Manchester Folk Festival presents a rich calendar of events and concerts in the city centre

Taking place from Thu 13 Oct to Sat 15 Oct in and around HOME, Manchester Folk Festival promises a diverse slate of concerts and events for enthusiasts and newbies alike, alongside a range of family-friendly entertainment in celebration of English folk. From plaintive lyricism to the all-out knees-up, the festival offers an event for every musical inclination.

With the biggest names in the scene performing across various venues in a compact area of the city centre, visitors are able to discover established musicians, talented newcomers and family singalongs within a short walk of HOME, the festival’s hub for the weekend. Beginning with several incredible gigs on Thu 13 Oct, attendees can head to The Blues Kitchen for an evening headlined by Grace Petrie, a beloved protest singer who has supported both Frank Turner and Hannah Gadsby, and broke the UK Top 40 with her 2021 album, Connectivity.

Amidst another stellar schedule on Friday 14 Oct, Mr Wilson’s Opal’s Comet takes to the Rochdale Canal, between Piccadilly Basin and Lock 92, for a free, kinetic exhibition featuring a ‘vivid, animated artwork transported by a transient community’. Running from 11am until 4pm, the performers navigate several voyages back and forth along the waterway, their vessel as both exhibition space and stage, soundtracked by a live band and their ‘newly composed song-cycle’. The exhibition is durational, so visitors can check in at any point during its runtime. At 7.30pm, ‘wildly creative free-form songwriter’ Rachel Dadd plays the Impossible Theatre, the day before the release of her new studio album Kaleidoscope, alongside singer/guitarist Hollie Rogers and afro-folk groove maestros, Me and My Friends.

On Sat 15 Oct at 1.30pm, the International Anthony Burgess Foundation hosts David Gibb’s Family Jukebox, an imaginative all-ages party which traverses jazz, folk, reggae and rock in an engaging afternoon full of child-friendly music and dance-a-longs. At 6.30pm, esteemed songwriter Will Varley plays a transcendent, poetic setlist at the 02 Ritz, having sold out his own headline shows across Europe and supported Billy Bragg, Frank Turner and the Proclaimers.

On Sunday 16 Oct, following a raucous closing party at HOME featuring The Ciderhouse Rebellion, The Wilderness Yet and Sautikano the night before, The Briton’s Protection hosts a free Singaround session – with no vocal experience needed – from 2pm-5pm.

For more information and the full festival calendar, check out the MFF website.