The UK’s biggest 1-day Folk Festival is bringing the internationally acclaimed powerhouse of West African music that is Orchestra Baobab to Hatfield Park on Sunday 20 July. Named after both the rugged beauty of the ‘tree of life’ and the Dakar club that inspired their formation, the legendary band’s live shows bring to the stage an uplifting blend of Afro-Cuban and traditional griot music, seamlessly fusing the traditional and the modern and defying their audience not to dance!
Orchestra Baobab completes an incredible Main Stage line-up headlined by globally renowned indie folk-rock band Bear’s Den and featuring the ‘First Lady of Folk’ Kate Rusby and the spirited masters of the sea shanty Fisherman’s Friends among others.
Also announced today is Manchester’s hottest new band The Deep Blue. Since they first burst onto the scene in 2021 they have been captivating audiences at festivals up and down the country with their hypnotically beautiful harmonies masterfully fused with rebellious lyrics. After spending winter on tour with the Lottery Winners, the band’s busy 2024 festival season even included a Glastonbury debut on the renowned Avalon Stage.Recent winners of the 2024 Cambridge Folk Festival Christian Raphael Prize, this will be the band’s first appearance at the festival where they join the Acorn Stage line-up.
The Festival’s second stage will be headlined by Project Smok, who skilfully unite the Celtic folk tradition with electro dance music to create a unique, refreshing and irresistible sound, plus Gambian multi-instrumentalist Suntou Susso with his 6 piece band and music rooted in Mandinka musical traditions strongly infused with jazz, funk and soul.
With a line-up that also brings modern protest singer Grace Petrie (hot on the heels of her chart smashing album produced by Frank Turner Build Something Better) and folk favourites Melrose Quartet to the Main Stage, plus the intriguing, multi-faceted Holly & the Reivers and accomplished Scottish-Anglo folk duo Janice Burns & Jon Doran to the Acorn Stage, Folk by the Oak has once again put together a line-up that most 3-day folk festivals would envy!
As has become tradition the festival opens with an Acorn Stage set by the London Youth Folk Ensemble, a committed collection of young, amateur and professional folk musicians who always deliver an inspirational performance for all the family to enjoy.
If you’re new to the festival and worried that you won’t be able to pick between such exciting artists, never fear! Team Folk by the Oak carefully design their treelined arena so that you can ‘flip flop’ between stages and catch every single set.
Main Stage
Bear’s Den | Kate Rusby | Fisherman’s Friends | Orchestra Baobab | Grace Petrie | Melrose Quartet
Acorn Stage
Project Smok | Suntou Susso | The Deep Blue | Janice Burns & Jon Doran
Holly & the Reivers | London Youth Folk Ensemble
Tickets are just £55 until 31 March at www.folkbytheoak.com – an incredible price to see all these artists in one joyous day of back-to-back music!
