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Over the past nine years the seaport town of Fishguard has been host to one of the UK’s best small traditional music festivals. With concerts, dance displays, workshops, meet the artist events, busking, informal music and song sessions, the town will be filled with colourful displays of dancing, along with tunes, airs, jigs and reels. Also featuring the famous ‘spoons’ workshop and the popular guided ‘Pirate and Smugglers’ walk.
This small, friendly festival embraces the talents of old and young alike and actively encourages visitors to join in the sessions with the ‘stars’ of the show. Everyone is a part of the entertainment - not just a spectator.
Lots of opportunity to ‘do your own thing’.
So where better to celebrate our music and song.
Welcome to the 10th Fishguard Folk Festival and seven thousand years of history and tradition!
...Brilliant event. Every town should have one!
It's a festival for the people by the people and anyone can afford to go and enjoy, unlike some others...
Dick Wells, St. Austell, Cornwall |
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| Hi, Just a quick line to thanks to all concerned for making the folk festival such a great weekend. The accent on informality and participation (and the selection of ales) made it just what a folk festival ought to be.
Having drifted out of touch with the folk scene, it was great to come across people like Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll I'd never come across before. More power to your collective elbows! Great to have my enthusiasm reignited but I'll have to chip a fair bit more rust off my concertina playing before next year... Best wishes, Jon Bell |
Our 2009 line-up included
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Kevin Dempsey is a guitarist, singer and producer second to none. He has extensive experience in the music business, having worked with everyone from Percy Sledge to Dando Shaft and The Marvelettes to Alice Coltrane, not forgetting the incredible Whippersnapper whose line-up also included Dave Swarbrick, Chris Leslie and Martin Jenkins. With this band Kevin toured the world extensively and recorded five albums. In 1987 his highly acclaimed solo album The Cry of Love was also released, which featured Danny Thompson, Polly Bolton, Chris Leslie and Paul Dunmall. The nineties saw Kevin producing albums for several leading artists, writing film scores and performing with old friends Chris Leslie and Dave Swarbrick. |
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Born in Dublin into a family steeped in the Irish music of Co. Leitrim, Néillidh Mulligan is one of Ireland’s most distinguished uilleann pipers. He is the fourth generation to carry on this tradition and was first taught by his father Tom Mulligan, the renowned fiddle-player and piper. This tuition was followed by more formal lessons from the great Leo Rowsome in the Dublin Municipal School of Music and The Pipers Club.. Through his father Tom’s friendship with Séamus Ennis and Tommy Reck he was later to come under the influence of these two great masters of the uilleann pipes.Néillidh has won All-Ireland titles at various age levels, has toured extensively around the world and has represented Ireland at various bagpipe festivals throughout Europe. He is a founding member, patron and former chairman of Na Píobairí Uilleann –
The Society of Uilleann Pipers.
He will be joined by his 15 year old son Fiachra on fiddle
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Currently taking the world by storm, Vicki and Jonny are rightly “establishing themselves as one of the best young duos around on the folk scene today” (Famous Willows Folk Club). Although best-known for their instrumental skills with Scottish Smallpipes, accordion and even Swedish Nyckelharpa, the duo are well recognised for their songs arrangements too. With their blend of traditional material and contemporary interpretations, they have developed a sound that is both familiar and fresh. Vicki and Jonny’s strong educational background makes their workshops as powerful for a festival event as their performances. . |
Nick Wyke & Becki Driscoll
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Becki Driscoll started playing folk and traditional music in her home town of Bridport with ceilidh band Sundance and went on to study community music in Liverpool. Since graduating she has taught fiddle and led workshops both in Merseyside and the South West.
She composes many of the new tunes for the duo, drawing on her interest and knowledge of traditional English and Western European music for inspiration. Nick Wyke is an experienced performer and workshop leader whose skills have been tried and tested at major folk festivals including Sidmouth International Festival. He has performed throughout the country and in Europe both as a solo artist and with Cornish folk-rock band Sacred Turf. |
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One of Britain's foremost dulcimer players, Sue Harris originally played oboe. She took up hammered dulcimer in 1975 when puffing became too much due to pregnancy with her first son. She was in one of the early line-ups of Ashley Hutchings's Albion Country Band, and has played with Richard and Linda Thompson, and John Kirkpatrick. Sue has also composed music for many BBC radio plays and for theatre productions. She is currently working with community orchestras, and as a natural voice practitioner is leading and writing music for small choirs. In 2008 she was leader of the "Wild Angels Community Choir" in Welshpool, Wales.
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Jeannie Harris
Brora / Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell / Trio La Luna
Mike Chant /
The O'Ceili Band
Pat Smith & Ned Clamp / The Vagrants Crew
Mainbrace /
Raise The Dust / Dawnswyr Pen y Bont
'Sun shines for the 10th folk festival'
...also can I add, that it was one of the best, the music was none stop the
dancers wonderful and there was not a foot that was not tapping or head that
was not bobbing the whole weekend, in fact if you had stuck a persons feet to
the floor in would have been classed as torture. Thank you organisers for a
great show, and a whole lot of smiling people, it was a great lift for the
Town, and in these days we all need it.
Cllr Robert Wheatley Deputy mayor |
Fishguard Folk Festival wish to thank our sponsors for their continued support.
 
| Arts Council of Wales |
Pembrokeshire
County
Council |
Artswave
County Echo |
Fishguard
Folk |
Stena Line |
The Royal
Oak |
Fishguard
& Goodwick
Town Council
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Brains Brewery |
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