2023 Todmorden Folk Festival Programme

How to get your tickets

Entrance to some concerts and events require tickets. You can buy individual tickets per event, day tickets or full weekend tickets. Day tickets and full weekend tickets represent a huge saving if you’re planning to attend more than one event over the weekend. There is also a family ticket for 4 people including at least one adult and one child.

Family Full Weekend ticket: Full Weekend ticket: Friday Day ticket: Saturday Day ticket:

All tickets can be bought through our website. You can also pick them up at the box office on Friday night at Todmorden Community College from 7pm or Saturday from 10am - 5pm at the Central Methodist Church. You can also buy tickets in advance from the Todmorden Tourist Information Centre or from Physio & Therapies on Halifax Road.

£140

£49 adult / £30 under 16s

£18 adult / £12 under 16s

£27 adult / £18 under 16s

Photo © Craig Shaw Photography

Welcome to TODMORDEN FOLK FESTIVAL 2023

We are so pleased to be back for our 7th festival and what a great feeling it is. Venues and streets across our vibrant little town will be buzzing once again. We’ve always recognised that folk is a broad term which encompasses many musical forms and this year we are proud to bring another eclectic and exciting mix of music to the festival.

To kick the weekend off with a bang, ceilidh band Monkey Box will raise the roof of Todmorden College to get you dancing a jig or two. Or if you’d prefer, over at St Mary’s Church we’ll be treated to an incredible opening concert featuring Michael Walsh and Quarehawk performing flute music inspired by his Irish/Mancunian origins, and the deeply emotive writing and layered vocal harmonies of Angeline Morrison.

Saturday is packed with musical delights, workshops and children’s activities. Our afternoon concert at the Central Methodist Church features a varied lineup including the beautiful melting pot of female musicians Sista Jam and solid festival favourites, Kimber’s Men. Then, our evening concert at the impressive Unitarian Church is headlined by the bombastic, rock edginess of Blackbeard’s Tea Party who take sea-shanties to rip-roaring new levels.

Then once you’ve polished off your Sunday brunch, get along to our canal-side open-air stage in Oxford Street car park where you’ll find a varied lineup of singer-songwriters, world music, carnival bands, jazz fusion, Morris dancing and fantastic food and drink stalls. Or pop to St Mary’s Church from 3pm where we have award-winning folk duo Good Habits and one of the most exciting acts on the roots scene, The Magpies, performing.

As you weave from venue to venue over the weekend, watch out for the fantastic array of dance teams that will be performing around the town and don’t forget to explore the craft fair at the Central Methodist Church along with our fabulous Festival Café. We also have an eclectic mix of workshops to entice you, including singing workshops from Kimber’s Men and Kit Knight, and a ukulele workshop hosted by Pennine Guitars. For any little ones that might need entertaining there will be a mixture of children’s activities around Pollination Street during the day on Saturday.

This festival really couldn’t happen without the backing of local businesses supporting us through advertising, sponsorship and other contributions and we would like to thank everyone who lives and works in Todmorden for their enthusiastic support.

We understand acutely how much people are struggling currently with the day-to-day cost of living so we thank you sincerely for supporting our festival and ensuring we keep live music and dance alive through some tough times. This year some of our nearby sister festivals have not been able to go ahead, so we appreciate how lucky we are to be able to put on our festival - we have Todmorden Town Council and Calderdale Council to thank for their support. You will see our volunteers around the town this weekend carrying donation buckets. If possible, please drop in a coin or two, as every single pound helps ensure the festival can return in 2024.

Whether you live locally or are visiting our wonderful town especially for the festival, we hope you enjoy the weekend and a million thanks for your support.

ARTISTS

Blackbeard’s Tea Party

Sea-shanties will be given a bombastic rock edge, and folk instrumentals will become late-night floor-fillers when this raucous bunch of reprobates hit the stage at our Saturday night concert. They have dirt under their fingernails and a twinkle in their eyes, and you can expect fantastic musicianship, playful choreography and an unstoppable urge to move your body.Two drummers, electric guitars, fiddle, melodeon and 4-part harmonies combine to create music that is drenched in tradition, but filtered through a kaleidoscope of modern rock and pop. Blackbeard’s Tea Party have played memorable sets at Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, The Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo and many more.

