BunkFest, a small but growing end-of–summer

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

, takes place in

Wallingford, Oxfordshire Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish located between Oxford and Reading on the River Thames in England. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it is within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire for adminis ...

, UK and combines a broad range of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

displays, a

beer festival A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Asia * Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...

and the local (Bunk) steam railway. BunkFest is a not-for-profit festival and is run entirely (apart from some technical services) by volunteers. BunkFest was started in 2002 by a small group of local folk music enthusiasts. The festival is intended to appeal to a wide audience and should be thought of as a music festival with broad family appeal. The main stage features light music and dancing during the day and lively folk, folk-rock and world music acts in the evening. Other venues round the town feature a wide variety of acts ranging from quiet, contemplative folk artists and singer-songwriters to raucous rock bands. The festival attracts between thirty and fifty dance sides. The dance programme varies from year to year, and has included, Cotswold and Border Morris, Appalachian and Eastern European forms, as well as traditional Irish, Scottish and Welsh forms. BunkFest went on hiatus in 2020 & will return in 2021. In 2022 BunkFest celebrated it 20th anniversary appreciating its roots starting out as a small marquee in a pub parking lot to the grand festival it is today.

Events

The festival centres on the Kinecroft, a five and a half acre open space enclosed by what are thought to be 9th century defensive walls, but involves performances in local pubs and other venues, with most free to attend. The

Cholsey and Wallingford Railway The Cholsey and Wallingford Railway is a long standard gauge heritage railway in the English county of Oxfordshire. It operates along most of the length of the former Wallingford branch of the Great Western Railway (GWR), from Cholsey stat ...

brings people from the main rail network at

Cholsey Cholsey is a village and civil parish south of Wallingford in South Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire to Oxfordshire, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded Chol ...

. The festival includes performances on the train and on boats on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

There is an abundance of stage and music sights during the festival. There is a main stage line up in which in the 2022 festival featured many artists such as Geno Washington & The RamJam Band, The Blues Band, Rusty Snake, and many more artists throughout the three day festival. Additionally, there are Fringe performances in which the music of BunkFest spreads beyond the main stage and into venues around its host town. BunkFest hosts musical boat trips from the Riverside Park with live music being played on each boat. BunkFest offers an exclusive "friend of BunkFest" evening for its adult participants. The "Friend of BunkFest" evening consists of a night of live music, complimentary food and adult beverages.

Performers

Headline performers have included

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical style ...

Eliza Carthy Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson. Life and care ...

Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving t ...

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

and

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

References

External links

Official Website
Music festivals established in 2002 Folk festivals in the United Kingdom Music festivals in Oxfordshire {{music-festival-stub