UK Folk Festivals - Coming Soon

This is very much a mixture of everything you might find at a festival of some sort - circus, jazz, rockabilly, acoustic, dance, folk. brass, swing.

Spread over four days, you might find something you like. Not your standard folk festival, but family friendly fun.

Steadily gaining a following.

A great lineup over three days with lots of Irish music.

Has three main aims in life

To create an enjoyable event for all involved

To raise money for the RNLI

To preserve and promote the maritime heritage of Falmouth and Cornwall.

Probably the largest free nautical music and song festival in Europe!

Fabulous music every June on the stunning Gower peninsula.

Tickets limited usually to 350 - 400, so get your soon.

Look at their fabulous location!

51st Event! Not many festivals can say that.

There are concerts, a dance, competitions, informal sessions and various other events during the weekend. This page will provide more details as events are finalised.
(Site incomplete just now.)

30th event!
So they have a special t-shirt! What more could you want?

Killin Music Fest is a three day event held in the heart of Scotland in June, celebrating Scottish music, culture and tradition.

Showcasing the unique culture of Scotland and its music, the festival includes performances from local, national, and international musicians, and hosts a variety of community, heritage, arts, and family activities.

The event is held in the beautiful surroundings of the Scottish Highlands, less than an hour’s drive north of Stirling. We aim to inspire, nurture community and artistic networks, and keep our music and traditions thriving.

A new group of Wimborne residents and business folk have come together to proceed with the mammoth task of organising the next festival, and so far it is full steam ahead with plans to continue the legendary festival!
Traditional English and Celtic music and dance. Celidhs, Dance displays, children's entertainers, Market stalls.

Three days of folk, family & fun last weekend in the summer sunshine!

For the first time!

A festival of country, folk, acoustic, bluegrass and roots music.

The additional Songwriters Series is on Friday the 12th, the main music event is on Saturday the 13th.

Portsoy's annual celebration of our rich maritime and cultural heritage. . . beautiful boats . . . exhilarating skiff races on the open seas . . . maritime and rural craft demonstrations . . . non-stop song and dance . . .mouth-watering food and drink and adventure at the Sports Village (not just for kids!). Not stop song and dance, with an acoustic and Scottish flavour.

Beardy Folk Festival is a new, beautifully crafted, Midsummer music weekend boasting a brilliant line up of contemporary, traditional and acoustic indie folk music.

here's so much to see and do around the festival site with children's entertainment, a fabulous food court, real ale, cider and cocktail bars, circus workshops, traditional rides, climbing wall, yoga and a small trade village. We also have a woodland walk & some enchanted woods hosting children's activities and storytelling.

There will be around 50 events taking place in the village of Lymm including dance, drama, music, comedy and literature. During the Festival, Lymm celebrates the wealth and diversity of talents to be found amongst the members of the community, and provides plenty of opportunities for exploring and enjoying the local environment.

With music of all kinds, dance, drama, spoken word, comedy, visual arts and crafts

Country music in Yorkshire.

We often include somoething that isn't your traditional folk festival, and country music is sort of folky. So here it is.

There has been a folk festival in the beautiful market town of Beverley every year since 1983, hosting countless legendary performances by hundreds of artists, helping to create the flourishing live music scene we have in the town today, and putting our town very much on the map.

An international festival based in the picturesque village of Ballydehob, West Cork, featuring maritime and other folk music.
Sea songs, shanties, dance, craft market, maritime food stalls, workshops, sea songwriting competition, busking, music in the pubs and main stage on Ballydehob pier. There will also be an Art Expo throughout the weekend.

Gobefest, Manchester's original urban folk music and dance festival with strong Central and Eastern European leanings, is back.

Established in 2017, Gobefest has its roots firmly in Transylvania and Hungary, but over the years has expanded its reach to cherry pick some of the finest performing artists from around the Carpathian Basin and beyond.

The weekend promises an expertly curated mix of bands and solo artists, folk dance troupes, choirs and more. Independent food and drink traders will be serving up favourites from around the Carpathian Basin, from giant pans of goulash, to the fried flat breads known as langos and Transylvanian barbecued chimney cakes.

Alongside craft beer, there will also be a Hungarian wine stall and a palinka (Hungarian fruit brandy) bar. Free activities in the family tent include music and dance workshops, storytelling and crafts.

A Gobe is a friendly word for a 'crafty Szekely'.

A weekend of dance and music
in this lovely cathedral city.

Dances - Displays - Workshops - Morris Tours

Various locations in Oban.

Website looks promising, but no fully updated yet.

Prices available soon.

Not much info on their site when we last checked.
But if they need help, they could contact me...

They do have a Facebook page however.

A 3 day festival for our global community with the stated objective as the expansion of consciousness from the material to the ethereal.

Mixed genre, with a fair bit of acoustic and folk music. Check the line up to see if it suits you.