Angeline Morrison

Angeline Morrison is a singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist in the wyrd folk tradition, who believes in the inherent beauty of sad songs.

Angeline’s homespun sonic aesthetic, deeply emotive writing and layered vocal harmonies are all stitched together to make small, tender, often dark stories in song.

Angeline’s new album “The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience” was released during Black History Month and won The Guardian’s Best Folk Album of 2022. It is the result of research into the historic Black population of these islands. It is a work of re-storying, of lives and of experiences, into songs in the folk style.

ARTISTS

The Magpies

All under 30, Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and latest arrival Kate Griffin are The Magpies - one of the most exciting acts on the roots scene, combining first class musicianship with sublime harmonies and increasingly impressive song and tune writing. A fervent thread of feminism runs through their latest album and indeed the three are champions of gender equality in the music industry. Here are themes of sisterhood and solidarity, tricky relationships and rueful reflection as they seamlessly switch between Anglo and American roots – traversing traditional folk, bluegrass, Celtic and Appalachian trails. It’s a rich melting pot of luminous, flawless music by three gifted young performers.

Kimber’s Men

Audiences everywhere rave about the harmonies of Kimber’s Men. They have appeared at Festivals in Ostende, Appingedam, Portmagee, Portsoy, Fano in Denmark, and all over the UK. Featured twice on Sunday Brunch for Channel 4, they also starred in the BBC2 and BBC4 production of Sea Songs, with Gareth Malone; the latter being the most viewed programme of the year on BBC 4. Expect to laugh, sing and be generally entertained.

The Pub

The Pub, Todmorden’s first micropub, opened in 2017 on Brook Street, has grown and moved across Halifax Road into new bigger premises at 5-9 Water Street. There are three rooms, all formerly shops, and has retained the style and characteristics of the old Pub. The outside area has tables and chairs with a fantastic sunny outlook on to Todmorden Town Hall and St Mary’s Church.

• eight cask ales including Ossett White Rat

• ten keg craft ales inc. GF

• Freedom Four lager and guest lager

• Thatchers Stan’s Traditional cider and

• guest cider

• fruit ciders

• Frizzante on tap

* Sunday Sessions * Live acoustic sessions every other Sunday 4pm-6pm 30/04 - Chris Manley 07/05 - Julian Socha (extra date added for bank holiday) 14/05 - tbc 28/05 - tbc 11/06 - tbc 25/06 - Paul Scholey

• craft and small batch gin, rum, and whisky

• wines

• non-alcoholic drinks available

The Pub, 5 - 9 Water Street, Todmorden. OL14 5AB

ARTISTS

Michael Walsh and Quarehawk

Born in Manchester, raised in Stockport, Michael grew up learning Sligo style music from Marian Egan. His music reflects these origins, his Yorkshire home and his love for the music of the Iberian peninsula and beyond. His flute playing is inspired by Irish traditional flute players Roger Sherlock and Tony Howley. His 2019 album

Quarehawk features guest appearances from Ríoghnach Connolly, Michael McGoldrick, poet Mike Garry and Basque Trikitixa legend Kepa Junkera. Quarehawk is a story of loss, moving on finding a place in the world. Irish Music Magazine said: “This album moved me like no other”. MIchael is joined by Gina Le Faux (fiddle), Paul Daly (flute) and Will Hampson (melodeon).

Good Habits

Good Habits are an award-winning UK folk duo forged on the other side of the globe. Composed of Bonnie Schwarz (cello + vocals) and Pete Shaw (accordion), the pair mix vivid storytelling with eclectic sounds, drawing on their diverse musical tastes and weaving them into an action-packed narrative of folky goodness. After a pandemic spent happily stranded in New Zealand, they’ve returned to the UK to spread their joyous music throughout Europe. In just their first year, they toured relentlessly in their red van ‘Laurie Vanderson’ including performances at Manchester Folk Festival, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and Purbeck Valley. They are now based in Manchester.

