UK Folk Festivals - Coming Soon

Site not fully updated on our last visit.

Hopefully more details will be available soon.

Multiple venues, appears to be free.
Variety of events and music styles to enjoy over four days of fun in the Inner Hebrides.

A weekend of Scottish music featuring folk-rock bands, fiddle, accordion, dance and ceilidh bands.

The events aren't ticketted, and most are very crowded!

See also https://www.facebook.com/MullMusicFestival/?locale=en_GB

The Fleadh Cheoil is a weekend festival comprised of ceili dancing, music sessions, street entertainment and competitions in music, singing, dancing and storytelling.

Traditional musicians of all ages are invited to gather for the Cork Fleadh Cheoil 2025.

For the 57th time!
So it's been around for a while

The festival includes a vast array of competitions including crafts, performance and writing. Events of local interest nave been added to the programme of concerts, sing arounds, barn dance, storytelling. theatre and street performance which includes a young people's pageant as part of the Border Cavalcade.

The emphasis of the Gathering is firmly upon the native traditions of Northumberland and. whilst there is plenty of scope for traditional music from all over the British Isles within the festival, the wealth of local culture is well to the fore.

For the 43rd time!

The UK's most northerly folk festival. The Festival prides itself in reaching out to even the most far flung areas of Shetland. Concerts are organised throughout the isles, consisting of some of the best International, British and Shetland music that the world has to offer. In fact, visiting artistes are regularly dumbfounded by the quantity and quality of local musicians that our remote isles have to offer.
Nine locations on the island are holding events.

A popular event that slipped off our lists for a few years, but it's back with a great line-up now.

A newish festival, featuring American Oldtime and Bluegrass festival.
So while not a pure folk festival, it has some America-style folk music. Worth a visit, as it is not exactly expensive especially if you just go for one day.

And when it's big and famous, you can tell your kids you were there at the very beginning.

Edinburgh TradFest - Dun Eideann is a vibrant celebration of folk arts celebrating TradFest will include music, song, storytelling, dance, folk drama, arts and crafts, literature, architecture, film and multi-media in the capital city.

Edinburgh's only multi-arts festival is dedicated to traditional culture and folk arts. Features the very best traditional music from Scotland and around the world.

Filey Folk Festival is one of the mainstays of this North Yorkshire seaside town's musical year.
Filey Folk Festival is a *free entry independent folk festival on the North Yorkshire Coast.
*Ticketed evening concerts also available.

With over 100 musicians performing Traditional and Contemporary Folk, Americana, Country, Blues and everything in between!
Also look out for our Singarounds/Sessions plus Open Mic!

Scotland's first sustainable event.

Music, verse and story telling
Concerts - Sessions - Open Stage - Competitions - Workshops - Children's Events- Secure Campsite.

Popular Scottish event, promises to be even bigger than last year.

In its 50th year of existence and still going strong. With a nice redesigned website too.

The Jack in the Green Festival is an annual event that takes place in various parts of the gorgeous seaside resort that is Hastings. It's a three day event and attracts thousands every year. This is a true British May Day celebration not to be missed. The four day event has been described as 'thee celebration of Morris dancing and traditional merriment, centering on the symbolic figure of Jack in the Green and culminating in a wild costumed parade - one of the most bizarre in Britain.' The long weekend event includes music of all genres from some of the best local and surrounding areas bands, sun, historic and social events, and is filled with family fun.

By now a national institution and an international buzz-phrase among the Americana / Roots movement...Ireland's most compact and hospitable music festival, where virtually everything is low-key but high grade.

Mixture of genres. All forms of music under the Americana/Roots banner are well represented over the four days.

Over 80 shows, including 50 free events on the pub gig trail!

Closely following the long-established Eastbourne format, May Heydays offers an enjoyable bank holiday weekend mix of different folk dance traditions from many parts of the world.

We do like to find you something different every now and then..

Scandimoot offers one of the best opportunities you will find in the UK to learn tunes and dances from Scandinavian teachers. Each year we pick exceptional music and dance teachers from Norway and Sweden to come to this small, intimate event in Yorkshire. With such intensive work the standard of both your music and your dancing rapidly improves.

The fourth edition of The Magic Teapot Gathering moves to a flatter site with views of Glastonbury Tor. Totally acoustic with no amplifiers at all and percussion kept to an absolute minimum. This festival is a great event if you like to join in and sing along! Please do bring your instruments. The 3 performance spaces are all under cover and all have a central fire bowl and a real piano. The three headline bands this year are Mobius Loop, The Often Herd and The Magic Teapot Allstars. There is a full programme of music on the Bigpot main stage, alongside the headline acts, provided by members of The Magic Teapot Crew in various configurations. The real ale bar and teapot are super inclusive spaces for spontaneous jams, singalong and open (no)mic. Beltane is celebrated (slightly off date this year) with the building and burning of a wicker man and Sunday morning will see the Maypole dancing, with this year's maypole becoming the spine of next year's wicker man. Catering for a wide variety of diet, including a dedicated vegan caterer
Also included in the ticket price is camping, hot tub, sauna, showers, real toilets. Workshops, yoga classes etc are run on a pay what you feel basis.

With an interesting line-up, this festival is just 17 miles up the road from Manchester.

The largest Morris based folk festival in the Midlands with Concerts, Ceilidhs, storytelling, plenty of pub sessions for music & song and a huge dance procession on Sunday. Happens every year, first Bank Holiday in May.

Four days and nights of the best music you'll hear anywhere, in one of the most beautiful settings on the planet, The Baltimore Fiddle Fair truly is the jewel in the crown of Irish festivals.

Full line-up will be announced on 1st January.

The Fiddle Fair has firmly established itself as one of the premier opportunities to help encourage and develop the talents of budding fiddle players from Ireland and abroad.

