Following his sell-out talk last year, David returns to the Lansdown Hall with an all-new show at based on his latest prehistory photo project, ‘Barrowlands’.

Neolithic long barrows and Bronze Age burial mounds were frequently built at inter-visible locations on hilltops and alongside rivers or springs, forming ‘ceremonial landscapes’ that may still be discerned today. David has been seeking out these forgotten ‘Barrowlands’ in Devon, the Mendips, South Dorset, West Wales and the Cotswolds, creating sequences of astounding new aerial images that reveal how these sacred places often referred to particular features in the landscape, interlaced by long-distance pilgrimage routes.

Come and discover a whole new perspective on the British countryside through the powerful new medium of aerial photography.

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS, BOSS MORRIS!

DOUBLE HEADLINER NIGHT at The Prince Albert, Stroud.

Wielding the distinct voices of fiddle, concertina and double bass, the Grace Smith Trio brings together three like-minded musicians to create one dynamic and expressive musical dialogue. 

Also performing is Archie Churchill-Moss, who is widely regarded as one of the best players of English Traditional Folk. 

Link to tickets here >>> https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theprincealbert1/986547

Manchester Folk Festival is produced by the English Folk Expo (EFEx) team. EFEx supports the English folk, roots and acoustic music sector through a variety of projects and initiatives. To learn more about EFEx and our work please visit englishfolkexpo.com

Our Show timings: There will be three 20 minute performances throughout the day at 1.30pm, 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

Please note:
This is an outdoors event. The event will take place at Cutting Room Square, which is located just outside Hallé St Peter's.

Mind Expansion Pack 2.0 is a two day celebration at DEYA Brewery, bringing together a heady mix of electric and experimental musicians and DJs for a package of sublime sounds and surprises.

We’ll be dancing on 10th June 4pm & 5:30pm

https://ra.co/events/1646709

Wap Day. Traditional costumed procession meet at War Memorial 12:30pm
Fayre on the Green from 1pm (Parking from noon)

The Frome Independent is an award winning, destination street market. We reclaim Frome’s high street once a month to showcase the best independent craftspeople, designers, makers, food producers and vintage traders in the South West.

The market takes place on the first Sunday of the month from March to December and strives to be ‘more than a market’, incorporating live music, DJs, street performance, workshops and activities for children and adults alike on market days.

The market is a free event for visitors and has quickly grown to be one of the most significant elements in the region’s calendar attracting over 80,000 visitors each year.

Every spring, swifts fly more than 6,000 miles from Africa to return to their nesting sites. Stroud Swift Group and Stroud Valleys Project (SVP) are joining forces with the all-female dance troupe to give the swifts a warm welcome as they begin to arrive back in the district. The event, which takes place at SVP’s eco shop in central Stroud on Saturday, May 6, will offer visitors the opportunity to learn more about this remarkable bird, which spends its life on the wing, apart from the few weeks each year when it raises its chicks.

‘Sadly, these amazing birds are in trouble and are now red-listed,’ explains Gill Stacey of Stroud Swift Group. ‘Figures suggest that the swift population has declined by nearly 60% in the last 25 years. One major factor is the loss of nesting sites. Swifts depend almost entirely on our buildings, squeezing into small nooks and crannies under roof tiles or soffits. When older buildings are refurbished, these tiny openings are often sealed up and the nest sites are lost; and newbuilds often don’t have places for swifts to nest.’

As well as watching dancing, visitors to the Welcome Back Our Swifts stall outside SVP’s eco shop between 9.30am and 2pm will be able to create their own simple swift kites, hear the unique scream of the swift, and find out what we can all do to keep swifts thriving.

Every spring, swifts fly more than 6,000 miles from Africa to return to their nesting sites. ‘Our stall will feature bunting decorated with the distinctive shape of the swift, painstakingly created by our friend from Cirencester Swift Group, Cherry Hubbard,’ says Gill. ‘Cherry has also been hard at work on a special swift puppet.

‘It’s hard to say exactly when the swifts will return. It’s a long, tough journey for them and they can be affected by unpredictable weather. But in the coming weeks, we’ll be anxiously watching the skies, for the first sight of their instantly recognisable sickle-shaped wings and the unmistakable sound of their screams.’

Get ready for an evening like no other as Afterhours returns. An extraordinary occasion when the historic house and grounds of Compton Verney open at night; revealing a plethora of acts from silent discos to exclusive curator tours of galleries.

This year you can expect music and all-inclusive activities alongside access to our Making Mischief and Tudor Mysteries exhibitions. Some of our After Hours program includes:

• Mr. Wilson’s Second Liners | A traditional New Orleans Second Line with a Northern Spin, paying homage to the diehard days of the Hacienda, 90s club culture and its greatest hero, Mr Tony Wilson. The result will be an anarchic, street theatre extravaganza, bursting with colour and sound, rallying impromptu raves on street corners and rousing audiences young and old into a joyful frenzy.

• Boss Morris | An all-female Morris Dancing Side, made up of professional performers, dancers, musicians, artists and a horde of magical beasts who create tailored performances for vibrant and exciting events. Bring your bells and whistles, because Boss Morris will be offering a workshop where visitors can learn some Morris dancing moves, suitable for all ages and abilities. Book workshop tickets here.

• Silent Disco | Immerse yourself into our exhibitions and collections with our silent disco. Grab a pair of wireless headphones from the entrance hall and choose from three different channels, exploring the sounds of folk traditions across the country and the music scenes that have emerged in response.