Bella Gaffney

Winner of the 2016 Celtic Connections Danny Kyle Award, Bella writes folk inspired songs which she performs along with her own original arrangements of traditional pieces. 2023 will see the release of Bella’s new album which is inspired by connections made over the lockdown period. Her latest singles, ‘Fair and Tender Ladies’ (a duet with Sam Kelly) and ‘Blood in the Earth’ were released in 2022 to great acclaim along with airplay on BBC Radio 2. Bella is also part of sought after folk band The Magpies (‘effervescent’ The Sunday Times) who will be performing at St Mary’s Church on Sunday afternoon as part of our festival line-up.

Amber Smith

Amber is another of our Youth Award finalists. A guitarist and singer, Amber is inspired by indie folk rock and American folk music, specifically bands such as The Wild Reeds and The Crane Wives. She enjoys the soft vocals of these genres and the fingerpicking guitar.

Cacophany Arkestra

Formed in 2014 from a group of talented musicians and carnival artists, they perform a high energy mix of Soca & Calypso tunes blended with other musical styles - Ska, Jazz & Afro-beat. The band plays carnivals, processions, clubs and anything in between either on a truck, on foot or on stage. This year sees them return to perform procession style at our Outdoor Stage.

Chords and Fiddles

‘Chords and Fiddles’ is a young folk duo composed of Erin and Ben, finalists in this year’s Youth Awards. They perform folk music from a variety of traditions from Ireland, Scotland and Lancashire and play fusions of pop and rock tunes in a folk style. They especially enjoy upbeat tunes you can dance to and have started to write their own arrangements. Erin started playing violin aged 5 and has been attending Chetham’s School of Music for

ARTISTS

the last 6 years. Ben started playing guitar aged 7, at Rochdale Music Service.

Flying Dodos from Thingumajig Theatre

Despite all the odds, an unknown subspecies of the dodo has been discovered! Much larger than their extinct cousins and able to fly (sort of), Charles and Amelia, two relics of a bygone era, are very excited to be travelling the world to see what they’ve been missing and are looking forward to joining in with the kids activities, Morris dancing and general mayhem on the Saturday of the Folk Festival.

Frank Burkitt Band Duo

Frank is a storyteller, songwriter, singer and guitarist. His rambling anecdotes aim to give the audience more of a connection with his songs. Songs that try to convey his busy thoughts on life, pub anecdotes and his persistent frustration with the state of the world. Kara has endured (willingly) 19 years of companionship with Frank and, she sings beautifully, both in harmony and, lead vocals, and also plays the flute.

Isaac Hughes Dennis

Isaac Hughes-Dennis is a politi-folk comedy musician and occasional magician who combines eloquent wit, upbeat tunes and bold political statements for the pleasure and entertainment of any given audience.

Described as ‘Tim Minchin on steroids’ and ‘The most un-politically correct young person’, Isaac Hughes-Dennis is not one to be missed.

John Haycock

John Haycock is a multiinstrumental live-looping artist, passionate about affecting acoustic sounds with electronics, exploring new sonority. John takes his home made kora (21-string African harp) and runs it through a series of electronic devices creating lush soundscapes and solid beats. Overlaid with woodwind instruments, the music bridges the gap between ancient West African folk melodies and modern electronica, with influences from hip-hop to house and dub along the way. John has been studying kora closely under the master Gambian griot Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh for several years having also spent time In West Africa absorbing the culture. Through this relationship John not only learned how to play the kora, but also how to construct the instrument, and is able to guide anyone searching for a kora of their own.

Laiba Khan

Laiba is the winner of our Youth Competition. Singing in both English and Urdu, Laiba finds strength and joy through her music and feels she is truly in her element when performing. She stunned audiences at the Youth Award concert in January and will be opening our Saturday night concert accompanied by her sister Anaya.

