People are invited to enjoy the Love Folk Festival 2022, which takes place at The Atkinson in Southport this weekend.
Visitors can immerse themselves in a celebration of traditional, upcoming and alternative folk music, this Friday (11th February 2022) and Saturday (12th February 2022).
Festival Tickets are £48 (plus booking fee £1 per ticket online/phone).
theatkinson.co.uk/events/love-folk-fest-2022
This year The Atkinson on Lord Street welcomes two incredibly talented headliners; Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings on Friday and Ranagri on Saturday. The bands are supported by a stellar line up from the folk music scene; Merry Hell, Lizzy Hardingham, Jack Rutter, The Last Inklings and The Meadows.
In addition to the main stage, Fatea will once again be hosting the ‘Busk Love Folk’ acoustic stage featuring Katie Spencer, Erin Mansfield & Danny Tonks, Sam Lyon and Ian David Green.
The bar will showcase a series of guest ales and The Atkinson’s award-winning café, A Great Little Place, will be providing a selection of delicious homemade food for you to enjoy.
Spend the most romantic weekend of the year dancing, singing, drinking, eating and generally loving folk!
Love Folk Festival 2022 is lovingly dedicated to Jim Minall, Friends of Folk, and to Clive Pownceby, Bothy Folk Club, who have both sadly passed away.
#LoveFolkFest
Festival Tickets £48
Festival tickets are valid for all acts taking place Friday 11th and Saturday 12th February 2022. Lower level seating is unreserved. Balcony seating is reserved.
Schedule
Friday 11th February 2022
Doors open 7pm
07:30pm – 08:00pm – Lizzy Hardingham
08:15pm – 10:30pm – Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings
Saturday 12th February 2022
Doors open 1pm
Main Stage
01:30pm – 02:15pm – The Meadows
02:45pm – 03:30pm – The Last Inklings
04:00pm – 05:00pm – Jack Rutter
05:30pm – 06:30pm – Lizzy Hardingham
07:30pm – 08:30pm – Merry Hell
09:00pm – 10:30pm – Ranagri
Busk Love Folk
2:20pm – 2:40pm – Ian David Green
3:35pm – 3:55pm – Sam Lyon
5:05pm – 5:25pm – Erin Mansfield & Danny Tonks
7:00pm – 7:25pm – Katie Spencer
Food & Drink
A Great Little Place will be hosting a pop-up café in the Theatre Bar on Saturday 12th February, serving chilli con carne, vegan chilli, sandwiches & cakes.
Southport Golden Sands is the guest ale and is available on draught from the studio bar. The bar will be fully stocked with plenty of ciders & ales especially for Love Folk Festival. A selection of snacks and nibbles are also available from the bar.
The Bands – Main Stage
Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings
Jon Boden is best known as the lead singer of recently re-formed Bellowhead, one half of the notorious Speirs & Boden, whilst also fronting his own band The Remnant Kings. The widely respected performer, songwriter, composer and interpreter of traditional song showcases his instrumental talents on the fiddle, guitar and concertina. Jon is the winner of multiple Radio 2 Folk Awards and is the voice of the Mark Radcliffe jingle on BBC Radio 2, making his distinct sound even more recognizable.
“One of the most venerated of the younger brit folk generation” – The Guardian
Ranagri
Ranagri (pronounced Ran-a-grye) produce an electrifying mix of virtuosic instrumentals, haunting melodies, vivid storytelling and their unique take on old and new folk songs. Consisting of flutes, whistles, harps, bodhrans, guitars, bouzoukis and vocals, Ranagri fuse Celtic folk with original song writing and vibrant instrumentals, along with influences from folk music worldwide.
“How often do you hear a sound that’s completely new and immediately makes you want to dance? I’ll be following Ranagri around, I hope they don’t mind…” – Katie Derham, presenter BBC Radio 3 & BBC Proms
Merry Hell
Multi award winning Merry Hell offer joyful, uplifting folk-rock, with a message for troubled times. Native to North West England, their energy and passion is complimented by their love of what they do and a desire to share hope and togetherness with as many people as are willing to listen. Through 6 albums and hundreds of gigs, they’ve offered voices of hope and beacons of light to anyone valuing both melody and positive humanity.
