Big names in folk world lined up for music festival
SCOTTISH Gaelic singer Rachel Walker, the original founder of Dochas, says she is thrilled to be performing in Wetherby for the inaugural Folk in the Fall Festival this year.
Rachel will join some of the finest traditional folk musicians from around the UK on October 31 and November 1 at Wetherby High School, which is hosting to the event.
She said: “I'm really delighted that I’m to be part of the Wetherby Festival this year.
“This will be the band’s first gig in England, and it’s particularly exciting for me as my dad’s in Yorkshire and this will be the first time for over ten years that he'll be able to hear me perform live at a concert!
“It's always nice to be able to perform at festivals and I get a great deal of pleasure from getting the chance to let new audiences hear Gaelic song.
“There's such a rich culture and history behind each song that we perform, and it's lovely to share it with the listeners.
“It's also a bonus to share the stage with other great musicians at festivals.”
Harpist Rachel Newton of all-girl Celtic band The Shee, says she is looking forward to this year’s festival.
She is joined forces with students on the highly-regarded Newcastle University Folk Degree course especially for the event.
Rachel said: “Myself and the girls from The Shee are coming down early on the Saturday because so many great acts are on and we don’t want to miss any of them.
“It will be fantastic to get the chance to see so many performances from musicians at such a high standard and we're honoured to be on the bill with the likes of Karine Polwart, who we love!”
More than 30 singers and instrumentalists will be performing over the course of the weekend, in a programme that offers 15 hours of live music.
The programme has already attracted the interest of folk scene followers from outside Yorkshire, with one supporter known to be travelling from Paris for the event.
Acclaimed musician Karine Polwart is Folk in the Fall’s headline act for the Saturday. She has won many prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for her moving singing and songwriting.
A whole host of other successful artists are also scheduled to play including singer-fiddler Bella Hardy from Edale in Derbyshire, who recently appeared at the first ever BBC Folk Prom in July 2008.
And York-based, Nashville-inspired singer-songwriter Edwina Hayes.
l Folk in the Fall Friday evening tickets cost 15. Folk in the Fall Saturday all-day tickets cost 25.
Book online at www.wetherbyfestival.co.uk or by post. Send your order, together with a cheque to Wetherby Festival, plus SAE, to the Festival Office, 47 North Street, Wetherby, LS22 6NU. Alternatively, tickets are available from Wetherby Library.
More information is available on the website above or call the festival hotline on 01937 520180.
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Weather for Wetherby
Sunday 05 February 2012
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