This year saw the 39th running of Ely Folk Festival. For me it was a new experience as I was attending this much-loved festival in the fens for the first time. The event takes place on Stuntney Estate, just off the A142 a few miles south of the city that gives it its name.
The site is easily accessible with ample parking. The festival arena is compact and easy to get around, allowing those who want to cram in as many acts as possible, to do so with ease.
We arrived on Friday afternoon with the temperature hitting 32°C. I felt for the volunteers out in the sun directing traffic. I was later told that the site safety officer sent out to get parasols to give them some protection. A wise move! Without volunteers, events like these could not take place.
As you would expect from an event with such a long history, it is well organized and boasts a varied programme of performances, from what might be described as the more traditional folk elements to the younger, rockier acts such as Sam Kelly.
It was Sam who was scheduled to headline on Friday evening but most of his band, “The Lost Boys”, could be found warming up on stage with Jon and Lucy Hart, better known as Honey and The Bear. One shouldn’t assume that Sam was being a diva in not appearing on stage too – no, he was busy being the sound engineer for their set.
However, it was Ely Folk Spotlight winners Kelvin Davies & Chloe Turner who opened proceedings on the Peregrine stage on Friday evening accompanied on harmonica by the ever-dapper Gary Jones, who must have been sweltering in that suit! A wonderful start to the evening with their mellow bluegrass sound lending a calm and relaxing mood to the surrounding fenland.
There are three stages at Ely Folk Festival, the smallest of which is Nightingale. This stage lends itself to intimate folk club type performances with tables and chairs arranged in café style. If you are lucky there can be the occasional surprise in store – for me, it was Elly Tree singing her song “The Wind from The East”. Elly had her own slot on The Peregrine Stage but happily turned up to perform an open mic slot, later I found her stewarding on another of the stages.
The Kingfisher stage, with its wisely opened sides, is floored to cater for dance sessions. I totally love the chaos of a ceilidh of amateurs. Sophie Ellis Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dance Floor” always comes to mind when I watch a caller speaking instructions in rhythm with the band, whilst dancers lose all concept of left, right, up and down. And before you suggest I should give it a go, I have, it didn’t go well.
By the time Sam Kelly and The Lost Boys were ready to round off Friday evening the crowd had grown around the front of the Peregrine Stage. I expected the crowd at the barrier to be made up of younger members of the audience, but the age range spanned generations, proving how popular this articulate young man’s lyrics and melodies are. By the way, Sam is patron of the new Bungay Folk Festival which takes place in September.
Saturday was mercifully cooler, much to the relief of those working with little shade. Second days are always easier on newbies like me, you know where everything is and can schedule accordingly. What you can’t schedule of course, is bumping into old friends and having a chat. That said, time spent with friends is what we call quality time.
Not being an English native, Morris dancing is something alien to me. I do enjoy the spectacle, and the colourful costumes make for some photogenic images. I do wish I had time to understand the subtle nuances and better understand the meaning of the dances. Rockingham Rappers brough tradition and pop together opening with STOMP, STOMP, CLAP – yes, ‘We Will Rock You’.
Back on the main stage it was refreshing to see singers gather around a single microphone, each taking their turn to move forward to sing their part at the appropriate time and controlling the volume by their distance from the microphone. Such was the case with Monroe’s Revenge, featuring that man I spotted in the car park at Folk in a Field some weeks back. Hayseed Dixie’s Joe Hymas, it appears, crops up in bands all over the place.
On Saturday evening the Kingfisher stage was dedicated to Americana, opened by Paul McClure, the self-styled ‘Rutland Troubadour’. Paul’s music and style is enjoyable to both watch and listen to. I wasn’t expecting him to stop mid-song when he spotted me pointing my camera in his direction. “Excuse me,” he said to the audience, “This is my first time at Ely Folk Festival, and I want to make sure we get the photos right.” He then promptly posed for me!
Another first occurred when watching Keith Donnelly’s & Lauren South’s excellent set. Keith sings a song about finding his old original guitar, now broken. I have never seen a guitar come apart at the seams whilst being played. Lauren later commented that the stage was awash with abandoned guitar picks – the audience couldn’t see from their seated positions, so Keith kindly picked them up using his bald head to do so!
I had seen Gaz Brookfield and The Company of Thieves a week earlier at Folk in a Field. This time he graced the stage as a solo artist, presumably his Thieves having been nicked somewhere along the A10 on the journey south. He opened with ‘Solo Acoustic Guy’, a wonderful tongue-in-cheek insight on what it is like to be a solo singer with a guitar – one DI and a mic.
Only being there for two days meant I would miss out on Sunday’s acts which included Fraser Morgan who will be at EAFN25 – the East Anglian Festival Network’s show and conference in October. I would also miss out on seeing Blackbeard’s Tea Party who were the band playing when I have my unfortunate experiment with dancing along to a caller at FolkEast many years ago.
More images from Ely Folk Festival 2025 are available here.
If you are a folk fan, I suspect Ely Folk Festival is already on your radar. If you’ve not been to a folk festival before and want to test the water, then Ely is a good place to start. It is relaxed, friendly and well organised weekend. In 2026 the festival will celebrate its ruby anniversary, the organisers are already teasing us with the initial line-up which is set to include include:
- Gigspanner Big Band
- Grace Petrie
- Boo Hewerdine
- Brooks Williams
- Seize the Day
- Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage Band.
