Leigh Folk Festival line-up

3:37pm Sunday 23rd March 2008

PLANNING for the 17th Leigh Folk Festival is already well advanced, with many musical acts confirmed for the annual-four day celebration of the folk arts.

The festival takes place at venues around Leigh over the last weekend in June (26th - 29th), culminating in Sunday's waterfront extravaganza in the Old Town, with four main music venues, pub sessions, dance displays, street theatre, ceilidhs and the centrepiece procession.

All these events are absolutely free and open to all.

This year's roster, which must surely be the strongest yet, includes the ever-popular Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Tom Bliss, Essex's own folk supergroup Mawkin-Causley, as well as Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - winners of the Horizon award for best newcomers at the 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Other acts in an international line-up are the fast-rising star of Americana Rachel Harrington, Kirsty McGee and Mat Martin, Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer, Alison O'Donnell, Julie Collings and new English traditional band Rubus.

there will also be a plethora of local performers including Phil Burdett, the Famous Potatoes, Wills Fargo and the Zoltans.

The emphasis this year is very much on public participation, with an expanded open mic programme and a series of instrumental, vocal and song writing workshops.

EDITOR'S CHOICE