Today we are excited to announce the first wave of artists who will appear at this year’s English Folk Expo which takes place from Thursday 19th – Sunday 22nd October in Manchester.
This year the showcase moves to Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter to take advantage of the very best in live music venues including Band on the Wall, The Stoller Hall, Hallé St Peters, Night & Day, SOUP and New Century Hall.
Artists announced today include; Oysterband, Noble Jacks, Maddy Prior & Forgotten Lands, Hack-Poets Guild, John Smith, Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth, Merry Hell, Simeon Hammond Dallas, Blackbeard’s Tea Party, Suntou Susso, Granny’s Attic, Ranagri and Bonfire Radicals.
Hack-Poets Guild (Marry Waterson, Lisa Knapp and Nathaniel Mann) present their album ‘Blackletter Garland’, inspired by historic broadside ballads – daily song sheets sold for pence from the 16th to 20th centuries – vividly bringing the stories to life for a new generation and offering a rare insight into Britain’s history.
Described as ‘a star in the making’ a buzz surrounds singer-songwriter Simeon Hammond Dallas, who fuses folk, country, blues, and soul to create her own sound.
Two of the finest instrumentalists in traditional music, Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth first came together after a chance meeting at a folk session in 2018 led to their music travelling around the world as a viral TikTok sensation. At English Folk Expo they play songs from their debut album as a duo ‘Volume 1’ which was released last month (Feb 2023)
Maddy Prior & Forgotten Lands is both a unique performance and an opportunity to learn, experience & explore traditional folk song with some of the very best vocal teachers in the business.
If you’re looking for high energy, there’s a lot to choose from; Merry Hell offer joyful, uplifting folk-rock, folk legends Oysterband need no introduction and Blackbeard’s Tea Party are well-known for giving sea shanties a bombastic rock edge and turning folk instrumentals into late-night floor-fillers (complete with the necessary costume changes to match).
You can find out info on all confirmed artists HERE.
Band on the Wall will see a full packed 3 days of activity including emerging talent in their bar stage and The Late Night Festival Club which runs from 11pm – 1am (Thurs, Fri, Sat). Band on the Wall celebrates its re opening anniversary this month following a £3.5m refurbishment.
Tom Besford, Chief Exec of English Folk Expo:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter as our location for the 2023 English Folk Expo. We are excited by the incredible the range of programme possibilities open to us in the Northern Quarter’s many iconic venues.”
Further artists, including details of international showcasing artists will be announced in April.
If you are not already signed up as a delegate for this year’s event you can register HERE.