• Bourton Trombone Quartet | Upstairs discover the sounds accompanying our new touring exhibition Tudor Mysteries. The quartet from the Bourton Bones Trombone Choir will perform Tudor, Renaissance dance and secular music by British composers such as Matthew Locke, William Byrd, Thomas Morley, and even Henry VIII, as well as the famous Dutch Renaissance composer Tielman Susato. Such music was regularly performed in the renaissance period by trombones, then known in Britain as sackbuts!

• Making Mischief Curators In Conversation | Learn more about the fascinating folk customs and unique costumes represented in Making Mischief with the exhibition curators: Simon Costin and Mellany Robinson, of the Museum of British Folklore; Professor Amy de la Haye, London College of Fashion; and Oli McCall, Compton Verney.

These are just some of the activities on offer as you explore the house, permanent collections, touring exhibitions and grounds, all for less than a normal day ticket!

May Day Dawn Dance

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We’ll be setting our alarms super early & welcoming in the summer with our friends Miserden Morris, Monday May 1st.

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Come & find us on Rodborough Common at around 5:30am for some dancing, singing & Jacky-in-the-Green adorning.

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We’ll process back to The Prince Albert , Stroud, where they’ll be opening their doors at 7am ‘specially for early risers & putting on coffee & a bit o’breakfast. It’s the last day of their beer festival so come & support them. They’ll be open until 7pm & have Tarot readings from 2pm!!

We’re joining Stone Club for their DJ set at midnight in the Stroud Subscription Rooms.

We’re so excited to head to Charleston House for their Festival of the Garden. We’ll be running a dance workshop on Friday July 15th 6:15pm. Come & find us for a hop!

“Join us for ceilidh (barn dancing) and maypole dancing to live music, plus tradition-busting performances from the visually stunning and eclectic Boss Morris. As ever, you can take part in folk-inspired arts and crafts with Shelagh McCarthy, find activities held in our beautiful garden led by Permaculture and more.”

Limited tickets available on the door, advanced booking recommended. No unaccompanied children. https://www.efdss.org/whats-on/26-gigs/11034-may-in-a-day

We’re celebrating Beltane at Butser Ancient Farm this year. Check out their website for more details. https://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/whats-on/beltain-festival-2022

We’re joining Orbury Common for their album launch at the SVA Goodshed. Spread across two days, we’ll be performing on the Friday night. Check out the SVA website for more details. Orbury Common — SVA | Stroud Valleys Artspace

Orbury Common’s  album launch for their debut release “The Traditional Dance of Orbury Common” which is out on 1st May.  Orbury Common, recently signed to Prah Recordings, is a project is led by Bristol and Stroud-based musicians Josh Day-Jones and Emlyn Bainbidge, with Orbury Common becoming a space for the intermingling of folk ritual and electronic production. With special guests: Unicorn Ship Explosion, Spirit Blue, Moina Moin, Dekalog, Mermaid Chunky, Boss Morris, Dougal Kirkland, Mould Collective, Thistle by Nature and Polly Armond.

Friday: Free

We’re joining our good friends Alex Rex at the Prince Albert in Stroud for a small hop. Get yer tickets here https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theprincealbert1/639328/

Martin Green (Lau) warmly invites you all to Bring In The May; come and celebrate the changing seasons and the revolutions of the Earth.

For thousands of years people have gathered at dawn to celebrate the changing of the seasons, and for unknown hundreds of those years people have done this through the medium of morris dancing. Join us in celebrating The First of May, The People’s day.

Traditionally morris teams dance in the dawn on May Day and once again lockdown won’t stop them. The ground-breaking Boss Morris will lead massed dancing for any who wish to join them; Eliza Carthy will join from Yorkshire for a song; Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span) will lead the singing of the May song Hal-an-Tow; and Ghanaian dancer Adie Baako will join Martin in Scotland for a traditional dance marking the changing of the seasons.

Wear Green for The Earth and Red for Its Struggles. All welcome to join from home (muted!) as we celebrate together; apart but not alone.

For those who want to join in at home, your ticket confirmation will include a link to download Boss’s patented Hot Rum recipe, song lyrics for the morning, and notation for a massed May Carol which will be pre-recorded – please do submit a recording yourself if you’d like to.

In a new documentary for BBC Radio 4, Lau accordionist and Ivor Novello Award-winning composer Martin Green embarks on a very personal exploration of the ancient associations of music and dance with altered states of consciousness. Dancers at Dawn traces a line from Martin’s early noughties rave epiphany back to his childhood memories of a dawn Morris dance, both events having taken place by Wandlebury Hill, a site rich in ancient myth. 

Dancers at Dawn will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 29 April at 11:30am, then available via BBC Sounds. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vhkf

Live to your Living Room are delighted to produce this event in partnership with Lepus Productions and Oxford Contemporary Music.

Martin Green’s personal exploration of the ancient associations of music and dance with altered states of consciousness. Dancers at Dawn traces a line from Martin’s early noughties rave epiphany back to his childhood memories of a dawn Morris dance, both events having taken place by Wandlebury Hill, a site rich in ancient myth.

Boss make an appearance.. tune in to hear Thursday April 29th at 11:30pm

Following on from two critically acclaimed solo albums, Alex Rex returns to Celtic Connections for the exclusive launch of his new album ANDROMEDA. The founding member of Trembling Bells will perform songs of love, loss and loathing and is joined by special guest Mike Heron (Incredible String Band).