The line-up for Folk by the Oak Festival, one of Hertfordshire’s most popular and established music events, has made a strong start with their first artist announcements today. With many more performers yet to be revealed, including their headliners, 2025 is already shaping up to be another brilliant year.
The ‘First Lady of Folk’ is set to return to this very special one-day festival, with Kate Rusby announced for the Main Stage at Folk by the Oak festival on 20 July 2025. Named as one of the Top Ten Folk Voices of the Century, a Mercury Prize Winner, 6-times BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winner and a warm, Yorkshire sense of humour to boot, Rusby has achieved an unprecedented cross-over appeal.
“Kate Rusby is a huge favourite of ours and even inspired the first Folk by the Oak!” says Festival Director Caroline Slough. “It is testament to her sheer talent and unfailing ability to delight her audiences that we know news of her return will be joyously received by our wonderful audience.”
Cornish sea shanty sensation Fisherman’s Friends, renowned for their funny, spirit-raising, foot-stomping live shows, are also announced for the Main Stage today. Starting life quite literally as a merry band of fishermen and their friends, with a shared passion for singing and their musical heritage, the group has enjoyed a unique and meteoric rise.
Catapulted first into the charts, then onto the silver screen (in the self-titled feature films inspired by their story) and now onto musical theatre stages, the band have developed a huge following while retaining their love for traditional shanties and songs of the sea. This will be their first appearance at Folk by the Oak Festival, which has earned a reputation for always putting together a superb ‘line-up of headliners’.
Also announced today are leading lights of English folk Melrose Quartet in an intriguing new guise; digging into the musical collections of England’s county archives, Music, Heritage, Place is a brand new project co-directed by multi BBC award-winning Nancy Kerr, who will perform the results with her hugely talented band mates James Fagan, Jess Arrowsmith and Richard Arrowsmith.
“When we first heard about this project our ears really pricked up!” Caroline told us. “Fans of Melrose Quartet will know to expect spine tingling harmonies and exceptional musicianship, while anyone who enjoyed our collaborations with Nancy on The Elizabethan Session, Sweet Liberties or Shake the Chains will be as excited as we are to hear the results of this ground breaking project”
The first band announced for the festival’s Acorn Stage is award-winning Anglo-Scottish duo Janice Burns and Jon Doran, whose debut album No More the Green Hills secured their booking for the festival. “The album was enthralling” says Caroline, “Compelling storytelling, tight vocal harmonies and spellbinding re-imaginings of traditional songs. This will be a blissful, must-see afternoon set on our Acorn Stage!”
And thanks to the festival’s unique schedule and layout of two stages in one tree-lined arena you really can catch every single set at Folk by the Oak! The organisers have indicated that more announcements will be coming very soon, including the Main and Acorn Stage headliners.
To be the first to hear when these are announced they encourage you to sign up to their newsletter at www.folkbytheoak.com, and to book your tickets by 30 January to enjoy early bird ticket prices.
Website: www.folkbytheoak.com
Folk By the Oak Festival
Date: Sunday 20 July 2025
Venue: Hatfield Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 5NQ
Timings: Doors open 12.00 noon, finishes approx 10.30pm.
TICKETS: From £49.50. Children £23 (ages 4 and under are free).
Early Booking, Family and Group offers are available
Folk by the Oak is proud to support its local charity partner Willow
