A week-long seaside celebration of music, dance and song. Since 1955.
Sidmouth Folk Festival 4th– 11th August 2023.
Building on the return to a more familiar in-person festival in 2022, the 69th festival will see the many venues, streets and Esplanade of our glorious East Devon home burst into vibrant life with the finest in folk music, dance and song.
The exciting week-long programme spans a huge range of genres and interests, featuring top tier concert stars, emerging talent, exclusive shows at The Manor Pavilion, dynamic ceilidhs and folk dances, a colourful array of dance displays, storytelling, In The Tradition events, Children’s Festival, Shooting Roots youth sessions, a huge range of participatory workshops and more.
Expect the very best Sidmouth quality assurance stamp in each area of the festival with some fantastic headline concert and dance names from throughout the British Isles and beyond. The popular Pre-Festival Concerts sees returning Sidmouth favourites, Cornish shanty grandmasters Fisherman’s Friends (Thurs 3 August, 7.30pm) and the queen of Scottish song Barbara Dickson with Nick Holland (Fri 4 August, 3pm matinée).
Concert stage at The Ham: The Unthanks, with their transcendent sibling harmonies, Breabach, one of Scotland’s most skilled and imaginative contemporary folk acts, McCusker McGoldrick Doyle, masters of flute, fiddle, song and guitar, familiar gems like Festival Patrons Show of Hands, the uniquely captivating harmonies of Lady Maisery, alongside impressive rising stars, including the vital, tender voice of Angeline Morrison, exploring black British experience in folk song. and the exhilarating alternative sounds of Dominie Hooper. Wait for the drop at The Bulverton with Scottish crowd-lifters Talisk, Tiree’s award-winning Skerryvore and local hero Seth Lakeman.
Experience new musical worlds on smaller festival stages with inventive tradition ground-breakers like Cerys Hafana and Suntou Susso…and so much more.
Cellar Bar bookings for 2023: Brit folk experimentalists Shovel Dance Collective, NE sibling harmonies from The Brothers Gillespie, Intarsia, Maddie Morris, Will Allen, Lizzy Hardingham, Brazen Thieves, Cerys Hafana, Suntou Susso, Patakas (Will & Joe Sartin), Owen Spafford & Louis Campbell, Jon Wilks, Frankie Archer and Good Habits and more to come.
Some of the fascinating Manor Pavilion special shows through the week include: Lewis Wood’s Footwork – a celebration of English Step Dancing, folk opera The Undoing of Polly Button; The Folk Detectives – a new show from Matthew Crampton & Paul Hutchinson; Harp & A Monkey’s The Victorians and Reg Meuross & Cohen Braithwaite Kilcoyne’s poignant Stolen from God.
For information and all the latest news (including performing, craft and catering stalls) visit the official website or contact us by e-mail
Children’s Festival – The Sidmouth Folk Festival
Display Dance – The Sidmouth Folk Festival
Workshop Information – The Sidmouth Folk Festival
For Folk Festival tickets and where to stay information, contact:
Ham Lane,
Sidmouth,
EX10 8XR