The best folk and music festivals in Britain's villages
Forget the mega-festivals. The soul of British folk is in the village hall, the churchyard and the pub back room. Here are the ones worth the drive.
1. Beardy Folk Festival
Contemporary and traditional music plays out across the wooded Hopton Court estate alongside a woodland spa, storytelling and four nights under canvas.
See it on Villagly →2. Beverley Folk Festival
Over fifty acts play pubs, churches and the open street across this market town's ancient cobbled lanes for a weekend of acoustic music and morris.
See it on Villagly →3. West Somerset Folk Festival
A small, reasonably priced village festival celebrating its 20th year with singarounds, workshops and ballad sessions in the Somerset countryside.
See it on Villagly →4. Blazin in Biggar
Scottish fiddle supergroup Blazin' Fiddles welcomes fiddlers, guitarists and pianists to venues across this Lanarkshire town for a weekend of classes, sessions and craic.
See it on Villagly →5. Bury Folk Festival
A full day of folk sessions, open stages and real ale in the walled gardens of Nowton Park, where the 12th festival gathers East Anglia's finest acoustic talent.
See it on Villagly →6. New Forest Folk Festival
A small family-run folk festival on the family's own farm at the edge of the New Forest, drawing big names like Skerryvore and Fisherman's Friends to a famously friendly field.
See it on Villagly →7. Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival
An ancient Cinque Port fills with folk music and real ale across 70+ acts in pubs, marquees and open spaces. The 14th year, and the tradition is now its own tradition.
See it on Villagly →8. Stendhal Festival
Northern Ireland's longest-running independent outdoor music and arts festival on a Causeway Coast farm, where eight stages in woodland and meadow give equal billing to grassroots acts and headline names at Chapter 16.
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