DERBY FOLK FESTIVAL BRINGS ENTERTAINMENT TO THE CITY CENTRE IN OCTOBER

Derby Folk Festival has been bringing world class folk music and dance to the city centre since 2007… and it’s back for 2025!

From Friday 10^th to Sunday 12^th October, a number of venues and streets in the Cathedral Quarter will play host to concerts, dances, workshops and crafts – with a mix of ticketed and free events giving options for everyone to experience the festival.

Ticketed concerts begin on Friday evening in Chapel Street Arts Centre, with an evening of Ukrainian music and dance from Hoverla. The festival continues in Derby Museums’ Wardwick, and The Old Bell Hotel – with all three of these venues being home to the main festival concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Artists include: Granny’s Attic  – an energetic trio of amazing musicians; Sawol – five world class fiddle playing vocalists; beautiful Americana from Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage; award-winning musicians Kerr Fagan Van Eyken; Gambian kora player Jali Bakary-Konteh… and a host of others from across the wide range of folk genres.  There’s traditional folk, world-music, folk-rock, indie folk – whatever you love, you’ll probably find it somewhere within the festival!

You can find the full details on the festival website at www.derbyfolkfestival.co.uk

Tickets are available for the full weekend, for Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and in limited amounts for the individual concerts. All options are available through Derby LIVE’s website – www.derbylive.co.uk/folkfest

The full weekend package is available for £88 – for access to all of the concerts. Individual concerts are priced from £5 to £10; Friday evening is £20, and Saturday and Sunday are £40 each.

Alongside the ticketed elements, there’s an expanded free “fringe” programme, allowing people to access different parts of the festival with no entry fees. There’s music and dance in Derby Market Hall through Saturday and Sunday; Music in the bar, and music sessions at the Old Bell Hotel; dance sides on the Cathedral Quarter streets; workshops, a ceilidh, and a world music DJ set in Chapel Street Arts Centre. The full programme for the free events is available at www.derbyfolkfestival.co.uk/fringe with more being added and updated right up to the festival.

The festival is run by a community partnership of FOLK3D, Furthest From The Sea, and Bob On Arts; this year, working with the support and sponsorship of Derby LIVE, Cathedral Quarter Derby, RNR Magazine, and Derby Market Hall to make the event happen. Each year, visitors travel from the length and breadth of the country, as well as overseas, bringing increased footfall and visitor trade into the city centre through shopping, dining, and hotel stays.

However you choose to be involved – dropping in for a workshop; listening to some free music while you grab a drink; choosing a few concerts over the weekend; or joining the festival family with a weekend pass – you’re guaranteed a warm welcome, and a great time.