If you’re at The Great Escape this weekend and you dig your folk music but you haven’t got time to dig through yet (or tell the thousand acoustic artists apart), here are 14 Midnight Campfire tips for folk/roots artists performing across the festival. Yup, listed in chronological order…
Faith I Branko
Virtuoso Serbian band blends traditional Roma music with Turkish and jazz sounds.
TONIGHT 8pm, Fender Paramount Stage
Marika Hackman
Brilliant gritty alt-folk/psych singer-songwriter
TONIGHT 8:15pm Paganini Ballroom
Ainslie Wills
Australian folktronica songwriter with a wistful, innocent tone.
TONIGHT 8:30pm, One Church
Aldous Harding
New Zealand alt-folk songwriter (bit of a homespun psych minimalist) went down a storm last year.
TONIGHT 11:15pm, Paganini Ballroom
FRI 3:15pm, One Church
Elizabete Balcus
Excellent psych/folk/synth songwriter from Latvia.
FRI 8:30pm, Jubilee Square
SAT 12:30pm, Harbour Hotel Marine Room
Charlie Straw
Powerful blues-tinged folk and roots from up north.
FRI 9:30pm, One Church
This Is The Kit
Kate Stables’ gentle psych persona has taken a big step up of late, having been produced by Bryce Dessnor, she’s doing Shepherds Bush Empire on her next UK run.
FRI 9:45pm, St Mary’s Church
Altameda
Folk/Americana storytelling songs from Canada.
FRI 10:15pm, Harbour Hotel Marine Room
Lyra
Bodhran-driven Celtic crossover, plus some huge vocals from the Irish singer
SAT 6pm, The Arch
Bess Atwell
Film-grain filtered folk/pop/soul with some very decent songwriting behind the ace vocals.
SAT 6:30pm, Unitarian Church
Wildwood Kin
Vocal folk trio (and Seth Lakeman collaborators) bring their gorgeous harmonies to town.
SAT 6:30pm, Jubilee Square
Brent Cobb
Nashville-based country-blues singer.
SAT 8:30pm Unitarian Church
Jane Weaver
Even though Jane’s more of an off-kilter psych-rock outfit these days, her excellent songwriting and vocals still hold on to folkier roots.
SAT 9:15pm, One Church
Åsgeir
Icelandic atmospheric folk/synth with very affecting (and effective) dynamics and soaring vocals.
SAT 9:45pm, The Arch
