A folk festival starts earlier than you think. When do you think we booked the main acts for Bermondsey Folk Festival 2019? Around September 2018; a few weeks after BFF 2018! Typically headline British folk acts get booked at least a year in advance. It is not unheard of for acts to be booked 2 years in advance. This is because there are a finite number of acts which definitely draw a crowd so they are in demand. Also, because other promoters & festivals book early it is an ingrained part of the culture.

You have to be careful when booking acts that they are not performing nearby within 6 to 8 weeks of the time you are booking otherwise you risk not drawing a crowd & also upsetting nearby promoters & festival organisers. We love having a good crowd & we want to have a great relationship with our neighbouring promoters! We check our folk festival does not clash with other events a year in advance. A folk festival starts earlier than you think!

We are delighted to have got our headline acts for September 8th 2019 Andy Irvine, Martin Simpson, Stick In The Wheel & Ben Walker are all fantastic artists we really love. We are equally delighted to have a load of up & coming acts on the bill who may well be the folk headline acts of the future. Further details to be announced very soon.

This year we are working on increasing the opportunity for participation. Many folk performers sing & play purely for the pleasure of being part of a traditional culture & through the Bermondsey Folk Club singarounds we have provided a chance for loads of people to take part. We want to give a chance for as many people as we can to be part of the Bermondsey Folk Scene. So if you do want to join in get in touch. You are very welcome.

It’s all systems go for Bermondsey Folk Festival 2019. It may seem like a while away, Sunday September 8th, but there is quite a lot to do. Headline acts need to be booked well in advance: typically we do this 11 to 12 months ahead of the event. Scheduling of the day will be sketched out in the next month or so so that we can promote the day well ahead of time. We are very excited about working with local food & beer businesses to provide festival food & drinks & are putting together a children’s programme to make the day very much a family affair. We always have Irish dancing & our friends, Thrales Rapper will provide some sword dance. With confirmed acts like Andy Irvine, Martin Simpson, Ben Walker& Stick In The Wheel & with a growing line-up of homegrown talent this is going to be a bumper Bermondsey Folk Festival 2019!