Tag: Katie Spencer

England’s most easterly folk festival – Suffolk’s FolkEast – has officially revealed the site of its new home.

The perennially popular festival, founded and organised by husband-and-wife team Becky and John Marshall-Potter, began in 2012 at Somerleyton Hall, close to Lowestoft but had taken place at Glemham Hall, near Woodbridge for the past 11 years. But pastures new had to be found when the Glemham estate was put up for sale last year.

Now the organisers are delighted to announce that the 13^th FolkEast will take place at the stunning Sotterley Hall estate in the north-east of the county, near the market town of Beccles. The 3500-acre private estate is owned by the Barne family and features extensive parkland around a Georgian house –with ancient woodland, a beautiful lake with Palladian folly and a 12^th century church.

Says John Marshall Potter: “Moving an event from a long-standing established site to a new and unfamiliar location is always going to be a challenge. You almost have to forget everything you have done and start again.

“Of course we will be transferring all of the popular main elements and ethos of FolkEast – and all the things people have told us they love – but it’s a new geographical environment where things aren’t necessarily going to fit and interact in the same way.

“So it’s a learning curve but also an opportunity to be creative at a particularly striking site and we look forward to putting the FolkEast stamp on it this summer to carry the festival’s story forward.”

Tom Brown, Chief Executive at Sotterley said: “Everyone at Sotterley Estate and the Barne family are incredibly excited to be working alongside FolkEast. We know and have seen for ourselves what a special and unique festival this is and can understand why so many people already love it. “

Recognised as one of the UK’s favourite folk festivals – by both audience and artists – FolkEast will make its Sotterley debut with three heady days of musical excellence. There will be a melting pot of eclectic talent – from vintage performers to the best new acts on the block. As at Glemham Hall it will be played out across five stages while the event’s three pubs will be alive with singarounds and sessions.

Among the first names to be announced are Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening who will perform on the Saturday night. Kathryn is a stellar exponent of the Northumbrian pipes and has twice been named Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She has some 19 albums to her name, an OBE and has won the Queen’s Medal for Music for her outstanding contribution to the British music scene. Also a presenter of BBC Radio 3’s Music Planet, Kathryn has gathered together stand-out musicians from Northumberland, Scotland and England to form her band The Darkening – a band that has finely honed Northumbrian traditional tunes and sounds into a thrilling aural twist.

Also announced for the 2025 line-up are: Penguin Café, Sheelangig, shanty kings The Longest Johns, The Rheingans Sisters, Tarren , Steve Tilston, Ian A.Anderson, Katie Spencer and Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith.

FolkEast is known for its ‘firsts’ and this year folk musician and writer Jon Wilks is the man behind something really special – a celebration of an iconic London folk venue. Jon will curate the ‘Second Cousins’ stage, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the iconic Les Cousins folk and blues club, a ‘spawning ground’ for musical talent which opened in the basement of a restaurant at 49 Greek Street, Soho, back in 1965.

At Les Cousins musicians of the era met and learnt from each other –legendary names such as Al Stewart, Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Sandy Denny, John Martyn, Alexis Korner, The Strawbs, Roy Harper and Paul Simon.

With the involvement of Diana Matheou—who, along with her late husband, Andy, ran the club during its heyday—the stage will feature an exhibition of memorabilia and photography, alongside talks and performances. The line-up will include artists who originally played at the club, as well as younger musicians who embody its exploratory ethos.

Artists performing in this special event will include USA-based Bridget St John, one of the leading lights of the British folk scene of the late Sixties and early Seventies. The Surrey-born singer songwriter is perhaps best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for John Peel’s Dandelion record label. Peel referred to her as ‘The best lady singer songwriter in the country’.

With many more names to be announced Early Bird weekend tickets are now on sale – prices are £165 (adults aged 18-64), £155 for over 65s and £90 for Youth tickets (12-17 years) which must be purchased with an adult ticket. Family weekend tickets for two adults and two 12-17 year olds are £475.

FolkEast continues its great tradition of offering free admission for children aged 11 and under; camping under canvas is £25, camping under canvas with vehicle alongside £40 and camping on wheels (caravan, camper van, motorhome) £40-£60.

Tickets: https://folkeast.co.uk/tickets-4/

Festival website: www.folkeast.co.uk