Bungay Folk Festival 2025

 

Bungay Folk festival prepares for its second year

MishraMishraBuilding on the success of its inaugural year, Bungay Folk Festival 2025 is in the traps and ready for the starter's gun. The festival, which takes over the town of Bungay for the weekend of 5-7 Sept is following the same pattern as last year. A wealth of free music and dancing during the daytime and a plethora of exciting workshops to tempt the musically minded.

Clark and ZuppardiClark and ZuppardiEliza Carthy tops the bill this year with a supporting cast of notable folk acts including Mishra, Orchestra of Samples,Tamsin Elliott and Tarek Elazhary, and Sound Tradition. Local acts always feature prominently and we are delighted to welcome back The Castle Singers with a newly composed work by William Drew-Batty.

BofBof!More singing delights form the Waveney SHE choir and Heartbeat. We have over 50 different acts on offer so there is much to choose from.  There will be French bal / fest-noz with BOF! on the Saturday evening.

We are supported this year by Suffolk County Council, East Suffolk Council, BEBA and Bungay Town Council. As a result we are able to offer a number of free workshops such as yoga,  African drumming, Balkan dance, singing the season, have a go melodeon or concertina and a family ceilidh. 


The folk picnic on Sunday 7th Sept with a free music stage on the castle bailey hosts The King Driscolls, The Wilswood Buoys, Klezmerized and Rattlebox

Tamsin Elliot Tarek Elazhary Kate GriffinTamsin Elliot Tarek Elazhary

The Fisher Theatre is the place to start and to pick up a festival programme. The rest is up to you! Festival parking this year at Outney Common.

 

Website:  www.bungayfolkfestival.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

James Keelaghan at The Canopy Theatre

JAMES KEELAGHAN – Saturday June 7th  at 7.30 p.m. Canopy Theatre, Hungate Church, Beccles

Keelo promo

James Keelaghan is an artist who has proven to be a man for all seasons. For almost a quarter of a century now, this poet laureate of the folk and roots music world has gone about his work with a combination of passion, intent and intensity, and curiosity. Fusing his insatiable appetite for finding the next unique storyline Keelaghan also forges his pieces with brilliantly defined craftsmanship and a monogrammed artistic vision, making him one of the most distinctive and readily identifiable voices of not only the Canadian scene, but as a member of the international singer-songwriter community.

Armed with a songbook that has been embraced, by audiences around the world, Keelaghan’s life as an artist is one that is a perpetual journey on so many levels. Most importantly it’s a journey that has invited fans of literate and layered songwriting to be a part of his artistic expeditions, some that weave their way through marvellously etched stories of a historical nature with underlying universal themes, and others that mine the depths of the soul and the emotional trails of human relations. His masterful story telling, over the course of ten records, has been part of the bedrock of his success, earning Keelaghan his share of nominations and awards, and acclaim from Australia to Scandinavia.

He has the ability to make an immediate connection with audiences in a live setting, and he has an ear for a memorable melody, and harmonies that make those melodies glisten. Contemporary folk songs, at their very best, offer an insight into the hardships, attitudes, and resolve of characters and events that shape our day-to-day lives.

Truly, throughout a career that now spans almost four decades, the Juno and Canadian Folk Music Award winner has created a repertoire of incalculable importance – a unique body of work, either inspired by or drawn from the folk tradition. Ten solo albums flush with enduring lyrical relevance.

He has collaborated with many great artists in the folk world including Karine Polwart, Jez Lowe, Catherine MacLellan, Lynn Miles and Cara Luft.

“Canada’s finest singer-songwriter” - Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone magazine

“A joy to hear, just beautiful” - Eric Bibb

For more info, music and video visit https://keelaghan.com/  

Plus support from Peter & Jane www.peterandjane.co.uk 

Tickets are £15 and can be purchased from www.ticketsource.co.uk/martello-promotions  or by using the Ticketsource Telephone Box Office 0333 666 3366 T

Milkmaid Molly at Thornage Hall Camp Community

MM4

From Jill Parson

MM2Towards the end of September Milkmaid Molly were invited to bring a team to Thornage Hall Camp Community - a specialist school near Holt in Norfolk. Seven of the Milkmaid team made the trip plus three musicians. Milkmaid Molly is an inclusive Molly side based in Bury-St-Edmunds in Suffolk. It comprises a good core membership of 'Mollies' (those who live with disabilities) and their 'Buddies' (volunteers who provide experise and support) with everyone linked by a common love and enjoyment of folk dance and music. On this occasion only the Buddies attended as it was our privilige to introduce members of the Camp Community to an afternoon of country dancing.

MM3The workshop was led by Gill Bosley who is a founding member of Milkmaid and general head honcho. It was great! We were given a very warm welcome at the school and were joined by about a dozen students all raring to go. There were no problems getting people onto the floor and they were brilliant, quickly getting the hang of the dances whilst enjoying a good laugh. Dancing with a partner, proved to be so much fun for these young people and it was a pleasure to introduce them to a world of folk dance and music which they had never experienced before.

This event was kindly sponsored by Mardles with the money helping towards travel costs and MM club funds.

For those that may not know, the Mardles team is happy to consider any requests for any sort of help and support we can offer towards folk related projects in and around East Anglia. Visit the website at mardles.org and contact any member of the team if you have got something in mind you think we might help with.