Thrilling music hat’s bursting to spring out and make your existence brighter. – Simon Jones, fROOTS
Lizzy Hardingham
Folk musician and songstress Lizzy Hardingham is paving her way as a powerhouse performer with beautifully delivered songs that sing straight to the heart. Lizzy has taken the UK folk club and festival scene by storm, captivating audiences with a voice that can fill a stadium and the sensitivity to bring a room to attentive silence. Having been nominated for FATEA’s coveted Female Artist of The Year, Lizzy is currently being mentored by the English Folk Expo.
“A dazzling combination of voice and song writing talent that rarely appears” – Celtic Music Radio
Jack Rutter
Jack Rutter is a highly respected folk singer and multi-instrumentalist on the roots and acoustic music scene. Jack unearths songs from the folk canon, almost all of them rare and many previously unrecorded, gathered from old books and source singers. His soaring vocals deliver traditional folk tales in a fresh and current way, whilst his masterful playing of the guitar, bouzouki, duet concertina and harmonium provide the perfect accompaniment.
‘In the spirit of the old traditional singers, Jack Rutter takes a song, shapes it, lives with it and brings out something unique.’ – Kathryn Tickell OBE, BBC Radio 3
The Last Inklings
The Last Inklings are Leonardo MacKenzie and David Hoyland; both accomplished multi-instrumentalists with a solid folk background. The band’s innovative sound crosses genres, centred around cello, mandolin and vocal harmony, layered with guitar, piano, strings, synths and percussion. With vibrant backstories and creative musicianship, their songs have a modern flavour that is rich with imagery and narrative, exploring at their core what it is to be human.
“Beguiling… exquisitely crafted and endlessly inventive” – Morning Star
The Meadows
The Meadows are a vibrant multi-instrumentalist Celtic-Crossover folk band, all drawn from one. family. Bringing cutting-edge techniques and an exciting, contemporary vibe to their performances, the band play original works which weave between foot stomping reels to rich vocal harmonies, taking their audiences on a spellbinding journey.
There’s something magical about the way their vocals weave in amongst each other… and the playing is impassioned and faultless… just beautiful from start to finish.” – Michael Kennedy, Sound Board Magazine
The Bands – Busk Love Folk – Acoustic Stage
Katie Spencer – Busk Love Folk
Katie Spencer is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Yorkshire who writes songs imbued with the Northern landscapes of her home. Originally from Hull, East Yorkshire, the grainy imagery of the industrial docks and sea-fronts seep into her deeply personal songs of nostalgia, loss and love.
“Katie’s guitar playing has echoes of my dear friend the late great Bert Jansch. Like a musical weaver she threads her poetic lyrics through the guitar’s strings and produces little tapestries of song” – Ralph McTell
Erin Mansfield & Danny Tonks – Busk Love Folk
Erin Mansfield (whistles/vocals) encompasses all the vigour and exuberance of young Folk. Erin’s captivating stage presence, evocative vocals, and fiery fingers make her a bright new light, stamping her passion and originality onto everything she does. “A young June Tabor” – Tim Edey. Danny Tonks (guitar/bass/vocals) is an acoustic percussive guitarist from Kent. Inspired by the likes of Andy McKee and Antoine Dufour, Danny explores the limits of what a guitar can do, and then pushes it a little further! A true wonder to watch!
The two combine here to produce a unique, yet familiar sound, sprinkled with something just that little bit special! “We were all amazed at how quickly the set passed and I, for one, could have listened to a lot more”. – Tony Birch (Green Note)
Sam Lyon – Busk Love Folk
Sam Lyon is an established singer-songwriter from Cheshire, England. Responsible for her own success, Sam is an unsigned artist who prides herself on reaching her biggest achievements entirely independently.
Ian David Green – Busk Love Folk
Ian David Green is a singer, songwriter and musician born and raised in Liverpool, England and living in London. His early influences include folk greats such as Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and Leonard Cohen, artists whose styles are reflected in his thoughtful and poetic lyrical arrangements. Ian’s interest in low-fi, Americana and electronic music informs occasional, darker works
Festival Partner
The ‘Busk Love Folk’ acoustic stage is proudly sponsored by Fatea. Established over 30 years ago, the indie organisation features music from across the acoustic spectrum.
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