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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
Read our interview with Kuljit Bhamra MBE, one of the most prolific musicians, composers and record producers on the British Asian music scene, and co-creator of our Bhangra Ceilidh.
Read the full interview on our website bit.ly/3FTHiaX