Monkey Box

Monkey Box are an energetic ceilidh trio from Manchester. Composed of Tom Kitching (Pilgrims’ Way, Albireo, Gavin Davenport), Edwin Beasant (Pilgrims’ Way, Jabadaw, Ironmasters) and Pete Crowther (Melandra, Albireo), Monkey Box creates a sound larger than it has any right to do. Chunky English rhythms underpin great dance tunes for a feel-good ceilidh experience. Caller - Lisa

Heywood

Mary and Anahata

Mary Humphreys and Anahata, now living in West Yorkshire, are known nationally for their research into historical manuscript sources. They have unearthed and brought back to vivid life some rare gems of English song and dance music. Their repertoire has a particular emphasis on the East Anglian region, where they lived for many years. They have come out of retirement since

ARTISTS

the pandemic to perform specially for our festival. For this concert Mary will sing and play English concertina and Anahata will play Anglo concertina and melodeons.

The Muthers

Folk covers and so much more! The Muthers, a band of wonderful Todmordian women, bring an array of instruments and vocal harmonies.

Rebecca Little

Rebecca was one of the finalists at our Youth Awards and is from Todmorden. She is currently studying Music and Music Technology at Greenhead College in Huddersfield. She will be playing guitar and singing mostly her own songs.

Red Hippo

Red Hippo is Peadar Long, Daz Jones and Simon Chantler. They play saxophones, sousaphone, fiddle, whistles, bass clarinet, stompbox, flute, and even the highland bagpipes. They are a truly unique trio, who combine jazz, folk and world music to create compositions which are accessible yet challenging. Red Hippo take the listener on instrumental journeys influenced as much by Swedish traditional folk music as by New Orleans Second Line jazz, reggae and dub. They respectfully nod towards The Penguin Cafe Orchestra,

Bellowhead, Filafolket and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and yet don’t sound like any of them.

Sista Jam

Sista Jam are a brand new, beautiful melting pot of female musicians, singers and songwriters from Hebden Bridge. Their stunning original songs and inventive takes on classic tunes feature lush harmonies, infectious melodies and a unique, exquisitely feminine sound that will make you both reflect with a gentle sigh and dance your socks off!

The Uncle Bucket Club

Finalists in our Youth Award competition, The Uncle Bucket Club are a group of Calderdale based young musicians giving traditional music new life in their energetic and joyful performances. With musical influences ranging from The Dubliners to The Dropkick Murphys, this talented group enjoy sampling different styles of folk music from all over the world and turning them into an exciting, dance-inducing experience for audiences.

Waiting for Dawn

Waiting For Dawn are an 8-piece acapella music group that weave harmonies to warm the soul.

DANCE TEAMS

Black Gate Morris

Black Gate Morris dance and play Cotswold old and new. In 2018 a series of workshops to gauge interest in mixed Cotswold in Newcastle upon Tyne quickly turned into a side, and we had our first performance. Since then, we’ve been dancing out at pubs in Tyneside and festivals and days of dance across the North. Our musicians and dancers are a mixture of the morris innocent and the morris experienced, and our repertoire comes from Adderbury, Bledington, Bucknell, Raglan and Woodside.

Hebden Bridge Hill Millies

Hebden Bridge Hill Millies are a Women’s Cotswold Morris Dancing side based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. We have been going overgoing for over 16 years, starting off as a bet with the then landlord of the Fox and Goose pub in Hebden Bridge. We dance with hankies, sticks, dusters, and on occasion a mop or two! We are accompanied by a talented group of fiddle players.

Persephone

Persephone Women’s Morris first danced out in 1978 . We practice in the village of Hunsworth near Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire. We dance in the Northwest tradition in a lively style using sticks, garlands, slings and bobbins. Our varied repertoire includes a mixture of traditional dances from the northwest of England and our own self-composed dances. Our kit is a black top with a striking green and yellow diagonal sash, and a flared black skirt trimmed with green and yellow. We wear black tights and black clogs with bells. Our band also wears black. During our over fortyyear history we have danced at weekends and festivals in many parts of the country and we are delighted to be dancing again at Todmorden Folk Festival.

