events

Cancellation of Cambridge Folk Festival a ‘big blow’ to music scene and economy

by

Festival organisers said the event would return in 2026 but people in the city have described this year’s cancellation as “incredibly disappointing”

Music lovers have warned the cancellation of one of the country’s biggest folk festivals this year will be a big blow to the local economy.

The Cambridge Folk Festival has attracted stars like Robert Plant, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Van Morrison and Nick Cave over its 60 year history.

But organisers have announced it will not go ahead this year at Cherry Hinton Hall, though they hope it will return in 2026.

Music promoter Simon Baker said: “It will obviously have an effect on restaurants and hotels and all of those things that rely on the festival for that weekend in July. I couldn’t put a figure on it but it’s a big blow.”

The local music community are also concerned about the effect on musicians starting out on their careers.

Read more

Nationwide events mark traditional Nollaig na mBan holiday

by

Swimmers took to the cold January sea for Women’s Aid on Sunday ahead of January 6th

By Sarah Burns

A number of events are taking place across the country today (Monday) to mark the traditional holiday of Nollaig na mBan, or “women’s little Christmas”.

January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany, is recognised as the last day of the Christmas season. In Ireland Nollaig na mBan is by tradition the day when women would generally take a break from the cooking and cleaning associated with the festive period, leaving them instead to men.

While domestic duties may be more equally shared across households in contemporary Ireland, the day of celebration is still marked by many.

Women’s Aid encouraged people to sign up for its Cold Swim for Women in order to raise funds for the charity, with participants able to take part in the event nationwide. Swimming groups and individuals around the country took their dip on Sunday to raise funds to support survivors of domestic violence and abuse.

The Irish Writers Centre is, meanwhile, hosting an event at Pearse Street library in Dublin on Monday night showcasing women writers including Jessica Traynor, Zoé Basha, Marianne Lee, Nuala O’Connor, Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, Anne Tannam and Sophie White.

The communities of Ballybough, Clonliffe and North Strand in north Dublin will celebrate Nollaig na mBan with a daylong festival honouring local women. It includes an awards ceremony, a special conversation with Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington and a live music trail. The event begins at 2pm at the Charleville Mall Library.

he Cabragh Wetlands Centre in Holycross, Co Tipperary, also hosted an event on Sunday which included a range of talks on women’s health, chanting and poetry as well as some workshops.

The VHI mini-marathon, which takes place in June, had been running an early bird offer to mark Nollaig na mBan with a discounted registration fee, which has now sold out.

Source: Nationwide events mark traditional Nollaig na mBan holiday – The Irish Times

Folk music is booming — so why are Britain’s folk festivals struggling?

by

The genre is reaching more audiences than ever but two historic events are facing cancellation and scores of others are fighting to stay afloat

On an August evening in the idyllic grounds of a country estate on the border of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, a rising star of folk music, Katherine Priddy, will perform her set at the Towersey village festival. It is the event’s 60th edition and also its last.

Up to 10,000 people attend each year. But after suffering heavy losses since entertainment re-emerged from lockdowns, the Heap family, who run Towersey, have bowed to economic reality. Their festival is among the latest casualties in a crisis threatening the future of gatherings that have been a fixture of the British summer since the Fifties.

“It’s devastating to see Towersey close,” says Priddy, 29. “Ticket-buying habits have not returned to what they were pre-Covid, but this is a wonderful festival in so many ways and its loss is awful for those who have been going for years.”

Thirty miles away, the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire is the venue for another endangered festival, also in August, the annual reunion of past and present members of the celebrated folk-rock band Fairport Convention.

Towersey and Cropredy are not alone in facing bleak times. The Association of Independent Festivals says more than 40 UK events have been postponed, cancelled or lost altogether this year. Faced with a surge in operating costs, at least 170 have disappeared in five years.

Eliza Carthy, a singer and fiddler and president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, was shocked to learn of Towersey’s closure. “I feel it personally because it was the first festival to give me a solo gig, more than 30 years ago,” she says. “I was absolutely terrified but ended up loving every minute.”

Terry Donahue, Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks, Dave Swarbrick and Trevor Lucas of Fairport Convention performing in the garden of The Brasenose Arms in Cropredy on July 22, 1973. This event became the precursor for the annual Cropredy Festival
Terry Donahue, Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks, Dave Swarbrick and Trevor Lucas of Fairport Convention performing in the garden of The Brasenose Arms in Cropredy on July 22, 1973. This event became the precursor for the annual Cropredy Festival
BRIAN COOKE/REDFERNS

Carthy, a member of Britain’s pre-eminent folk dynasty as the daughter of Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, believes folk music is at a crossroads, events folding despite large, loyal followings, while, paradoxically, some observers see a resurgence driven by inventive young musicians pushing at old barriers and embracing other genres.

Read more