FESTIVALS
THE AMERICANA
Every year, Euston Hall plays host to a swoon-worthy line- up of blues, Cajun and rock and roll. This year, Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram tops the bill. 1-3 JUNE RED ROOSTER
27 - 30 July
THE HANDS-ON Cambridge Folk Festival
the bill was a young Paul Simon, who had just released I Am a Rock .” Today, the fiddle-fuelled festivities see spontaneous sessions break out between musicians and attendees, foot-tapping performances and sets spanning gentle tunes to stomping beats. With The Den stage open to up-and-coming musicians, there’s plenty of opportunity to get stuck in. The Proclaimers, Rufus Wainwright and Imelda May headline this year, with fleets of future folk stars in tow. James concludes: “Folk as a genre is quite broad and really lends itself to crossover with artists from all strains and demographics, making it incredibly exciting for audience members to explore the reaches of the genre over the four days with us.”
This titan of the international folk network saw a return last year and is now getting back into its stride. The festival has carved out a long and impressive history, beginning with Cambridge City Council firefighter and political activist Ken Woollard in 1964. “Ken had been inspired by a documentary, Jazz on a Summer’s Day , all about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival,” explains James Page, communications and marketing manager for the festival. “He wanted an event that preserved the values of the fast-evolving folk club movement and expressed his socialist ideals, one which covered a wide spectrum of music, and most importantly had a family-friendly atmosphere. The first festival sold 1,400 tickets and almost broke even. Squeezed in as a late addition to
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