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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
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
Call for papers: Traditional Tunes and Popular Airs
A two-day conference to be held on Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 November.
Relevant areas include music for dance, broadside balladry, minstrelsy, music hall, pleasure gardens, domestic and children’s songs.
Deadline: 30 June 2025.
bit.ly/4lhPsds
We're loving this Rescue the Roots t-shirt campaign - Youth Music x Anthony Burrill
bit.ly/42BDR0v
We've signed a letter to Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport to ask them to ensure all children can access arts subjects throughout school. It only takes a minute, just follow this link: actionnetwork.org/forms/open-l...
Three Folk Tunes for Secondary Schools
For this month's Learning Resource, we have selected this trio of folk tunes, put together by folk musician Oli Matthews for use with secondary school music and dance students.
bit.ly/4hTrEK9
As usual there’s a fair bit of variety in this week’s show with a terrific new album release, a brand new single about a bus, a contemporary take on a couple of the great ballads, - and we’ll have a listen to several of Turlough O’Carolan’s finest tunes. Classic Folk: www.efdss.org/listen
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We're not fooling around when it comes to our gigs line-up this month. You can enjoy...
🪕 Master trad musician Pete Coe
🪗Belgian-British accordion duo
⭐The future stars of folk
🎻Scottish fiddle virtuoso
🦋 Haunting vocals
🕺🏾 PLUS an online lecture on Black Regency busker Billy Waters.
efdss.org
'Fool, Fool, April Fool
You learn naught by going to school!'
Although you'll learn lots by going to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, where we have a huge archive of folk songs, music and rhymes.
This is from Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes and Tales, c1870.
We’re delighted to be launching our new Local Folk Heroes award!
Local Folk Heroes will recognise the contributions made by individuals who champion the folk arts in their communities.
The deadline for 2025/26 nominations is 31 March 2026. bit.ly/4iU9x84
Sign up to support English Folk Dance And Song Society on #easyfundraising today and you’ll enter them into a prize draw to win a £500 donation. Join here: join.easyfundraising.org.uk/folk/zp7ggx/...
A leading UK charity has launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to combat the crisis threatening grassroots music projects:
bit.ly/424bdVi
A look back to our wonderful professional development day; Creating Accessible and Inclusive Folk Dance.
Thanks to all our Speakers and to everyone who attended the day of talks and workshops exploring ways to increase inclusion for people with disabilities in folk dance.
Are you a young music creator? Dream of performing at the Royal Albert Hall? Applications for Music for Youth's Frequencies New Music Residency are now open! 🔥
If you’re 16-25, based in the UK, and ready to level up your music, apply by 1 April.
bit.ly/3FJlgaN
Finding Billy Waters: Regency London's Famous Black Busker
Talk by Dr Mary L. Shannon
Join us online for this Library Lecture
Tue 8 April
7.30pm - 9pm
Online
£5
Book your place:
bit.ly/4iGCmov
#FolkMusic #BlackHistory #DsiabilityHistory
A fascinating watch: ‘City Folk’ explores the history of English Country Dance at Pinewoods dance camp. The film is partially shot at feat. rare archival footage, live perfs & interviews, incl. with past Library Director Malcolm Taylor. www.folkstreams.net/films/cityfolk
The film draws on a book, City Folk, by Daniel Walkowitz.
We’re definitely leaning towards the tradition this week with some great recordings of some of the source singers, and a little flavour of East Anglia. We do have a couple of new releases including one debut album, in Classic Folk this week at www.efdss.org/listen
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week, 25 Mar, is the last class of term, the breaktime chat will be 'Guilds and Morris'. Next term starts on 29 April.
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Guild of Perth Glovers 1604 Banner and Sword Dance Costume
Satnam Galsian, a recipient of EFDSS' Alan James Creative Bursary, on the project she worked on with Maddie Morris, researching and exploring gender-based violence in Punjabi and English folk songs.
bit.ly/42jTh9x
“This moment right here,” said Femi Koleoso during the group’s (Erza Collective) acceptance speech, “is because of the great youth clubs and the great teachers and schools that support young people playing music”. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
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'this festival is reshaping the role of women within folk music, giving a platform for musicians...whose music touches on the experience of being a woman in the modern age. It’s the beautiful tradition of folk, reframed and charged with female power.'
In celebration of Make Music Day on 21 June, Cecil Sharp House Choir join forces with Bellow Fellows for an afternoon of folk song .
For more details and how to book your free place: bit.ly/4iNuGAv
#makemusic #MakeMusicDay #musicforthesoul #choir
Super Early Bird Tickets for The Sidmouth Folk Festival (1-8 August) close at midnight on Sunday 23rd March.
Book your season tickets now for festive folk fun by the sea before prices go up.
sidmouthfolkfestival.co.uk