There will be an open mic session as part of the programme, providing an opportunity for emerging musicians to gain experience performing to a live festival audience. We’re really excited to announce the fourth year of our Festival at the Allendale Forge (Starting late morning on Saturday 26th September). If you are interested in performing, get in touch. Please contact Nick at avfolkfestival@gmail.com (Please put ‘Open Mic’ in subject line)

A date for your diary … The Last Brightness of Everything comes to Allendale! Singer-songwriter, Yvonne Lyon and song lyricist, Stewart Henderson, together with fellow contributor to the production, Carol Henderson bring their new song, poetry and narrative script collaboration, ‘The Last Brightness of Everything’ to St. Cuthbert’s Church, Allendale on Saturday 10th October at 7.30pm. Tickets: In advance from Eventbrite at £16.96, or £18.00 on the door, on the night, which in

We're vey excited to share our programme for the festival weekend with you ... Friday 25th September to Sunday 27th September 2026 Music & Dance Friday 15:00 Brewery Tours (Allendale Brewery) 16:00 Tap Room event at Allendale Brew Company (Allendale Brewery) 19:30 Rain of Animals (Allendale Village Hall) 21:00 Hilltop Hoolies (The King’s Head) 21:00 Joshua Burnside (Allendale Village Hall) 22:00 Dilutey Juice (The Lion House) Saturday morning and afternoon 10:30 Registration

We're really excited about our Spoken Word events at our festival this year. The programme is: Friday 25th September: Quillseekers’ Spoken Word and Poetry Evening with Alex Corrin-Tachibana (8:00pm at Emma’s Coffee and Sweets) Saturday 26th September: Workshop - The craft of storytelling through the exciting world of Young Adult fantasy with Katherine Livesey (2:00pm to 3:00pm at Allendale Youth Ambition) Sunday 27th September: Performances by Degna Stone and Tahmina Ali (Fro

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We love it! Thanks to Peter McGlynn for the fabulous design (and for all of the other great flyer designs over the years!) And thanks to Robson Print Ltd for printing our flyers and all of their support over the years too.

Our Annual General Meeting will take place at Allendale Village Hall at 7:30pm on Monday 27th July. You’re welcome to come along. (Photo by Anna of AM Photographics)

We are delighted to welcome James Delarre and Saul Rose back to Allendale on the evening of Thursday 25th of June. With the timeless combination of fiddle and box, James and Saul have been making music together for a long time now. The duo intertwine seamlessly; dancing around the tunes between the notes, finding space and air, and breathing fresh life and energy into the music. Tickets are £12 and available at Allendale Co-op and via the link below. Doors will open at 7:00pm

Described as “The future of Folk”, Banter take English traditional music to the next level with their iconic interpretations of classic songs and dance tunes. Equally in demand as a dance band, Banter will treat us to a ceilidh at Allendale Village Hall next week, on the evening of Thursday 18th June. Doors open at 7:00pm, with dancing from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Tickets are £12 and available online or via Allendale Co-op. Those aged 14 and under are free but must be accompanied b

Our festival features an exciting mix of workshops and guided walks designed for everyone. These are free of charge and anyone can join. No festival ticket is required. Spots fill fast, so book yours early. Guided Walks and Workshops on Friday 25th September A walk in the East Allen Valley with Christine Sherwood Meet at 1:00pm on Friday 25th September 2026 at Isaac’s Well. To reserve a place on this guided walk, please book here. Singing noisy folk songs with Paddy V

We are delighted to welcome James and Saul back to Allendale on the evening of Thursday 25th of June. With the timeless combination of fiddle and box, James and Saul have been making music together for a long time now. The duo intertwine seamlessly; dancing around the tunes between the notes, finding space and air, and breathing fresh life and energy into the music. Tickets are £12 and available at Allendale Co-op and via the link below. Doors will open at 7:00pm with the mus

Described as “The future of Folk”, Banter take English traditional music to the next level with their iconic interpretations of classic songs and dance tunes. Equally in demand as a dance band, Banter will treat us to a ceilidh at Allendale Village Hall on the evening of Thursday 18th June. Doors open at 7:00pm, with dancing from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Tickets are £12 and available online or via Allendale Co-op. Those aged 14 and under are free but must be accompanied by an adult

We’re excited that DILUTEY JUICE will be playing on the Friday night of our festival (on Friday 25th September). North-East Drum and Brass pioneers DILUTEY JUICE first came together in the summer of 2020 as a response to the covid pandemic, to satisfy their thirst to make music together, and a need to send positive vibrations out into the community. DILUTEY JUICE take inspiration from a plethora of influences, performing fast and energetic Afro-Beat combined with euphoric hou

This year's festival is sold out and we are looking forward to welcoming those of you that were fortunate enough to buy tickets for the 2026 Allen Valleys Folk Festival in September. Let’s hope the weather is kind to us. We understand some of you are disappointed about missing out on tickets and we are so sorry we cannot do more. Ours is a small village based festival, organised and run by volunteers. We book about a dozen bands and artists for the festival weekend. We use ou

We are incredibly excited to announce that Johnny & Lillie Flynn will be performing on the Sunday afternoon of our festival weekend. This is a fabulous opportunity to experience a unique performance of music from brother and sister, Johnny & Lillie Flynn. Singing together in a special, small space with harmonies shaped by a shared childhood filled with the same family records spinning in the background. As they put it themselves: “We’ve always sung together. And we want to ce

Another fantastic booking for the Allen Valleys Folk Festival is confirmed. Tamsin Elliott and Tarek Elazhary are taking to our stage on the Saturday afternoon our festival. Tamsin’s critically-acclaimed collaboration with Egyptian oud player Tarek Elazhary explores the parallels and celebrates the idiosyncrasies of Egyptian Maqam music and English folk traditions. Their friendship and resulting duo album So Far We Have Come is a testament to the unifying power of music, and

“This is not a dyed-green-Guinness-and-a-bit-o’-craic Ireland, this is the coast of Connemara Ireland, this is watching the fog roll in around The Skellig Islands Ireland… Devastatingly beautiful” Bristol 24/7 This St. Patrick’s Day, we are thrilled to announce that The Haar will be playing on the Sunday afternoon of the Allen Valleys Folk Festival. The Haar brings the fresh talent of traditional Irish singer Molly Donnery combined with three of the most exciting instrument

We’re excited that Rain of Animals will be playing on the Friday night of our festival (on Friday 25th September). Rain Of Animals is the euphonious collaboration between Pepita Emmerichs (Oh Pep!) and Theodore Barnard (Wire & Wool) and their love of all things mandolin, fiddle, guitar, harmony vocals, bluegrass, oldtime, trad, improvisation, tunes and songs. Their sound is both new and old, unique in its instrumental wizardry and musical integrity all at once. Since the rele

We’re excited that Wear’d Aliens will be playing at our family ceilidh again this year on the Saturday afternoon of our festival (on Saturday 26th September). Wear’d Aliens was established in 2019, inspired by the rediscovery of the Collingwood Collection, a family tune book tracing over 100 years of musical heritage in Weardale. Together with an ever-expanding group of young musicians, they breathe new life into distinctly local music that had lain hidden in a dusty corner o

“Seriously stylish playing that’s putting the sparkle back into the tradition” Verity Sharp, Late Junction We are really excited to be announcing that Methera will be performing on the Sunday afternoon of our 2026 festival. Methera is a unique ensemble: a string quartet with roots firmly planted in English traditional music. Their national tours, BBC Radio 3 broadcasts and collaborations have helped them establish a reputation as a scintillating live act, blazing a trail thr