Read on to find out more about the artists who performed in 2024:
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The Sheriff
The Sheriff are the kind of band that never cease to put a smile on your face. They play foot-tapping folk, bluegrass, blues & Irish music with a Somerset twang. Their name comes from the famous Wurzels song ‘The Sheriff Of Midsomer Norton’, and their version has been claimed to be the “the best in the West”. Fronted by singer Jon Parry (whose voice has been known to knock the froth off of a pint of Guinness); alongside friend and versatile singer-songwriter Sam Evans (who has played UK’s top festivals and supported world-class musicians with his original music); talented banjo, mandolin & harmonica player Mark Kinnear; and his brother Joe Kinnear keeping the rhythm on the snare and kick drum. Their sound is guaranteed to have everyone in the audience tapping along.
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Ten Pence Moon
Ten Pence Moon are brought together by their shared passion for blues and roots music from both sides of the pond.
Dave Lyons and Leo Morshead draw on traditional and contemporary music to compose and arrange songs that pay homage to their heroes, while maintaining their own unique voice.
Blending the sound of acoustic guitars, banjo, vocals, slide guitar, lap steel and dobro. Their music includes songs of love, loss and everything in between.
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Starling
Starling is Helen Brock (violin and cello), Louise Palmer (vocals and flute) and Adam Palmer (guitars).
Based in Somerset, Starling formed in 2022 through friendship and a love of music. Coming from differing musical backgrounds, Starling’s “chamber folk” sound is influenced by contemporary folk, acoustic musicians and singer-songwriters from the UK, Europe and America.
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Nature is Noisy
Nature is Noisy are Cameron Patrick Scott (vocals, guitar & noises), Michael Hanby (vocals & bass) & Monty De Lans (drums) and bring their collection of original, sexy funk, rastabilly, shamanic jazz, and red-neck riffery. Guitar, drums and bass are skilfully crafted with clever song-writing, samples and loops. Their deliciously danceable musings on philosophy, love and hedonism will leave you smiling and feeling like life is good.
Nature is Noisy began in 2019 when Michael and Cameron started working together on a variety of material written both separately and together. A couple of seasons of West Country gigging saw them develop a distinctive, catchy vibe which pulses throughout their ‘genre fluid’ range of original compositions and goes down well with everyone who encounters it. The addition of Monty into their collaboration has unleashed a new dimension to their sound, which has been received exceptionally well in live performances.
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Los Colibris
Los Colibris are a dynamic guitar/vocal duo who play lively, rhythmic Latin Music with great zest and passion.
With two acoustic guitars and two vocals in harmony, they perform popular songs from Latin America, Cuba and Spain.
Los Colibris is the result: a driving blend of guitar rumba, spontaneity and bluesy improvisation.
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John Diment
Glastonbury-based John Diment, aka John D Revelator, is the solo incarnation of the now sadly-departed band of the same name, who tore up the festival scene for over a decade. John also performs as singer & songwriter in folk punk act Gurt Dog & acoustic folk group The Pipistrelles. Known for songs written with humour, containing political satire & radical history with a West Country bias, John’s shows are by turns irreverent, poignant and honest as John proudly wears his heart on his (left) sleeve!
Expect hard-hitting songs about Brexit & the NHS, as well as songs of ghostly highwaymen, disused railways & rabbits. John returns to play Priddy after an absence of a few years & has played at Bearded Theory, Tolpuddle, Boomtown, Watchet & Glastonbury Festivals, to name just a few.
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Jack Cookson
BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Nominee Jack Cookson’s approach to songwriting had always been quite dry, visceral and very cynical. After a couple of years of unquiet reflection away from music training to be an electrician during the pandemic, he is miraculously writing with more optimism. After all, the world isn’t crying out for another man with an acoustic guitar singing about his very relative crisis. Cookson’s songs cover the clear and present issues of male mental health stigma, disconnection from the natural world and subsequent obsession with tech. While these are trying topics, there’s a sense of hope under-pinning his music. Accompanied with near-virtuosic fingerstyle guitar, a unique voice that is easy-on-the-ears plus the odd bit of harmonica, a set from Jack is one you’ll never forget.
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Hello Hopeville
Hello Hopeville is a band based in and around Frome in Somerset. It consists of six individuals with a passion for creating a melodic and mesmerising sound. The band has the ability to morph between uptempo Country/Blues songs to hand-picked songs that lend themselves to harmony and instrumentals.
Hello Hopeville is unable to sit within one genre of music, as covers range from Fleetwood Mac, Bobby Bare, Steve Earl to Alison Krauss and Neil Young. They also write and arrange their own songs, all delivered with a sprinkle of magic, which is what gives Hello Hopeville its unique sound.
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David & Johnny
David Emeney has been playing guitar and singing since he was a lad in his home town of Sudbury, Suffolk. Since coming to Somerset, he has played semi-professionally in a folk duo and a Ceilidh band with his wife Issy. He also formed a rock covers band “DUST” and has played all over the Southwest.
Johnny Francis has been involved in the Somerset music scene since moving here in 2000 from Essex where he had his own rock/blues band. He has co-run open mic nights and folk clubs, as well as playing in the contemporary rock band “Shake The Tree” and has collaborated with many other musicians. This duo is newly formed and will be playing well-known and some more obscure covers in a way that only they can!
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Black Eyed Mog
Several years ago at Priddy Folk Festival, a group of like-minded individuals took their guitars and voices into the local pub where the coast was clear as the festival main stages were still in full flow. Beers purchased, the gang occupied a corner of the pub and blasted out songs from all directions: J.J.Cale, The Who, Neil Young, Eagles, Oasis, Memphis Slim…. no rules, no stylistic guidelines, if a song was worth singing, it was in the set. The group played every night of the Festival.
Black Eyed Mog are three of the survivors: Jon Marsden on guitar who knew all the words; Martin Froud on dobro/mandolin who knew the licks; and John Wirtz rhythm guitar who knew the fastest route to the bar. Influences are mostly Americana with Folk and Blues, all the songs they love, they hope you’ll like them too.
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Around About Dusk
Around About Dusk from Bristol offer a unique journey through the vibrant fusion of New Orleans jazz, European folk, and old-time influences, coming together in their distinct repertoire.
From European busking festivals to gatherings around English campfires, Around About Dusk radiates warmth. Their music, featuring captivating melodies and harmonies, tells tales of wonder and nature with nods to chanson, early jazz, and folk.