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Celebrate #MakeMusicDay on Saturday 21 June, with Cecil Sharp House Choir and Bellow Fellows in this joyful afternoon of folk song.
Listen to some gorgeous harmonies and get involved singing some songs!
bit.ly/438Hqg7
Get top tips on how to use 'Tradition' to circumvent the law from London's ancient and wealthy livery companies
via at
www.ianvisits.co.uk/calendar/par...
Our friends at Halsway Manor are offering a great opportunity to spend a week creating a full performance from scratch with other musicians aged 17-21.
www.halswaymanor.org.uk/event/halswa...
It's Creativity and Wellbeing Week. Social Dancing is great for wellbeing; not just good exercise for your body, but also an opportunity to connect with others which is good for your mind and mood. Our English Country Dancing classes welcome beginners and experienced dancers alike. bit.ly/3Ztt2MW
This week's episode of Classic Folk includes a few really good new releases, a touch of folk rock, the odd murder here and there and some brilliant tunes.
Listen now: www.efdss.org/listen
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's water break chat will be "Trunkles".
We take the following week off for half term..
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Pilgrim Morris with Taborer George dance around the Guildford Summerpole, May 2025
Watch a short film on Folk Bhangra & the Creative Process - including an incredible performance of Teri Meri, a tune by Kuljit Bhamra arranged and performed by the National Youth Folk Ensemble. Hear about the process from the Ensemble themselves.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWt0...
Great TimeOut piece - we couldn't agree more about the joys of social dances!
From northern soul all-nighters to techno ceilidhs, ‘old-fashioned’ social dances are having a modern renaissance
bit.ly/4jY2aNh
We were very happy to sign this very important open letter calling for action to remove barriers to touring across the EU - and keeping international exchange alive.
Musicians and industry leaders from the UK and Europe have joined forces to demand urgent action to remove the barriers to touring across the EU.
tinyurl.com/mrx6zdsh
Folk is having a revival—in the art world too
"The field is now being “reclaimed by marginalised groups and artists are making exciting innovations”.
bit.ly/44G3Gz4
We're delighted to have included on the London Grassroots Music Tube Map, celebrating the artists and venues that have made the capital one of the world’s best cities for music: bit.ly/3ZlM9se
It's that time again... Classic Folk is live, the perfect soundtrack your sunny spring evening!
efdss.org/listen
We're looking forward to tuning into The Essay tonight on BBC Radio 3 (9.45pm) and hearing meet the Song Detectorists to discuss various musical treasures.
This is part of the Music, Heritage, Place project that EFDSS is a partner in.
Join us with @matthewbannister.bsky.social at 21:45 tonight on BBC Radio 3 as we head to Norfolk to explore Mileham band's 18th-century music book and a ballad by a woman ousted from her home in the 17th century, brought back to life (the ballad that is!) by Nancy Kerr and the Melrose Quartet.
A stone's throw from EFDSS HQ... “We were dancing from quarter past 5, the sun came up at half past 5. It was absolutely beautiful. In other years it’s been overcast, but this time we saw a beautiful sunrise across Primrose Hill.It was absolutely stunning.”
www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/morr...
Join the National Youth Folk Ensemble!
Are you aged between 12 and 18?
Do you already play an instrument?
Come to an Open Day this May to find out more about the National Youth Folk Ensemble
Open Days are in London on 27 May, Exeter on 28 May and Leeds on 31 May.
bit.ly/4hksCzs
See our great friends The Belles of London City dancing and support 2 excellent causes www.tickettailor.com/events/young...
Our lovely friend Emily Askew of The Askew Sisters is organising family friendly folk festival the Salisbury Family Folk Festival
8 June at The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum.
Great range of workshops and a family ceilidh to end the day!
www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
Applications for the £2,000 Alan James Creative Bursaries are now open!
Supporting artists exploring new creative ideas inspired by traditional folk music relating to England.
If you are a professional creative artist or group taking inspiration from folk music, apply now.
bit.ly/43ndZGU
We like 's list of the Top Ten riffs from Folk Music (Blind Lemon Jefferson is a personal favourite of mine).
Which great folk riffs do you think they have missed?
faroutmagazine.co.uk/10-incredibl...
Pleased to hear of the new project 'Youth Industry Network' from supporting young women and gender diverse individuals aged 16-25 at the start of their careers in the music industry. Good luck to everyone in the first cohort!
www.musicweek.com/talent/read/...
Brilliant interview with our President, Eliza Carthy in The Quietus - "Radical Traditional: Folk Music for Spring" on the attentional ebb & flow the scene attracts, and the importance of hammering home an an anti-fascist message.
This year’s Folkworks Youth and Junior Summer Schools are happening in Durham; Youth (ages 14-18) and Junior (ages 9-13) in August. It’s going to be a fantastic week of music making, with tunes, songs, dances and lots of social time to make new friends.
theglasshouseicm.org/whats-on/fol...
Continue the Merry May Day celebrations with this week's Classic Folk!
www.efdss.org/listen
STATEMENT FROM ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY
We are proud to work with artists, practitioners and educators who represent and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
To all our trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming visitors, staff, artists, practitioners, audiences and participants: you are welcome here; you are safe, respected and represented.
Lovely interview with Kerry Fletcher and Natasha Khamjani of our associate company Folk Dance Remixed in the Camden New Journal ahead of their performance at Love Camden's Big Street Party on Monday.
www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/brea...