DANCE TEAMS

The Lancashire Wallopers

The Lancashire Wallopers were originally formed in 1981 by students of the legendary clog dancer and music hall entertainer Sam Sherry. They were formed to give a one-off performance at the National Gathering at Cecil Sharp House of the bargees social dance taught to them by retired Bargee Bill Gibbons. Their outfits are inspired by the clothing traditionally worn by canal bargees and the group includes Wallop, the dancing boat horse (who is rather a show-off). All four dancers have won the prestigious Lancashire & Cheshire Clog Dancing Championship and the present line-up includes the current Lancashire & Cheshire Champion and the winner of the Pat Tracey Old Lancs competition. The Wallopers perform a range of imaginative routines encompassing steps learned from all the known traditional dancers who were dancing in the 1970s & 80s as part of the clog dancing ‘revival’ and, following in the footsteps of Sam Sherry, they have a strong repertoire of music hall-inspired routines. The skilled dancing and unique music hall routines are taken to another level through the creative skills of the team’s two accomplished musicians.

DANCE TEAMS

Ryburn Longsword

The Ryburn Longsword dance team is based in Ripponden near Halifax in West Yorkshire, and has been dancing Yorkshire Longsword since 1994. We have a repertoire of 10 dances, some are traditional from villages in Yorkshire, and others have been written by the dancers themselves. The dancers (who are currently all female) wear white shirts and black trousers with a black/red velvet surcoat on the backs of which are individually embroidered scenes from the local area. A small group of musicians playing whistle, recorder, mandola and concertina provide the music. Since early 2020 the opportunities for dancing out have been limited but we started to get going again last year; previously Ryburn Longsword has danced at many events around West Yorkshire, and festivals all over England. In 2017 we were privileged to be invited to dance in Brittany during a wonderful 8-day tour.

Silkstone Greens

Silkstone Greens take their name from the coal seam that runs beneath their home of Dodworth, Barnsley. They were formed in 2007 and more than 15 years and 1 pandemic later they are still going stronger than ever. They dance selfpenned dances in traditional North-West style focusing on smart, precise lines and movements. They also focus on partying when they get the chance! Kit:  Green skirts, white shirts, green and purple sashes, straw boaters and black clogs

DANCE TEAMS

Thieving Magpie

“A vision of terpsichorean delight” is a term nobody has uttered having seen us dancing. Be that as it may, we do give it some welly. Thieving Magpie is a mixed Border side based in Marsden in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Our motto is “Leave nowt but blood, wood and feathers”. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary definition of “mixed” is “of a company of persons: not select, containing persons of doubtful character or status.” A bit harsh, we thought.

White Rose Morris

A familiar sight in distinctive ‘whites’ with green baldrics and straw hats at regional and national folk festivals, and other local events, White Rose dance the South Midlands (or Cotswold) tradition ‘Up North’ and have also performed in Sweden, Jersey, Provence, Romania and, most recently (2019), in Germany at the Aachen Festival.

FOOD & DRINK Craft Fair and Festival Café

Our hub on Saturday is Central Methodist Church on Bramsche Square. This will house the ticket office from 10am until 5pm alongside concerts, the craft fair and a café. This is the perfect place to arrange to meet friends and entry to everything apart from the afternoon concert is FREE.

The craft fair is a showcase for many talented local craft businesses and is the perfect place to browse and pick up presents or even treat yourself!

In between all this activity you can relax with a cuppa and a cake in our Festival café or buy a brew to take outside with you to watch the dancers. Each year our volunteer kitchen crew cater for your every culinary need and hot festival specials will be available as well as our regular soups, ploughmans platters featuring local Pextenement cheeses, festival wraps, pies and other delights, not to mention the mountain of cake!

Access

We aspire to be as accessible as possible. Please see the table opposite about accessibility in all our venues.

There is also information on our website alongside other helpful information about getting to and around Todmorden. If you need any further information (large font text etc), please email todmordenfolkfestival@gmail.com or message us via our Facebook or Instagram pages.

Food and Bar at the concerts

Once again, we have been generously sponsored by Little Valley Brewery, so you will find their beers on draught in most of the venues over the weekend as well as a selection of wines, ciders and soft drinks. We use real glass, rather than plastic, wherever possible in our venues and we recycle all bottles.

