A new festival has been announced for Cumbria.
Folk Fell, the one-day family-focused folk festival brings a programme of internationally renowned folk musicians to the grounds of Holker Hall on July 23.
In its first year, the festival aims to celebrate the very best of the folk world while celebrating and complimenting the natural landscape surrounding it, as two stages, The Fell Stage and the Home Grown Stage, nestle themselves into the fields ahead of the gardens of Holker Hall.
The line-up
The main stage will be headlined by Kate Rusby. Kate will be joined on stage by her band to close the evening.
Opening the festival will be Flats and Sharps, a four-piece bluegrass outfit from Penzance, Cornwall.
The lineup also includes Cara Dillon, born in Dungiven and brought up amongst the rich cultural heritage of her native County Derry, Cara has risen to become one of the finest exponents of traditional Irish song anywhere in the world.
British folk-pop band The Leisure Society, which was formed in Brighton in 2009 by Nick Hemming, will also perform. They have had over a decade of success including two consecutive Ivor Novello nominations for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and have enjoyed the endorsement of everyone from Guy Garvey to Brian Eno.
Bella Hardy, a BBC Folk Singer of the Year, found her first home in folk music through a childhood love for ballad books. A self-taught ‘fiddle singer’, she began performing at Cambridge and Sidmouth festivals from the age of 13.
Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have long established themselves as one of the UK folk scenes most rewarding partnerships. Bonded by an unseen alchemy Dartmoor-based husband and wife have entwined their professional and personal relationship into an enviable class act of imaginative songwriting and musicianship, twice winning the coveted ‘best duo’ title at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Sam Kelly and The Lost Boys, who are gaining a reputation for being one of the most exciting bands to have entered the UK folk scene in the past twenty years, is the brainchild of BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Sam Kelly.
Sam will also be taking to the stage as part of Kate’s band too.
Folk Fell internationally renowned musicians will be joined by Cumbrian based and homegrown artists. These artists have been applying to play the ‘homegrown’ stage throughout January and the full lineup will be released in February.
Claire Williams, Artistic Lead for Folk Fell says: “I can’t explain how excited the team here at Folk Fell are to be launching this beautiful brand-new event in 2022. When we started thinking about Folk Fell, were very clear that we wanted to deliver real quality within the festival’s lineup but still create something which felt relaxed, calm and intimate for the audience.
“We started making plans for the engrail event early in 2021, and we thought it might take us a couple of years to find and build a relationship with the perfect location, so couldn’t believe it when Holker and its fantastic team jumped on board early in the planning stages.
“We’re a really small team and organisation, so being able to use a venue like Holker is a real dream come true for us. We hope that the combination of the incredible line-up and the stunning grounds will mix together beautifully to create the perfect, intimate, quality, family-friendly festival day.
“Not to mention the fact that people will be able to enjoy the very best Food and Drink Cumbria has to offer! We really hope, and have our fingers crossed that Folk Fell will become part of peoples ongoing annual plans!”