Down where the cider apples grow lives a small friendly festival.
With a very friend ticket price!

Singalongs, Workshops, Concerts.

This year we will be repeating the independent Real Ale bar.

BuskFest is an international busking festival / competition which takes place in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. The event, which has been going for over 20 years, attracts 6000+ people from across the globe to Banbridge Town Centre.

New to our lists
Several small local venues, plus a couple of bigger ones.

20th anniversary
A weekend event showcasing 15 to 20 local and independent music's best bands. Our goal is to create a reasonably priced, small summer music festival that provides an overwhelmingly positive, comfortable and fun, family experience for both attendees and musicians in a beautiful countryside setting for around 500 people. We also aim to support local young musicians by providing a stage for them.

Recently launched, Blazin' Fiddles are running an event in Biggar.

A sister fiddle school to the well established Blazin' in Beauly. This summer the band will launch 'Blazin' in Biggar' - bringing together fiddlers, guitarists and piano players for a weekend of great workshops and music making.

Music-lovers can look forward to a great day out this summer, as the 9th Bury St Edmunds Folk Festival once again brings its own brand of magic to the town.
The one-day event will be in the walled garden at Nowton Park. With craft stalls, children's activities, music workshops, hot food and a bar with local real ales, this promises to be a wonderful day for the whole family.
The festival is organised by Bury Folk Collective, a not-for-profit group which promotes a diverse range of excellent local folk acts at events throughout the year.

As well as the main stage acts, there will be an Acoustic Tent with beginners' music workshops, informal sessions and a competition for newcomers to folk performance. This is a great space to try making music yourself in a relaxed and friendly way.

Full disabled access to site, reserved viewing area and toilet facilities

An Irish summer school, as you might have guessed. with some concerts.

The Bodhran Summerschool is arranged around a series of classes given by some of the world's best bodhran players and teachers, but also includes special workshops relating to the instrument itself, and traditional Irish music in general. Every evening, music sessions are held in the island's pubs, and students are welcome to bring their drum and join in. On two evenings, concerts are performed by two top-class bands.

Part of a seven day music festival, with Saturday being the folk day.
Rated as one of the top three UK free summer events.

Back with a June date again.

The New Forest Folk Festival is the small festival with the big names. Located to the north of The New Forest National Park near Southampton it's an ideal venue for campers with it's riverside campsite and unspoilt farm setting. The site opens Thursday lunchtime to allow travel and a chance to relax for the afternoon before the music begins. Additional attractions include local trade and craftsfolk, and of course local ale.

Real Music, Real Ale, Real Field.
Taking place in the heart of Norfolk near to the village of West Acre, the "Folk in a Field Festival" brings together a diverse mix of performers from the acoustic, folk and roots music scene. The rural setting of the festival, surrounded by woodland, contributes to a real get away from it all vibe in which to enjoy some great music, take in interesting craft demonstrations, craft stalls or sample local food.

2026 marks the 19th Gate to Southwell Festival, taking place in early summer at our beautiful lakeside parkland home in Kirklington, Notts. Over 4 days, with 60+ acts on 3 main stages; with on-site camping and glamping, fantastic music and the most friendly atmosphere you'll find anywhere!

Fabulous rural setting near the stunning minster town of Southwell. An awesome line-up of folk, Americana, world, ska, punk, jazz, blues & more over 4 days. On-site camping theatre, spoken word, comedy, street food, cask ales, great traders, campfire sessions, kids’ events, ceilidhs, dogs welcome.

A general arts festival, with a variety of types of events, including some folk music.

(There's often a separate Folk Festival in February.)

Back with a new domain name - looks like they forgot to renew the old one.
Not a lot of info on the website yet, however, apart from the list of performers.

Let's hope they continue to exist.

Many Sandwich Pubs will put on Folk music throughout the weekend, there will be street music and dancing.

The Pub events will be free to enter with main events at St. Mary's Arts Centre ticketed, see their website for details.

A free outdoor concert and Saturday and Sunday

Roots music from both sides of the Atlantic - Americana Music

"One of the friendliest, most sincere festivals in England... fine music, great fun, delightful people and an idyllic rural setting" said The Telegraph

A new festival in 2016, it's back for July yet again.

Spend a chilled-out day enjoying the nation's favourite folk artists in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside.

This is a one-day event with 4 separate venues including free events on the village green. Main stage has 3 ticketed concerts and there are workshops and a continuous concert in the 13th century church.

Mixture of various media, incliding folk music, celebrating its 21st anniversary. With individual event tickets, you can choose your favourite artists to suit your taste in music and entertainment.

The Fringe is a not-for-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers.

As well as attracting visitors from all over the UK, the Fringe continues to grow its local following and is achieving its aim to become 'the festival for the town in the town' - thanks to everyone in our audience.

We had to click on the Tickets on sale banner to see the dates, etc.

