News

Altan, the giants of Irish traditional music, are the latest great addition to the Priddy Folk Festival 2016 line-up and are scheduled in as Saturday night headliners. The band, formed in the early 1980s by flute-player Frankie Kennedy and singer/fiddler, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, have taken their brilliant encapsulation of the unique Donegal folk sound around…

Priddy Folk Festival couldn’t book our old favourites Jamie Smith’s Mabon for the festival this year because of their touring commitments, but we have managed to book them for a special “family concert” in March at the Priddy Village Hall. Jamie Smith’s Mabon have headlined the festival twice, and were the first band to get the…

We are delighted to announce that Les Barker will be making an appearance this year. Les is well known throughout the folk scene – and indeed the country as a whole – for his gentle yet hilarious poetry which mines the idiocies of life – and the English language – for comic effect. One of…

In 2012 Priddy Folk Festival wanted to do something special to mark its 21st birthday. The Festival decided to create a collaborative music education project called Priddy Rising, working with students from Wells Blue School – Priddy’s local secondary school. Under the mentorship of British musician, composer and producer Will Lang. Each year the students…

We have confirmed the first names for the 2016 Priddy Folk festival. They include new and familiar faces, rising stars and established artists – just the first batch of performers for what promises to be a fabulous festival. One of the highlights will be the appearance of Lady Maisery – an all-star trio consisting of…

This year’s festival is our 25th anniversary. We are hoping to make it extra special. Keep an eye on this website or follow us on FaceBook and Twitter to hear more. Put it on your calendar now 8-10th July 2016 In the meantime here is a video of the festival in 2014 to give you…

Priddy are proud to welcome Leveret to this year’s Folk Festival. Leveret are Sam Sweeney, fiddle, Rob Harbron, concertina and Andy Cutting, melodeon. They formed Leveret last year and their first album New Anything, was recorded in a day and has garnered rave reviews. Earlier this year Sam, a leading member of Bellowhead, was named…

Barrule come to this year’s Priddy on a high. After bringing their unique music of the Isle of Man to a wider audience with their self-titled debut album in 2013, the young trio have just released their second album, Manannan’s Cloak to great reviews all round. They are opening plenty of eyes and ears to…

This weekend pupils from the Blue School in Wells gave up their weekend to spend time with Will Lang from Halsway Manor kicking off the work to present a 2 hour concert at the Festival on Saturday morning on the main stage. This is the fourth year we have run this project in collaboration with Halsway…

As part of Halsway Manor’s golden jubilee celebrations they are holding a 24 Hours of Folk event on the 6th June. It will be a programme of performances, workshops and sessions. We are proud to work with Halsway Manor for what it does promoting folk music, and supporting young folk musicians. This year we have provided bursaries and…

Today was the annual May Day celebrations in Wells, and we were treated to a performance by the Blue School Folk Project team. Led by pupils Tim Salvidge and Alice Lintern and helped by last year’s student Angus Morrice the team put together a set of folk tunes and performed to the Cathedral Green. This…

The Priddy Folk Festival dance programme features some of the best folk dance acts from the south west and beyond. Taking place in the Eastwater Marquee and the Market Square, there’s an international flavour with styles from Brittany, North America and of course English morris and Rapper. Highlights include an appearance by Silver Flame Rapper…