St Albans Folk Festival has moved on from a two yearly to an annual festival and will take place from 22-24 June 2007, with concerts, a ceilidh, a day of dance, workshops, and song and music sessions. Artists taking part include Chris Wood, Asha, George Papavgeris, Lynne Heraud and Pat Turner, Life and Times, Clive Batkin and Joel McDermott, Steph West, Jan Strapp and Kerry Fletcher.

The festival will open with a concert on Friday June 22 at the Maltings Arts Theatre, featuring Chris Wood, with support from local hammer dulcimer player, Jan Strapp and young New Roots 2007 finalists, Livewires from Somerset. Acclaimed by the Irish Times as 'the renaissance man of English folk', Chris Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music and interpretation of English traditional song reveals his love for the real history of the English speaking people.

The festival continues on Saturday June 23 with a day of dance in the City Centre with local dance teams and a group from Latvia. The day will start with a massed display in Verulamium Park to entertain the thousands of people who will be gathering to join Desmond Tutu in a procession to St Albans Abbey to celebrate St Albans Day. Dancing will continue throughout the City Centre and outside the west front of the Abbey before finishing by the river Ver at the Fighting Cocks, reputably England's oldest pub.

The day will end with the Festival Ceilidh with Asha at Frances Bacon School. Asha is the result of a collaboration to put together a compelling concert and ceilidh band with an eclectic feel. Pete Lockwood's signature synth, sax and drums are layered with Jackie Allen's fiddle, Peter Lubbock's guitar-work and Lynn Swain's flutes and whistles to deliver funky rhythm, soaring melodies and lush harmonies.

On Sunday, dance teacher Kerry Fletcher offers workshops on dances from throughout Europe, starting in the morning with the Fandango, a dance from the Basque Country and continuing in the afternoon with dances from other parts of Europe.

Singers with a local connection and a wider reputation and will come under the spotlight in the closing concert at Trestle Arts Base. George Papavgeris has gained a reputation nationally and internationally as a thoughtful and thought-provoking writer. His songs, which reveal both lyrical and musical excellence are now being sung by some of the top names on the scene. Lynne Heraud and Pat Turner are among the most experienced harmony singers on the folk scene. They describe their wide range of musical material as 'traditional, Victorian, Edwardian, Contemporary, Rude, Silly and Self-penned', all delivered with their unique blend of harmony and humour. Life and Times are Barry Goodman and Graham Meek, known for their songs inspired by the history and traditions of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. St Albans based instrumental duo Clive Batkin and Joel McDermott are fast gaining a wider reputation as is harpist Steph West from Chorleywood, a New Roots 2006 finalist.


For further details and booking information see http://www.stalbansfolkmusic.org.uk or email info@stalbansfolkmusic.org.uk or ring
Alison Macfarlane 01727 852111 (home) 0207 040 5832 (work.)