We also cater at both main venues on Friday night, Saturday afternoon at Central Methodist Church and Saturday evening at the Unitarian church. We source our food as locally as possible, supporting Todmorden businesses. We cater for all dietary needs including GF and vegan and if you can’t see something on the menu that suits, we are good at being creative … just ask!

Photo © Craig Shaw Photography

Chords and Fiddles Michael Walsh and Quarehawk

Angeline Morrison St Mary’s Church £14/£10

Ceilidh Monkey Box

Daytime

Evening

Photo © Craig Shaw Photography

Daytime

Evening

FREE EVENTS

Family Fun

Saturday 10:30 - 3:30

Come and join Ruthie Boycott-Garnett and Denny Stretton who will be making, building and playing all Saturday on Pollination Street in our family marquee.

We have a treasure trove of activities planned including craft activities, face painting, treasure hunts and a Morris dance workshop and don’t forget to look out for the Dodos!

If you and your children prefer a quieter space why not find a cosy hiding place in the willow den where you can weave your own colours and shapes into the willow.

All our events are family friendly and welcoming to audiences of all ages.

Oxford Street Outdoor Stage

Sunday 12:00 - 5:30

Returning for the third year, our FREE outdoor stage presents a diverse range of world music, local performers and dance, bringing folk festival joy to the arty quarter of Todmorden on Sunday afternoon. Supported by local businesses in the area, this is a fabulous, friendly event with something for everyone! As well as great performers there will be cocktails and street food from Marcy, great Baked goods to go, savoury specials from Grasso, drinks and cake from the Kindness Hub and an open air bar from The Pub. So come for the full afternoonyou could even bring a camping chair - and join in with the merriment culminating in the Morris dance finale! Huge thanks to CMBC for grant support and Stephenson’s Animal Feeds for the ‘stage’ making this event possible.

Singaround Session with Kit Knight

Sunday 1:00 - 4:00

Join Kit for a tremendously entertaining singaround. All welcome.

WORKSHOPS

Kimber’s Men Shanty Workshop

Saturday 10:00 - 11:30

Did the Wellerman craze of lockdown find you singing shanties for the first time or are you a hardened shanty singer? Either way, Saturday morning’s workshop with the fantastic Kimber’s Men, the UK’s finest sea shanty band, is not to be missed! They will take you heaving away round Cape Horn, down to Shawnee Town and across the Northwest Passage and by the end of the session you’ll be inspired to sing shanties everywhere you go! Why not grab a brew and a bacon butty in the cafe downstairs at Central Methodist’s, before joining them upstairs for this rousing workshop!

Ukulele Workshops

Sunday 10:30 & 11:30

Start your Sunday learning ukulele with Pennine Guitars! They are kindly providing 15 ukuleles to try out on the day, so get there early as places are limited (or feel free to bring your own instrument). £5 - tickets on the door.

Rolling Session

Sunday 4:00 - 7:30

Drop in to Todmorden Working Men’s Social Club to sing, play or just listen.

Survivors Session

Sunday from 7:30

Come celebrate the end of the weekend with pints, songs, tunes and merriment.

Photos

© Craig Shaw Photography

This year we are delighted to offer you a festival T-shirt to remember the weekend!

T-Shirts 2023 Car Stickers

£20

Printed in Tod these T-shirts feature our logo on the front and are kindly sponsored by Little Valley Brewery who have been an intrinsic part of the festival for 7 years now! Our stewards will be identifiable in their royal blue T-shirts and you can buy a pale blue version for £20. These are available at the box office on Friday night and Saturday in the day and at the main venues Saturday evening and Sunday.

£1

We also have car stickers available for £1 each which make a great memento of your weekend! These are available on the door at all venues.

Save the Date

Join

us again

3rd - 5th May 2024 with Lady Maisery

Twelfth Day

Todmorden Folk Festival Committee are:

Lynne Midwinter

Lois Darcy

Kara Filbey

Frank Burkitt

Sue Hall

Nikki Wright

Robert Wood

Angela Boycott-Garnett

Thanks…

…to all the volunteers who have given their time in organising and running this event. Special thanks to all the artists, dancers, stewards, Todmorden Town Council, Calderdale Council, all our sponsors and advertisers and anyone else who has helped in any way!