Thanks to you BermondseyFolkFestival 2019 has been our most successful event ever with more than 1,500 visitors.
We’re already planning for next and we need your feedback to ensure we continue to evolve and bring you the best quality event in the heart of South East London.
We are so proud to have Andy Irvine playing at the Bermondsey Folk Festival 2019
Andy Irvine is one of the great Irish singers, his voice one of a handful of truly great ones that gets to the very soul of Ireland. He has been hailed as “a tradition in himself”.
Musician, singer, songwriter, Andy has maintained his highly individual performing skills throughout his over 50-year career.
Andy has been at the helm of legendary bands like Sweeney’s Men in the mid 60s, to the enormous success of Planxty in the 70s, and then Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and recently Usher’s Island. Andy has been a world music pioneer and an icon for traditional music and musicians.
As a soloist, Andy fills the role of the archetypal troubadour with a show and a travelling lifestyle that reflect his lifelong influence, Woody Guthrie. To quote the Irish Times, “Often copied, never equalled”, his repertoire consists of Irish traditional songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes and a compelling cannon of his own self-penned songs.
Bedford based folk trio MarisaJack&Davy formed in 2015 in order to play at the DIY shows and house concerts they were organising. A floor spot for Stick in the Wheel’s folk nighton The Golden Hinde encouraged them to further explore British folk music and they were soon seduced by the music of Shirley Collins, The Young Tradition and Nic Jones.
MarisaJack&Davy will be at the Bermondsey Folk Festival 2019 performing on The Biscuit Factory stage on Sunday 8th September.
Entry free. You can register your attendance on Eventbrite on the button below
On September 8th 2019 there will be an unmissable London folk event. The 5th Bermondsey Folk Festival is entirely free & has a line up of acts many festivals with entry fees would envy.
World class performers like Irish folk legend, Andy Irvine, Sheffield’s folk guitar legend Martin Simpson& Walthemstow’s finest; Stick In the Wheel. A host of other performers make a stellar bill in the heart of South East London for free.
Events start at 11am with a guided walk with poet, John Constable, then performances form noon to 6 at The Biscuit Factory. Finally an evening session in Partizan Brewery. The best free folk festival in London a stone’s throw from Bermondsey tube.
Provisional Flyer for Bermondsey Folk Festival with amendments.(Just after this picture was taken some egg got on it)
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!
After the day’s events in the Blue Anchor Market, the
Bermondsey Folk Festival continues at Shortwave Cafe with an evening of
fantastic folk acts. Shortwave Cafe is fully licensed & has a great
selection of beers
Guitar, bass, cajon, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, flute, penny whistle and recorder combine for fast-paced, energetic tunes and delicate ballads.
Arfur Doo & the Toerags are a traditional Irish folk band with a few twists. Guitar, bass, cajon, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, flute, penny whistle and recorder combine for fast-paced, energetic tunes and delicate ballads.
