Preview to the 12th Cheltenham Folk Festival

Now celebrating its 12th year the Cheltenham Folk Festival returns on 15 - 17 February 2008.

The winners of BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2007, Last Orders will be at the festival to entertain us with their original and traditional music from around the world.
Special for this year is Jo Freya’s Lal Project - a new band with multiple voices, guitars, harp, percussion, bass and brass playing the beautiful songs of the late Lal Waterson on the 10th anniversary of her death. Also Down the Lawson Track with the songs and music of the great Australian outback.

The festival sees the return of some old favourites and new artists including Show of Hands, the widely acknowledged roots duo, Brass Monkey, now touring as a 4 piece band following the untimely death of their trumpet player Howard Evans. The Anglo–Australian collaboration of Three Magpies perform a repertoire which is both traditional and contemporary.

The artists are as diverse as the instruments they play and include Emily and Hazel Askew, a young fiddle and melodeon duo, Benji Kirkpatrick the fetboard wizard and John Kirkpatrick, the squeezebox master. Cheltenham Folk Club regulars Martin and Shan Graebe will entertain you with their singing harmonies or Random, the well established six piece act will have you dancing all night with their gutsy, folk-rock tunes. For a full line up please click here.

A wide selection of workshops at the YMCA will give you the opportunity to learn new instruments, voice and dance skills. On Sunday morning you can also join in with the Sunday Morning Circus.

Children are not forgotten and can join in the crazy activities at The Kids Place on Saturday and Sunday. Morris dancers will be brightening up the town as they take to the streets of Cheltenham during the weekend afternoons.

The Market Place will be offering a variety of stalls, including clothes, jewellery, books, arts, crafts and musical instruments.

The Festival Café will be providing wholesome food, including vegetarian dishes from early ‘til late throughout the weekend. Shellie Byatt will also be bringing her collection of folk song inspired work to the Café.

To top it off we cannot forget the infamous Real Ale bar. Look as if we are in for a great Festival this year.

Cheltenham Folk Festival 2008
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8 January 2008
Explore Gloucestershire

• Contact phone : Cheltenham Town Hall Box Office: 01242 227979
• Also see : Cheltenham Folk Festival 2008

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