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.