Plans are well advanced for this year’s St Albans Folk Festival which will bring music and dancing to the city centre and nearby venues.
The main events will take place on Saturday, June 16.
During the day there will be displays of dancing in the city centre, free performances in local pubs and other venues, and workshops in the Maltings Arts Theatre.
In the evening, there will be a festival concert in the Maltings Arts Theatre, featuring nationally known guest performers, The Dovetail Trio and Granny’s Attic.
The Day of Dance will start with a display by all groups outside The Alban Arena, after which the dancers will spread out over city centre locations and the West Front of St Albans Cathedral.
Spånga Folkdansgille, a group from Sweden, will be coming over from Scandinavia to take part.
Invitations have also gone out to Morris dance groups over a wide area.
Organisers are expecting a good response as St Albans is a popular place to dance.
Last year the Morris dancers were joined by local Irish and Indian groups.
Singers and musicians from a wide area will be coming to St Albans to join local performers in giving free showcase concerts in The Farmer’s Boy, The White Hart Tap, The White Lion, The Hare and Hounds, The Garibaldi and Waterstone’s Bookshop, and there will be informal singing in the Courtyard Café.
Tickets are now on sale for the festival concert at 7.45pm at the Maltings Arts Theatre.
This will feature an exciting double bill in which the acclaimed Dovetail Trio is joined by Granny’s Attic, a newer trio with a rising reputation.
It will open with a short display of Swedish dances by Spånga Folkdansgille.
The Dovetail Trio, made up of Jamie Roberts, Rosie Hood and Matt Quinn, have gained a considerable reputation for their fresh approach to English traditional folk songs.
They will share the bill with Granny’s Attic, a young trio of exceptional musicians.
Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, George Sansome and Lewis Wood are making waves with their interpretation of English, Irish and Scottish traditional music as well as their own compositions.
The concert will also include sets from Julian Mount, winner of the 2017 Watford Folk Club song writing competition, and a New Roots finalist, to be selected in April.
Some of the performers will be running workshops, including a singing class led by the Dovetail Trio and an ukulele workshop led by the Ver Players at the Maltings Arts Theatre.
There will also be a Swedish dance workshop led by Spånga Folkdansgille at the White Hart Tap.
The festival will start on Friday, June 15, with an open evening hosted by Friday Folk social dance group.
It continues on Sunday, June 17 with informal music making at The Robin Hood in Victoria Street.
Events specifically for children and young people are also being planned.
Nearer the time, a detailed programme will be available online at www.stalbansfolkatthefestival.org.uk
Tickets for the festival concert, priced £14, £13 students and £10 for under 18s, are available on the door.
To book in advance, go online at http://www.maltingsartstheatre.co.uk/event/folk-the-dovetail-trio-grannys-attic/, call 0333 666 3366 or buy in person at St Albans Central Library.
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