Folk Weekend: Oxford

"...one of the county’s best weekends of music." - Tim Hughes, music editor Oxford Times & Oxford Mail

Thank you all for a BRILLIANT and sunny weekend at the end of April. It's always a joy to see everyone out and about around Oxford, enjoying the morris, listening to music, and soaking up the atmosphere.

As you may know, the Folk Weekend team are all volunteers, and having done seven festivals on the trot we've decided to have a fallow year in 2019, so that we can get some rest, regroup, and look at where we want to go in the future. If you're interested in getting involved in the festival now is a great time to get in touch, and help shape the look of the festival from here on in!

In the meatime, we are still continuing our community work and projects, so for the latest news do join our mailing list or keep up with us via Facebook and Twitter, and if you want to look super-cool in the latest folky merchandise CLICK HERE for our awesome funky folky T shirts, vest tops, and hoodies.

Warm wishes,

Cat Kelly
Festival Director

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.

Contact us

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for general enquiries.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details about volunteering.

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Click here for contact details for other areas of the festival.

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.