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South Wales Argus
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Newport Folk Festival 2025 takes place at Tredegar House
The festival, now in its 34th year, took place from Friday to Sunday, showcasing the best in folk music and crafts. Welsh acts such as National Youth Folk Band Avanc and Lowri Evans were among the performers. The event also featured international folk music legends, including Show of Hands duo Phil Beer and Steve Knightley, who headlined on Friday and Sunday evening respectively. Other global folk superstars, including The Haar, Angharad Jenkins & Patrick Rimes, Ranagri, Heron Valley, and BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winners Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, also performed. While some performances required tickets, there were free performances and activities available throughout the day. These included multicultural shows from Ukrainian and Bulgarian dance troupes. All these activities and performances were free from 1pm until 5.30pm, with the headline ticketed events taking place into the evening. Event organiser Sue Oates said: "We've had packed events all weekend, right from Friday, completely packed, very full, and lots of people have been really loving the music. "We've had some really brilliant acts in our main concerts, the ticketed events, this year, which has been really lovely. "The dance displays have been a big part of the whole festival, ongoing all day every day this weekend, which has been great. "When we had the Ukrainian dancers in on Saturday, that was very emotional for all of us." The festival also featured a farmers' market and an opening procession through the gardens on Saturday. Ms Oates said: "We've had people come from all over the UK to our farmers' market as part of the festival, and a really beautiful opening procession on Saturday right through the gardens, and it's been a beautiful weekend for it, so we've been really lucky." She continued: "It's a real joy to bring so many different cultures to the festival, and wonderful to see so many children. "I'd recommend this to anyone for the joy, the atmosphere. "It's particularly lovely when we get international schools coming over, and I ask them what their favourite bits are, and they always say the atmosphere and excitement, which is wonderful to hear." Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik ) Newport Folk Festival 2025 (Image: Malgorzata Szydlik )
BBC News
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
FolkEast announces first names for 2025 at new site in Sotterley
The founders of England's most easterly folk festival have announced the first names for this year's line-up who will be performing at the event's new had been held at the Glemham Hall estate near Woodbridge in Suffolk, for the past 12 years, but this year's festival in August will be staged 20 miles away at the Sotterley Estate, near the first names to be announced are Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening who will perform on the Saturday night. Tickell, who plays the Northumbrian pipes, has twice been named Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and was appointed OBE and awarded a Queen's Medal for Music for her outstanding contribution to the British music scene. Also announced for the 2025 line-up are: Penguin Café, Sheelanagig, The Liverpool Shanty Kings, The Longest Johns, The Rheingans Sisters, Tarren, Katie Spencer and the duo Jimmy Aldridge and Sid festival is organised by husband-and-wife team Becky and John Marshall-Potter, who began FolkEast in 2012 at Somerleyton Hall, near Lowestoft, before it moved to Glemham Hall. When the Glemham estate was put up for sale last year, a new venue had to be Marshall-Potter said: "Moving an event from a long-standing established site to a new and unfamiliar location is always going to be a challenge. You almost have to forget everything you have done and start again."Of course we will be transferring all of the popular main elements and ethos of FolkEast amd all the things people have told us they love, but it's a new geographical environment where things aren't necessarily going to fit and interact in the same way."So it's a learning curve but also an opportunity to be creative at a particularly striking site and we look forward to putting the FolkEast stamp on it to carry the festival's story forward." Sean Cooney, from the multi-award winning folk act The Young'uns, said: "We've been proud patrons of FolkEast for many years and are thrilled at this exciting new chapter. "In these dampening times for festivals across the country, FolkEast continues to shine its light." Tom Brown, chief executive at the Sotterley Estate, said: "Everyone at Sotterley Estate and the Barne family are incredibly excited to be working alongside FolkEast. "We know and have seen for ourselves what a special and unique festival this is and can understand why so many people already love it."The festival is such a great fit for us and we are keen for many new people to discover what a unique and amazing place Sotterley Park is, as well as offering many people in our community the opportunity to discover FolkEast."The festival will include five stages and three pubs and will be held 15-17 August. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
