Warwick gets ready for folk time again

Organisers of the 33rd annual Warwick Folk Festival are hoping to make it their best to date - and with last year’s event hailed as a “fantastic success”, their standards are high.

Scottish singer Eddi Reader, folk legend Nic Jones, singer-songwriter Vin Garbutt and the reunited line-up of folk-reggae musician Edward II are just some of the better-known names in the line-up, with the programme including a range of a wide range of tastes and styles - including blues, rock, country and funk.

Other big name guests heading for Warwick for the festival - which takes place from Thursday July 26 to Sunday July 29 - include Faustus, Jim Moray, Damien O’Kane, the trio of Mike McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle, the new line-up of Scottish band Breabach, plus a return appearance by BBC Folk Award winner Lucy Ward.

Now the busiest weekend in the year for Warwick, the festival attracts around 20,000 people to the town every July.

The event’s main site has been at Warwick School in Myton Road for more than 20 years, where concerts, dances, family activities, comedy, singarounds, workshops, craft fairs and a large choice of food stalls can be found.

But the festival also spills over into the town centre, where its ‘fringe’ event includes free concerts, music and song sessions, dancers, street performers and stallholders filling the streets, cafes, pubs and churches.

Festival director Dick Dixon said: “Each year we plan for Warwick Folk Festival to be the best yet. Last year’s event was a fantastic success and it will be a tough job to improve on it. But with the line-up we have for 2012, we’re confident that we will.

“You won’t have to be a folk music buff to enjoy a superb weekend of first-class entertainment to suit all tastes and ages.”

For tickets and to find out more, call 776438 or go online.