Indoor Festival of Folk

Saturday 8 Feb 2025 1:00pm-10:30pm

Cecil Sharp House, London

£45 | £28 Under 30 | Free Personal Assistant ticket with purchase of Access ticket

A day-long winter feast of music and very special guests under Cecil Sharp House’s historic roof, co-hosted by EFDSS and folk rock supergroup The Magpie Arc.

We are delighted to announce…

Frankie Archer has exploded onto the folk scene with music that transcends stereotypes using a combination of manipulated samples, synths, drum tracks and earthy Northumbrian fiddle and voice to capture her audience. Her aim? To shake up genres and traditions, challenge perspectives and call for a fairer future.

Edgelarks - described by BBC 6 Music as "extraordinary", this is the first chance to see the Radio 2 Folk Award-winning duo of Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry live in London for nearly two years. Edgelarks combine soulful, original songwriting with deep folk roots; and with influences as diverse as Indian classical and American blues, they produce a sound like no other.

The Bookshop Band is the unique musical offspring of award-winning folk songwriters Beth Porter and Ben Please and independent bookshop Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights.

As their name suggests, they derive their songwriting inspiration from books and, inspired by hundreds of authors from Shakespeare to Philip Pullman, have released 13 studio albums featuring many of the authors they have worked with.

Sam Carter is a BBC Folk Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over the course of his career, he has earned a reputation for vivid, narrative-driven songwriting "as penetrating as Richard Thompson’s best work" (Uncut). A highly regarded instrumentalist, Sam has been described as 'the finest English-style fingerpicking guitarist of his generation' by Bellowhead’s Jon Boden, and as having a ‘killer voice’ by Ivor Novello-winning musician Nitin Sawhney.

The Magpie Arc: Multi-award-winners Martin Simpson (on electric guitar), Nancy Kerr, Findlay Napier, Alex Hunter and Tom A. Wright mix their unique songwriting styles and musicianship with traditional UK folk sensibilities. In a full-on electric band, they create exciting new music and update the classic 60s and 70s British folk rock sound.

PLUS Matthew Bannister (BBC Radio and Folk on Foot broadcaster) interviews Ashley 'The Guv'nor' Hutchings in his 80th birthday year.

As Bob Dylan said, "Ashley Hutchings is the single most important figure in English folk rock." Founding member of and driving force behind Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion (Country) Band in the highest musical circles he is simply called 'The Guv'nor' and his vision of what electric folk music should be and sound like has helped shape British popular music for almost 60 years.