Click here for ‘Take Part’Click here for ‘Tickets’Click here for ‘Useful info’Click here for ‘Support us’


"...one of the county’s best weekends of music." - Oxford Mail

 

We're back!

After our year off in 2019 we are delighted to announce that Folk Weekend will be back in 2020 with all the usual fun and frolics! We're slightly shifting the way things are organised behind the scenes so please do bear with us if information is a bit later coming out than you'd usually expect. For all the details on the new look of Folk Weekend click here to read an email from Festival Director Cat McGill.

For enquiries about bringing a morris side to FW2020 please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For enquiries about performing at FW2020 please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Join us?

One of the benefits of our new collaborative festival set up is that there is an opportunity for local and community groups or artists to be part of the festival by hiring a venue and hosting your own fringe events. Whether it’s a workshop, concert, or dance, if you want to put on an event during Folk Weekend then we’d love to have you! We are asking for a small contribution towards marketing, which will get you featured in the programme and on our website and social media channels, and then you will be able to use the Folk Weekend name and logo for your event. You will manage the event yourself (though we can offer advice and assistance if needed), and keep 100% of any ticket sales you make. If you’d like to find out more then email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Keep in touch!

For all the latest news about the festival do sign up to our mailing list, or keep in touch via social media. 

As always, if you’d like to volunteer to help out please do get in touch. Folk Weekend is a real community event, and it takes a huge team effort to pull it all together. Whether you want to help out on the volunteer committee, offer to distribute a few programmes or leaflets for us, or whether you’re a performer who’d be happy to give us half an hour on one of our showcase stages, we welcome any and all offers.

17TH-19TH APRIL 2020

Join our mailing list

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Folk Weekend: Oxford:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Follow Us On Twitter - Image

Introducing our patrons

We are delighted to have two outstanding local folk artists as our festival patrons; Jackie Oates has been with us since 2013, and she was joined in 2016 by John Spiers, of Bellowhead and Spiers and Boden.


Jackie is a singer and fiddle player hailing from Staffordshire and now living in Oxford. Her unique treatment of English ballads and songs, and pure, haunting singing style has attracted increasing attention. Since appearing as a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards 2003, she has performed extensively at festivals and folk clubs across the country, in a solo capacity and with a number of bands. Her second album 'The Violet Hour' was one of the Top 10 on the Mojo folk album of the year chart in 2008, followed by 'Hyperboreans' reaching number five in the chart the following year. Also in 2009 Jackie won two BBC Folk Awards - The Horizon Award for best new comer, and the Best Traditional Track Award. She is currently singing with her own band, and touring as a member of The Imagined Village alongside Eliza Carthy. When not busy with all this Jackie dances with Summertown Morris and knits a lot!

 

John Spiers, known better in folk circles as Squeezy, has made a name for himself as one of the leading squeezebox players of his generation.  Well known for his long-standing duo partnership with Jon Boden in the formidable Spiers & Boden as well as his contribution to the massively popular Bellowhead, John has also played with Eliza Carthy’s Ratcatchers and a number of local folk-dance bands.

John was born in Birmingham, but moved to Abingdon in Oxfordshire at an early age where his association with the traditional folk music and dance of the region began. His road to success all started when he met Jon Boden at a folk session in the Fir Tree pub on Iffley Road in the late 90s; by 1999 they started performing together as Spiers & Boden and were quickly signed to Fellside records. 2004 saw the duo join 9 other friends to create the explosive ‘Bellowhead’ who have cooked up a storm on festival stages UK wide ever since. Bellowhead went on to win several BBC Radio 2 folk awards for Best Live Act and Best Group, and their album 'Revival' entered the UK album charts at number 12, before they sadly parted ways in 2016. 

 

Folky Fundraisers

We have a number folky fundraisers throughout the year - from Christmas Concerts and workshops to Family Ceilidhs. Supporting Folk Weekend whilst having a fabulous time - what could be better?!

Support Folk Weekend as you Shop!

An easy way of supporting Folk Weekend without costing you a penny! Once you have registered with Easyfundraising, every time you shop online a small donation will be made towards Folk Weekend by the participating retailers. If you ever needed an excuse to go shopping then here it is! Sign up with Easyfundraising now!

Morris at Folk Weekend

We are always delighted to welcome Morris dancers to Folk Weekend, who perform in the streets and at fantastic locations across the City centre including the Botanic Gardens and the Ashmolean Museum. For more information, go to our Morris page.