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Happy May Day! There's a lot happening this month...
Book now at efdss.org/whats-on
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Announcing our autumn 2025 season!
Discover rising stars or come back to see your old favourites here at Cecil Sharp House.
bit.ly/44LFACO
This week's Classic Folk includes reflections on London life, remembering some hard times and a beautiful track Christine Kydd who will be performing at our next Trad Night on 7 May - last few tickets still available!
www.efdss.org/listen
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's water break chat will be Maypole, Summerpole & Morris.
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
📢 Music PEI / English Folk Expo Artist Exchange 2025–26 – Applications 📢 Seeking an England-based singer-songwriter to collaborate with a PEI artist. You'll write, record and perform at Showcase PEI, English Folk Expo and Manchester Folk Festival. soundrootsconnect.uk/news/apply-t...
Last chance to book!
Steve Roud, creator of the Roud Folk Song Index, is presenting 'Folk Song in England': a six-week online evening course on the social history of traditional song and singing in England. We will be joined in week four by Dr Julia Bishop,
Book your place now bit.ly/4hIF0tn
An exciting announcement from Ffern, who have just launched the Ffern Folk Foundation – and an annual grant of £50,000 to fund one or more folk practitioners to progress their work and bring it to a wider audience: bit.ly/3GrcIpy
Artwork: Lukas the Illustrator
Boss Morris image: Hollie Fernando
Library Book Sale: Bank Holiday Weekend
Saturday 3 May, 10am - 4pm
The Library is selling duplicate stock which includes vinyl, CDs and tape cassettes, as well as books and pamphlets on folk music, dance and song.
We already have some of the stock available to buy online now. bit.ly/3RtHQqE
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Applications are open for the VWF-funded Cheltenham Music Festival early-career composers' programme.
Relaunched for the @cheltfestivals 80th anniversary, the 5-day Composer Academy will be in Gloucestershire, during the festival in July.
Details 👇
It's St George's Day, so here he is engaged in battle!
Midgeley Pace Eggers, Students of Calder High School, 1964 (detail)
Photo by Brian Shuel
Family Barn Dance: Maypole Special returns to Cecil Sharp House on Sunday 11 May 2025, for a fun-filled afternoon of lively family ceilidh and maypole dancing to welcome in the spring.
Sunday 11 May
1.30pm-4.30pm
bit.ly/3GjW1fC
Classic Folk this week includes a touch of blues and skiffle, some lovely unaccompanied traditional singing, some terrific musicianship and a couple of old favourites.
www.efdss.org/listen
Our friends at Folk of Gloucester are preparing for their 2nd fabulous Gloucester Ukraine Festival from 3-18 of May. The festival promises much folk music and dance amongst much cultural celebration.
ukrainefest.uk
Get your May Day event listed on 's May Day Morris Directory.
Fill in the form now.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
We're proud to be a Coalition member for the Arts and Minds Campaign, designed to put pressure on the government to strengthen and reinstate the position of arts and culture in schools.
The campaign has an Open Letter to the government which everyone can sign: theartsandmindscampaign.org.uk
Monday Folk Singers (Online) ” “If you arrive feeling grumpy, you definitely leave smiling!”
This term the tutor is Matt Quinn, well known for his skills on the melodeon and as a singer, as well as running the Podcast In The Roud.
Read more: bit.ly/44rMDQV
Deadline approaching for apply for Alan Surtees Trust grants of £2,000.
Musicians, singers, dancers, artists or performers in the folk arts from any culture; solo artists, bands or groups. Applicants should be aged between 16 and 30 at the time of application.
Deadline: midnight, 30 April
More meandering through the forgotten fields of folkiness has produced another collection of pearls for your entertainment this week - including Easter fun, mining disasters, Sharpe's harvest and a few tunes to boot.
www.efdss.org/listen
Amy Hollinrake spent time in our Library researching songs by and about women, as recipient of a Creative Bursary and on a residency in Cecil Sharp House.
Amy will perform the results of some of that work at a solo gig at on Thursday 24 April. Book now bit.ly/41jFwII
The Off Beat Folk Film Festival coming up next month looks wonderful!
offbeat.film
Piano accordion survey
National Youth Folk Ensemble alumna Olivia Robinson is asking players of the piano accordion to complete a survey. As part of her final-year dissertation at the University of Cambridge, she is researching current popularity.
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Angeline Morrison, one of our Board Members, speaks to The BBC about the Black British experience as told through folk song. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...
Now that Spring has sprung, get a spring in your step too by finding a dance event taking place near you with our Folk Dance Calendar. Search by postcode and for regular classes or one of performances.
You can also add your own dance events for free bit.ly/3FMAFr7
An update from EFDSS Creative Bursaries recipient Randolph Matthews on his ‘Black Salt’ project which explores the contributions of sailors from the African diaspora to the British maritime industry, focusing on the cultural and musical influences of sea shanties.
bit.ly/44gmhBk
In this week's Classic Folk episode, we have some very relevant protests that reflect on the world we live in, some more salty sea songs, a couple of the great ballads, some new releases and of course some lovely tunes.
www.efdss.org/listen
Tonight!
Finding Billy Waters: Regency London's Famous Black Busker
Dr Mary L. Shannon
Join us online for this Library Lecture
7.30pm - 9pm
Online
bit.ly/4iGCmov
Image: Billy Waters. Aquatint, 1822. Wellcome Collection gallery