2013 looks set to be a scorcher – not just in terms of the weather but for those attending the Beverley Folk Festival as it re-locates to the local racecourse for its 30th Anniversary. With the line-up for the weekend nearly completed there is a broad mix of artists and events guaranteed to tempt those of all ages and interests.
Ranging from traditional English music (Oysterband) to popular music from the likes of The Proclaimers, it also offers a mixture of songwriters (Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes); Americana (Gretchen Peters), contemporary (Henry Priestman) and Celtic music (Lau) in between, the festival also has a thriving Comedy Club and Film Club, plus a range of literature events featuring top authors, story tellers and poets.
Recent years have seen a great increase in interest from the younger generation with a full programme of events organised and performed by some of the best young artists in the country today. Included are winners of the UK’s national ‘Live and Unsigned’ 2012 competition Co-Co and the Butterfields, making the festival an attractive weekend to visit, and participate in the huge range of activities taking place.
Having been nominated for the third time in 2012 for the Best Family Festival Award in the ‘UK Festival Awards’ and having twice reached the short-list of 10 festivals countrywide, the event will have its biggest programme ever of activities for children and families with story-tellers, open mic sessions; making workshops and lots more. With the security of the Racecourse site for children, there will be plenty of opportunities for youngsters to explore this wonderful location.
The move to Beverley Racecourse has proved to be an exciting move to everyone with the excellent facilities provided by it. As well as the festival’s traditional “Festival Village” which will be held in the centre of the racecourse with a range of marquees for concerts, craft fair and food stalls, the range of buildings also available enables a mix of activities to take place that are best suited to an indoor environment. To provide easy accessibility for everyone, the festival is laying on a special shuttle bus service between the racecourse and the town, where it will drop off at the popular spots hosting the regular festival sessions.
Certainly a weekend not to be missed!
