FolkEast is an English music festival which started in 2012 at Somerleyton Hall,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England. In 2013, it relocated to

Glemham Hall Glemham Hall is an Elizabethan stately home, set in around of park land on the outskirts of the village of Little Glemham in Suffolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building, properly called Little Glemham Hall. History It was built around ...

Little Glemham Little Glemham is a small village on the A12 road, in the East Suffolk district East Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England, which was established on 1 April 2019, following the merger of the existing Suffolk Coastal and Wa ...

, Suffolk, where it currently holds its annual festival on the weekend before the August bank holiday weekend. FolkEast is a cross-arts celebration of music, song, dance, crafts and musical instruments. The festival attracts many international renowned musicians, artists and groups such as The Young'uns, Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, Neil Innes,

The Unthanks The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres."They may call ...

and

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

among many others.

Events throughout the year

As well as the main festival in August, FolkEast organises and promotes folk and roots events, ceilidhs and concerts at various venues across

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

throughout the year. Past events include The Young'uns at Jubilee Hall in

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, Peter Knight's "Gigspanner" at

and The Willows at

Norwich Arts Centre Norwich Arts Centre is a live music venue, theatre and art gallery located in St Benedict's Street in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It has a capacity of 260 for standing music concerts and 120 for seated events. In November 2014, it was named "Brita ...

Instrumental

New to FolkEast 2015 was the introduction of "Instrumental", a section of the festival dedicated to musical instrument makers from across the UK and further field.

Stages and venues

Sunset Stage
The Sunset Stage is provided by a local company, Luminaire Extraordinaire, and nestles in the natural amphitheatre formed by the slope of the land. Broad Roots
Broad Roots was conceived in 2011 by John and Lynne Ward with the aim of celebrating and promoting folk and roots music to the furthest fringe of East Anglia. The Broad Roots Stage at FolkEast offers an array of talent from the local and regional area alongside those from further afield. In 2014, the Broad Roots was floored and now plays host to the ceilidhs as well as concerts. Broad Roots Club
The Broad Roots Club Stage provides a smaller, more intimate venue to get up close and personal with the acts performing. Get on the Soapbox Stage
The SoapBox Stage is run by the creative producer Amy Wragg, an independent music and spoken word promoter based in the East of England Her passion for the local scene brings an eclectic mix of new and established artists to FolkEast in a unique venue in the woods, accessible only through a magical willow tunnel. Garden Stage
In 2015, the Garden Stage was added to FolkEast's list of on-site venues. Tucked away in the gardens of Glemham Hall, the permanent marquee, which is usually decked out for weddings, is the place to be for quiet interludes, morris dance workshops and evening sing around sessions. In 2015, it was the venue for the first FolkEast Gardener's Questions Time with Steven Coghill, senior horticulturalist at King's College Cambridge, in the chair. Church of St. Andrew, Little Glemham
A short stroll away from the main site, the delightful Church of St Andrew in Little Glemham provides a quiet and serene setting for a series of intimate recitals and performances. The Morris Stage
There is also an outdoor platform on which the Morris Teams perform and several small stages and areas for impromptu and scheduled sessions and workshops in and around the site.

Green credentials

FolkEast has been awarded a Suffolk Carbon Charter Silver Award for procuring many of its food and infrastructure suppliers locally, including a "solar bus" which entirely powers the Soapbox Stage at the festival.
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References

{{Reflist

External links

FolkEast official website
Folk festivals in the United Kingdom Music festivals established in 2012 Music festivals in Suffolk