The first names on the line up of next year’s Shrewsbury Folk Festival have been confirmed as 2020 tickets go on sale.
Globally acclaimed Galician piper Carlos Núñez will make his festival debut and organisers have secured the only UK festival performance of The Lost Words: Spell Songs with Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter, Jim Molyneux and illustrator Jackie Morris. Welsh super group Pendevig’s appearance is also making Shrewsbury their exclusive UK festival appearance on 2020.
Other bookings include the new four-piece line up of universally popular Show of Hands, the welcome return of roots oriented Juno Award winners Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, BBC Folk Award winners The Young’uns and the Ballads of Child Migration with Boo Hewerdine, Katriona Gilmore, Chris While, Julie Matthews, Jez Lowe, Andy Cutting, and narrated by John Leonard.
Also on the line up are American duo Truckstop Honeymoon, Stephen Fearing and The Sentimentals, Colin Linden (solo), Calan, FOS Brothers, Kabantu, Will Pound’s A Day Will Come, The Boxwood Chessmen, Sherburn-Bartley-Sanders, Mazula, Benji Kirkpatrick & The Excess, and Tom Wilson (solo).
Dance bands will include Hekety, Threepenny Bit, Woodpecker Band, Naragonia Quartet, The Four Idiots, The Gloworms and Token Women.
Festival Director Sandra Surtees said: “The 2020 festival will, as ever, provide the diverse mix of traditional and contemporary folk, world music, singer songwriters and Americana that we have built our reputation on.
“The festival is a place where people come to discover new music as well as see their favourite bands so we are putting together an eclectic line up that will offer something for everyone.
“The festival is about so much more than just the headline acts though – there’s a jampacked programme of music, dance and workshops for all ages. But the unique Shrewsbury atmosphere also makes it a place where people can just come and soak up the music in a friendly place.”
The festival has four main music stages, a dance tent, children and youth festivals, workshops, a craft fair, food village, real ale, cocktail and gin bars and on-site camping and glamping. There are also fringe activities and dance displays in the town centre with a parade through the streets on the Saturday afternoon.
Weekend and day tickets can be booked here. Onsite camping and glamping is available for weekend ticket holders.
