Cheltenham Folk Festival 2009

13 -15 February 2009, Cheltenham Town Hall

The opening concert of the 13th Cheltenham Folk Festival will be headlined by Steve Ashley with Robert Kirby and Orchestra. With a recording career spanning 40 years Steve Ashley is one of Britain’s finest singer-songwriters, his album Stroll On is regarded as a folk-rock classic. Robert Kirby is best known for his work with Nick Drake but has also written arrangements for many other artists from the folk world.

The Folk Festival will also witness the performances of Altan, Breabach, Jeff Davis and The Old Fashioned, who will be visiting Cheltenham for the first time. Other performers, such as Martin Simpson (nominated for Musician of the Year in the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2009) and Andy Cutting, Faustus (nominated for Best Group), Brian Peters and local band Grand Union, are coming back as festival favourites. Also showcasing at the festival will be The Lark Rise Band led by Ashley Hutchings.

The Festival Café at the Town Hall will be bigger than ever this year and thirsty festival goers can also try local brews at the Cheltenham Real Ale bar. There will also be the Market Place at Cheltenham Town Hall with stalls selling everything from CDs, arts, crafts and musical instruments.

Although the main venue for the festival is Cheltenham Town Hall, there are other locations with plenty of folk music - Cheltenham College Junior School, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, the YMCA, The Bell Inn and the Music Library. The festival will also take to the streets of Cheltenham - there will be displays from the Morris Dancing sides and dance teams from all over the country in the High Street, Cambray Place and Regent Street.

Weekend tickets are £66, day tickets £40 Saturday, £33 Sunday. You can also buy tickets to individual events. You can purchase tickets at http://www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/folkfestival-whatson.asp.

For information about this and other Cheltenham events please visit our Cheltenham events guide.