Not specifically a folk festival.

This regular event was established to provide the annual new music showcase event for the Welsh Music Industry. Our core work centres around the delivery of our international multi-venue showcase festival taking place in Wrexham each year, which places the music industry spotlight firmly on the emerging talent that Wales has to offer the world, alongside a selection of the best new acts from across the globe.

It is showcasing over 250 acts, so you could browse through the lists and might find some folk music talent. We are hoping we are correct in this.

A nice Scottish Festival, which can sell out quickly due to its popularity.
The first release of tickets last year had sold out by 7th December!

Folk on the Pier is held every year at the Pavilion Theatre on Cromer Pier in Cromer, Norfolk, on England's beautiful east coast. Described by Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg as "the best gig on the North Sea", Folk on the Pier is a highly regarded showcase for the finest folk, and folk-rock acts from the UK and beyond. Details of this year's line-up can be found on the Who's Playing page.

A weekend of concerts, with ceilidh, folk clubs and Morris dancing. Weekend tickets available via the website. A lot of pubs have free entry music from a very broad definition of "folk". A community town centre festival with something for everyone.

A country and western festival in Scotland? Well if it's good fun, what's the problem.

If the web link fails (it did for us), go to this facebook page, where we found most of the details.

Keslo C+W

There's also an October event most years.

Described by The Times as One of the coolest villages in Britain.
Moniaive probably has more musical events and festivals (per head of population) than anywhere else in the country. And with a sizeable group of traditional musicians living in the village and surrounding countryside, our pub sessions are amongst the finest.
Sessions, piping competitions, workshops, and more.

The festival celebrates the best in international folk music and dance. OVer 30 years of music, it attracts big-name music performers and dance troupes from across the UK and Europe. Set in the National Trust grounds of Tredegar House stately home, there are also ceilidhs, open mics, workshops, farmers' market and a CAMRA real ale bar.

Experience the Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival, a vibrant, family-friendly community gathering featuring traditional dance, music, song, and folklore throughout the town centre on Saturday 10 May 2025 (9.30am to 6pm). And the best part is, its free!
Witness over 50 dance groups, including 500 dancers and 120 musicians, featuring Morris dancing and diverse European styles.
Join the whimsical journey of our 10ft tall Jack in the Green and Jill in the Green, visiting 12 town centre venues with bands and fantasy beasts.
You'll can also discover the kid's zone, artisan market, community hub, pagan arts and crafts.
Groove to a samba band, mummers' play, Folk Club stage, Wiltshire Music Centre stage, Blues @ The Shoes stage, live pub music, buskers and more!
The full programme is available on the BoA Green Man Festival website: boagreenmanfest.org
The BoA Green Man Festival has something for everyone - so dress up for the day and really get into the swing of things

A festival of traditional music and dance taking place on May 10th in the picturesque town of Whitchurch, Hampshire.

Spread across a dozen local venues

Includes a free fringe music stage and free events and family activities which are open to all (no festival ticket required).

In aid of Leukaemia Research and Brighstone School.

The live music stage will provide a full programme, featuring the best of the Island's Folk & Blues musicians.

A family friendly event including BBQ, Tea Tent, children's activities and Circus Skills. The Wolverton Folk & Blues Fair looks set to be a celebration of all that's good about our Island's local food & music talent.

Always at a bargain price!

Wood is an award-winning festival of music and nature held in the beautiful Chiltern Hills, Oxfordshire. Alongside a full programme of musical artists on two stages, Wood hosts two days of talks and interviews in Kindling, and runs over 50 workshops and activities across the Workshop Village, the Teen Tent, and the Kids Tent. We hope you can join us and be a part of our mission to connect with nature and build community through music and the arts.

Traditional singing showcased.
Several venues.
CDs of previous events available too.

A new event for our listings.

Footstompin' bluegrass, soulful americana/folk and outstanding musicianship. Don't miss the 3rd annual SpringGrass bluegrass festival at The Vault Arts Centre.

A words and music festival with a very interesting lineup. It's a sister festival to Words & Music. Celebrating folk, roots and even Americana, with international names turning up.

If you can get there, I'm sure you will enjoy it!

But the website doesn't make clear the start and finish dates - so you will have to contact them. Or scroll down to see the tickets section and the dates.

A multi-award winning creative and performing arts festival set in the beautiful grounds of Catton Hall in the heart of the National Forest.
The Midlands largest performing and creative arts festival.

Includes some folk bands.

Winner of several festival awards over recent years.

A new one for us.

The festival will be held at 4 venues across the idyllic village of Hutton Rudby in May. Finn Forster, Black Sheep Band, Counterfeit Celts and Keith Newby will be part of the line-up for this festival among many others. A craft fair will feature on the Saturday.

In addition to music acts, there will be a folk craft fair, several bars / pubs with food and music and a large family style event at our Cricket Club venue.

The World Ceilidh melds together the most ancient roots music with the latest cutting edge sounds. This first truly backwoods upland music fest in Scotland hosts some of the best musicians and performers from across the world. All are invited to journey over hill and dale by rock and stream to our natural greenfield auditorium and to our upland stage to experience the biggest little festival this side of anywhere!

Concerts, ceilidhs, dances, clubs and sessions.

The Orkney Folk Festival is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and special throughout Scotland, the UK and further afield.

The three venues that are used the most are the Stromness Town Hall, the Stromness Academy Lecture Theatre and the Stromness Hotel's function room. Other events take place in local community centres/village halls.

This May sees the return of the ever popular annual Folk Festival. A long weekend of music, song and dance featuring some of the best folk music from Scilly and the South West.

Spread over many days and several locations, featuring dances, sessions and several festival events.