54th Anniversary

A major traditional Irish music, song and dance event, held annually in Miltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland.

With instrument and dance classes, lectures, workshops, recitals and ceilithe all through the week.

This is a roadshow, that occurs in several locations.

We've included a few of them, but if you want to see the whole list, remove the location in the url, and you go to the roadshow's own website.

Each year since 1947, over 4,000 performers from across the globe head to the beautiful little Welsh town to take part in a unique event combining competition, performance, and international peace and friendship. Around 25 different competitions celebrate song, music and dance, climaxing with the prestigious 'Choir of the World' where winning choirs compete for the Pavarotti Trophy.
Traditional folk singing and dancing from across the globe.

And some of the biggest stars from other music genres as well!

A new event, back for its Fifth year.

Takes place in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Site for 2026 not fully updated yet.

Coming from near and - very - far. Some with countless 'hits' or 'views' or 'followers' on various media platforms; some with few. Some with record company deals; others producing self-released albums. All did wonderfully.

Continuing our occasional festival that's not quite folk policy. (But it has got blues...)
Surrounded by the beautiful Yorkshire Wolds, the Festival is set in the award winning grounds and Great Hall of this Elizabethan stately home.
Could this be the most breathtaking place to spend a weekend, soaking up the UK's hottest jazz and blues acts?

With its beautiful cathedral towering majestically above the surrounding countryside, the City of Ely lies in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens, famed for spectacular sunsets and the vast open sky. What better location for a weekend of the best in folk music and dance?

The Folk Festival is based on a single site which includes marquees, camping facilities, food stalls, trade stands, real-ale bar, real toilets, showers, children's entertainment.

Furness Tradition is a folk-arts development group based in the Furness market town of Ulverston on the edge of the Lake District in north-west England. The group was initiated by volunteers to celebrate, encourage and make familiar the musical inheritance of the Furness and South Lakeland area of South Cumbria.

And this is its 27th year!

The festival was originally founded to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the North York Moors National Park, and is now a fully independent event attracting music lovers from the local community, and around the folk world.
We encourage local performers from the Yorkshire/ North east region and, in addition ,have included many of the great names of 'Acoustic and Folk' familiar to folk fans. Concerts, Workshops, Song and Music Sessions

11th event is 2025.

A family-run festival in two towns separated by a river.

Music and Dance event.

A friendly festival held in the idyllic setting of our Village Green high on the beautiful Mendip Hills AONB near Wells in Somerset. This festival has a reputation for exciting new folk. In the past we have had Kan, Treacherous Orchestra, and Flook. Some names booked already include the Will Pound Band and Nizlopi. The weekend also provides great music, and dance, workshops, yoga sessions, club tent, an excellent craft and traders market, guided archaeology walks, a full programme of children's entertainment and much more

A small, friendly, community-based music festival set in the heart of Northumberland in Rothbury in the beautiful Coquet Valley. Over the last three decades, Rothbury Festival has established a unique atmosphere that has drawn musicians and singers from throughout the country and beyond to spend a weekend sharing music and experiencing Northumbrian traditions.

The small NE Coastal Town of Stonehaven comes alive with a Weekend of Music and song - Concerts in the Town Hall plus workshops, Ceilidh, sessions, late-night concerts, free afternoon concerts, Family show, Aqua ceilidh, World Paper and Comb Championships, Tradition Bearers Concert and more all around the Town.

Think picture-perfect white sands. World-famous surf. Deserted roads lined with lush greenery and wild flowers. Not forgetting more sunshine than practically anywhere else in the UK. It's little wonder that the tiny Hebridean island of Tiree is nicknamed the Hawaii of the North.

Add to this three separate campsites - the main campsite, family campsite and campervan area - and the now famous Community Village with its many stalls and events, and TMF guarantees you an authentic flavour of Tiree. Which, in a nutshell, is the whole idea behind the festival.

In the streets and in venues all around the town the best of local performers bring you folk, jazz, blues and world music, colourful dance displays and children's entertainment.

The Beggars Fair has been running since 1993 and is living up to its aims of showcasing local talent in a friendly environment. From big bands on the Cornmarket stage to intimate acoustic music in tranquil gardens, cheerful pub sessions and spellbinding storytelling, the day has a great atmosphere that keeps bringing people (and performers!) back year after year.

An afternoon and evening event, featuring Welsh musicians.

New to our lists this year.

Something just a bit different.

An explosion of bands and performers combining brass with folk, opera, dance and spectacular outdoor theatre descends on County Durham to fill some stunning venues and City streets with music and fantastic visual effects. With new, cutting edge collaborations, digital trails and established and emerging bands trumping brass in every genre imaginable, it's a feast of international cultures and sounds.

Summer School of Traditional Irish Music, Song & Dance. Our programme includes a broad range of classes, workshops, interactive talks and masterclasses as well as nightly ceilis, concerts and informal music sessions.