides opportunity to dance, or sit back, relax and watch. With modern takes on Klezmer, traditional folk tunes and songs as well as some exciting originals that show an array of different styles.
CLUTCHING AT STRAWS distinctive and innovative, alternative and traditional folk produced at times at full throttle and then later, by contrast, with expressive and thoughtful lyrics and melody, by a tight unit who know how to play their instruments. Straws are a multi-talented and diverse alternative folk quartet, hailing from the ‘creative county’ of Staffordshire. They use an impressive variety of instruments to build a full, layered sound suffused with subtlety. It is hard to escape likening Straws’ music to Mumford & Sons, but it is clear that their influences are diverse and eclectic with hints of everything from the irony of bluegrass through to the drama of musical theatre.
PETE WHITE’S SUITCASE CIRCUS the Suitcase Circus completes the Sunday line up. Something for the kids? Well, yes, but it will be the adults who will be in stitches. Stunts, juggling, tricks, magic – it’s all in there! Purchase your tickets online or call 01283 216633.
Event Tags: Conkers, Folk Festival, Live Music
