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Wetherby Festival presents ‘Folk in the Fall’ – a superb weekend of the very best in contemporary British folk and acoustic music.

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Humph at Wetherby Festival by Debbie Koritsas WETHERBY FESTIVAL ~ ‘One of Yorkshire’s best-kept secrets.’

Photo by Debbie Koritsas

Wetherby Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary in October/November 2007. Our superb programme of fantastic literature, music and drama saw many events completely sold out. We were very proud indeed to play host to the late, great jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band, in one of his last major performances. As ever, we hosted a wide and exciting range of amateur events, and many of these were sold out. Giving platform to professional and amateur events makes Wetherby unique on the UK festival calendar.

Our next major festival will take place in 2009, and we are planning on bringing the best of the Arts to the town again. But we cannot let a year pass by without bringing some top quality, innovative events to Wetherby. For 2008 the Festival Board have decided to do something different. On Friday 31 October and Saturday 1 November, we have programmed a warmly-anticipated event – ‘Folk in the Fall’, a superb programme that will feature some of the most gifted and friendliest young musicians on the UK’s thriving contemporary folk scene. We’re bringing BBC Horizon Award winners, the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year, and even one of the musicians taking part in the prestigious BBC Proms ‘Folk Day’ this July. We’ve crammed in around a dozen top quality acts who will grace our stage with their beautiful singing and excellent musicianship, and, being the folk scene, some of the friendliest and most relaxed banter you’ll find at any performance anywhere. We also hope to invite a local Morris side or two to town to add to the atmosphere, and to provide a Festival Ale courtesy of Rudgate Brewery.

We’re bringing the best vocalists: our headliner is multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Karine Polwart, whose songs are very moving; Ruth Notman (being heralded as ‘the new Kate Rusby’); the highly talented singer-fiddler Bella Hardy from Edale in Derbyshire; Scottish Gaelic songstress Rachel Walker, Nashville-inspired; York-based singer-songwriter Edwina Hayes (she’s played to 6,000 at Harewood!); and the wonderful rootsy voice of Yorkshire’s own Duncan MacFarlane. We’ve invited some of the finest instrumentalists we could track down: Anglo-Scots band Bellevue Rendezvous, with their passionate musical explorations of the Celtic world, featuring the beautiful sound of the nyckelharpa; young Scots flautist Calum Stewart, with his expressive, fluid playing. He’s bringing award-winning fiddler Lauren MacColl and Northumbria’s Andy May with him, so expect a Northumbrian pipe set or two! Gifted clarsach player Rachel Hair, one of the hardest working musicians on the folk circuit, is bringing along Gaelic singer and step-dancer Joy Dunlop with her. Yorkshire musician Chris Sherburn, with his brilliant line in on-stage banter, guarantees great fun as well as sensitive concertina playing. The local lads from Gary Stewart’s fine acoustic band will also be on hand to play in our bar marquee.

The Festival is excited to be working for the first time with Wetherby High School (who will host our main events) and the local Primary Schools to host a range of music-related activities in the week before the October half term. One of the Festival’s directors, Mary Anslow, said: ‘We’ve been working closely with children, teachers, and Leeds Education to come up with some ideas that will give our children creative, imaginative and fun access to a superb range of music events. Key to this will be the assistance of one of Yorkshire’s best-loved folk musicians, Sam Pirt, with his huge range of experience working with children at all the major UK festivals. It’s an exciting development for Wetherby Festival to be able to offer this. We’re working hard too with Wetherby High School to offer our town’s older pupils some really enjoyable activities.’

Fellow director Debbie Koritsas added: ‘Our aim with Folk in the Fall has been to offer local people a chance to hear some of the very best, friendliest acoustic musicians from around Britain, and to just come along and relax and enjoy themselves. We’ll be providing a bar marquee, staffed by Wetherby Lions, high quality catering facilities, and good car parking. We’re also working hard to find good accommodation for our artistes and visitors, for Folk in the Fall has already captured the imagination of the folk community, and we know already of people planning to travel from Denmark, France and Orkney for our event. If any local people can assist with accommodation, please get in touch. Our contact details can be found on www.wetherbyfestival.co.uk. We would equally be delighted to hear from anyone who has any questions at all, or would simply like to know more about our Festival. Many of our visitors tell us that we are one of Yorkshire’s best kept secrets, and we rather like that accolade!’

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