After a record-breaking spring edition, “the UK’s leading urban folk festival” (Mark Radcliffe) returns from Thu 19 to Sat 21 Mar with another city-wide celebration of roots, acoustic and traditional music.
Set across the Northern Quarter and Ancoats, Manchester Folk Festival swaps muddy fields for some of the city’s most iconic venues, including Band on the Wall, Hallé St Peter’s, New Century Hall, The Stoller Hall and Night & Day Cafe.
Alongside more than sixty artists, audiences can expect craft and music workshops, ceilidhs, Morris dancing and free folk sessions throughout the weekend, alongside deep dives into the culture and folklore that underpin the weekend’s programme from the likes of Lucy Wright.
Here are five unmissable highlights.
A nine-piece force united by a belief in folk as living, breathing communal practice with profound societal power, Shovel Dance Collective bring their radical reimagining of traditional music to Hallé St Peter’s on the Friday evening.
Describing their sound as a kind of “mud music”, the group stitch together songs from Britain, Ireland and beyond with free improvisation, tape manipulation and field recordings, creating a dense, politically charged patchwork that feels both ancient and thrillingly contemporary.
Their albums The Shovel Dance and The Water is the Shovel of the Shore were named albums of the year by The Quietus, while live performances at major festivals including Glastonbury, SXSW and more have drawn widespread acclaim.
The following evening, three core members of the celebrated Transatlantic Sessions collective unite for an evening of masterful musicianship and easy-going charm.
Mike McGoldrick, a virtuoso on flute, whistle and uilleann pipes, is joined by former Battlefield Band fiddler John McCusker and guitarist and singer-songwriter John Doyle, a founding member of Solas. Between them, they have collaborated with the likes of Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler and Joan Baez.
With a vast shared repertoire of reels, airs and songs, this trio offer a rare opportunity to witness three globally respected players in close conversation, trading tunes and stories with warmth and technical brilliance.
Formed of two pairs of siblings, The Magic Numbers play New Century on the same night with their immaculate harmonies and melodic songwriting.
Their 2005 Mercury-nominated debut produced top ten singles including Forever Lost and Love Me Like You, selling over a million copies worldwide. Renowned for uplifting live performances, they have toured globally and supported the likes of Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Radiohead, The Who and U2.
Support comes from Salford’s Ren Harvieu, whose darkly opulent and richly cinematic voice has led to collaborations with Tom Jones, Nas and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
For Folk Festival revellers looking to swap the stalls for the dancefloor, the weekend’s two ceilidhs deliver an all-embracing round of joyous participatory dance sessions at Hallé St Peter’s.
Proceedings begin on Friday evening with the Friday Night Ceilidh, led by Chimera Ceilidh Band, whose propulsive, foot-stomping arrangements and expert caller guarantee a memorable night out. On Saturday afternoon, the Family Ceilidh invites dancers of all ages to join Blind Panic Ceilidh Band for a high-energy knees-up, complete with fiddle-led sets piles of rhythmic delight.
No previous experience is needed for either event, just comfortable shoes and a willingness to get involved.
Grab tickets to the Friday Night Ceilidh HERE, and book tickets to the Family Ceilidh below.
Thu 19 Mar - Sat 21 Mar
manchesterfolk.com
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Tue 3 Mar 2020
On the Thursday evening, Mercury Prize nominee Seth Lakeman hits the New Century Hall stage with a catalogue that has defined contemporary British folk for two decades.
Catapulted into the mainstream with 2005’s Kitty Jay, recorded for just £300 in his brother’s Dartmoor kitchen, Lakeman has since carved out a career rooted in West Country lore and sharp, narrative songwriting set to his distinctive, muscular string sounds.
His latest album, The Granite Way, returns to the ancient stories and landscapes that shaped his original music and embodies early West Country storytelling, with driving rhythms, vivid character studies and the kind of rousing, communal choruses that have established him as a festival favourite across the UK and beyond.