Suffolk’s FolkEast festival has always been one for innovation and this month, for its 12th year – and its last at Glemham Hall – it is proud to present two official premieres and a special preview featuring some of UK folk’s finest names.
The FolkEast ‘firsts’ kick off on Friday, August 16 with an arresting original telling of one of the most momentous days in British working-class history.
On the 205th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, The Young’uns award-winning songwriter (and festival patron) Sean Cooney will join forces with twice Mercury-nominated Eliza Carthy and acclaimed singer-songwriter/ guitarist Sam Carter for an exclusive premiere performance of Peter’s Field, a new suite of songs and spoken word telling the events of 16th August 1819 when 60,000 people attended a rally for parliamentary reform in St Peter’s Field, Manchester and were brutally suppressed as local magistrates ordered the cavalry to charge the crowd. Eighteen people died and hundreds were injured.
It will feature fifteen new songs of struggle and hope from the pen of Cooney, recognised as one of UK folk’s most gifted and bold songwriters. He has nailed the knack of summing up a story in unflinching, sharply observed but compassionate, heartfelt lyrics and the compelling narrative draws on hundreds of eyewitness accounts.
The second premiere will see Ballet Folk returning to FolkEast in what promises to be a stand-out collaboration with the Freedom to Roam collective, spearheaded by renowned flautist Eliza Marshall, principal flute player in The Lion King in London’s West End.
Ballet Folk, led by choreographer Deborah Ward, explore the rich tradition of storytelling in a captivating fusion of contemporary ballet and folk music.
In 2021 Freedom To Roam released the album Rhythms of Migration, with eight top-flight folk, classical and world music artists weaving a spellbinding cinematic soundtrack to a moving, ever-topical story.
Joining Eliza Marshall at FolkEast will be renowned Welsh harpist Catrin Finch, Kerenza Peacock (violin/piano) and Chris Allan on cello – together with percussionist Jordan Murray, Dónal Rogers on guitar, bass, piano and vocals and the tablas of Kenyan-born Kuljit Bhamra, a pioneer of the British Bhangra sound.
This folk ballet interpretation of the album promises to be captivating, communicating themes of compassion, humanity, rewilding, and hope and highlighting our intricate relationship with the land and each other.
Says Eliza Marshall:“For ages I’ve been wanting to work with the incredible choreographer Deborah Ward to add dance to this album which we created during lockdown and it’s finally coming to fruition at FolkEast.”
Elsewhere the spellbinding supergroup of award-winning trio Lady Maisery (Rowan Rheingans, Hazel Askew and Hannah James) and the charismatic and beguiling partnership of Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith will unveil a special preview of their show Awake Arise: A Midsummer Celebration. A seasonal twist to their popular wintertime show, it is described as ‘a multi-layered, surprising and essential incantation to summertime’.
Lady Maisery are famed for their sublime harmonies and instrumental brilliance, with The Guardian saying ‘for more than a decade they have produced some of the most exquisite, thrilling work on the English folk scene’.
Bristol-based Aldridge and Goldsmith have also made an indelible mark on the scene, standing out with their politically astute songs. “To be a great folk singer, you have to be a great storyteller, as Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith are clearly aware. They are both fine singers and multi-instrumentalists.” (The Guardian).
So what can the FolkEast audience expect from this eclectic sneak preview? Says Rowan: “There is of course Morris, Mayday and magic. There is also ritual, rave and cider with Rosie, countryside cuckoos and city foxes – and fear for our warming planet alongside the promise of ripening fruit.”
The trio of ‘firsts’ will be the icing on the cake for FolkEast’s final festival in the idyllic fields and woodlands of Glemham Hall, near Woodbridge which will see Madrid-based Track Dogs kicking off proceedings on the Thursday night.
The enviable line up also includes The Dhol Foundation, bringing their bhangra bonanza to the main Sunset stage on the Saturday, Swedish alt-Americana folk rock band’ Baskery, and, one of the fastest rising stars of the UK folk scene Katherine Priddy.
Other top names include award-winning Orcadian singer-songwriter Kris Drever, folk’s elder statesman Martin Carthy partnering outstanding fingerpicking guitarist Jon Wilks, Peter Knight’s Gigspanner Big Band, outstanding young English folk trio Granny’s Attic, Melrose Quartet, Fay Hield Trio, Rag Mama Rag, Essex-based King Driscolls, Angeline Morrison Band, cellist-singer Sarah Smout and mirth makers The Folk Detectives.
Day and weekend tickets are now available and FolkEast continues its great tradition of offering free admission for children aged 11 and under.
Located close to the A12, the festival will also be running its usual shuttle buses to the site from Wickham Market station.
Festival website: www.folkeast.co.uk Tickets: https://folkeast.co.uk/tickets-4/
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