Manchester Folk Festival takes over the city’s most iconic venues this spring

Manchester Folk Festival returns this spring, with the three-day celebration set to take over some of the city’s most beloved venues.

Moving from its regular October slot, the festival will run from Thu 20 Mar – Sat 22 Mar, bringing with it some of the most renowned and exciting names from all across the folk spectrum.

Confirmed participating venues so far include Band on the Wall, Hallé St Peters, Night & Day, The Castle, Hallé at St Michael’s, Stoller Hall and New Century Hall.

Topping an already-packed bill will be worldwide viral sensations The Longest Johns, a genre-busting mix of folk, Bach, jazz and pop from Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, and the recently reunited Stornoway, who’ll be performing choice cuts from 2023’s Dig The Mountain alongside other fan favourites. 

Also headlining across the three days will be Bernard Butler, famous for his era-defining work with Suede, Cara Dillon bringing her celebrated Coming Home show to life, family favourite Nick Cope and hypnotic indie-folk specialists The Deep Blue.

Elsewhere in the programme, The Smithfield Market Tavern will be hosting a series of free music sessions for the entire duration of the festival, while Manchester Craft & Design Centre will be leading hands-on, creative workshops.

There’ll be plenty of showstopping Morris Dancing performances, too, with the Saddleworth Morris Men, West Yorkshire’s Wharfedale Wayzgoose Border Morris, Roots Morris and Blackstone Edge Rapper all joining.

Check out full Manchester Folk Festival lineup here.

The festival also acts as the host for English Folk Expo, an international showcase for the most exciting artists from or based in England. Running parallel to the festival, it brings together 200 music industry delegates with Manchester audiences.

Tickets can be purchased on an individual show basis here, or, if you want access to the entire thing, with freedom to dip in and out of as many performances as you’d like, a full festival wristband is available here.