Manchester Folk Festival: five more artists you won’t want to miss as more gigs added to October event

Manchester Folk Festival is bringing a host of top roots music talent to the city this October - and the latest artists to be added to the bill have just been announced.

A packed programme is taking shape for three days of the very best in folk, roots and traditional music, with the festival this year being based around the Northern Quarter and its venues.

The second wave of 10 artists to be added to the festival, which takes place from 19 to 21 October, includes top talent from the folk music scene alongside up-and-coming and emerging artists. Manchester Folk Festival is organised by English Folk Expo and acts as a showcase for acoustic and traditional English musical acts.

To find out more about the festival. including how to purchase wristbands which are on sale, visit the Manchester Folk Festival website.

We’ve taken a look through the most recent announcement of who is playing in Manchester at the event and picked out five gigs you won’t want to miss out on.

Ríoghnach Connolly and Honeyfeet

BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year Rioghnach Connolly teams up with her musical companions in eclectic Manchester-based group Honeyfeet for an appearance which promises to be theatrical with complex, layered songs.

Rioghnach’s flute and voice joins Honeyfeet’s line-up of Lorien Garth Edwards on bass, Ellis Davies on guitar, John Ellis on keyboards, Biff Roxby on brass instruments and Phil Howley on drums. Both groups have varied musical influences, with Rioghnach’s sound including folk and traditional Irish music alongside influences from the deep south of America, while Honeyfeet’s sound covers everything from bluesy American folk to swing jazz.

The group re-opened the Albert Hall in Manchester in 2021 following the Covid-19 lockdowns and released their latest album It’s Been A While, Buddy in 2022. Their Manchester Folk Festival appearance is on the Friday (20 October) at Band On The Wall.

Martin Carthy and Jon Wilks

Martin Carthy is one of the best-known names in British folk music with a career spanning more than a half a century. He has 10 solo albums under his belt as well as dozens of albums released as part of partnerships with the likes of Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick, his wife, the legendary Norma Waterson, and his daughter Eliza Carthy, while his interpretation of traditional material, songwriting, singing and guitar playing have all made him a key figure in the English folk revival and the scene in the decades that followed it.

Now, at 82, folk fans have the unmissable opportunity to hear about his lifetime in music in a special evening in which Martin will be in conversation with his friend, the journalist, folk singer and fingerpicking guitarist Jon Wilks.

Martin will reminisce about his life and career while sharing stories from his time in music, and there will be plenty of musical interludes along the way. There will also be opportunities for audience members to ask him questions.

This special event takes place on the Friday (20 October) at Hallé St Peter’s in Ancoats.

Sam Lee

Sam Lee is a unique figure within the British folk music scene, combining being a singer, a song collector, a conservationist and a live events promoter.

His albums, which often include experimental and radical new takes on old folk songs, have been nominated for accolades including the Mercury Music Prize and he is also known for his work seeking out members of the Traveller communities across the UK to record and document the songs they know.

In addition Sam founded The Nest Collective, a folk club and events company that organises performances for acoustic and traditional musicians from around the world and also puts together immersive experiences where audiences get to enjoy music in unusual or unexpected locations. Sam also has a deep passion for the natural world and is heavily involved in the fight against the climate crisis, and is a founding member of Music Declares Emergency as well as working with Extinction Rebellion.

Music fans will get to see Sam’s take on traditional music when he performs on the Saturday (21 October) at Band On The Wall.

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly

Sam Duckworth, better known to music fans as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, is bringing his mixture of indie, folk and electroacoustic music to Manchester Folk Festival.

In a career spanning more than a decade and a half Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly has released six albums, with debut The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager from 2006 being gold certified and named on the best end-of-year lists by a number of music magazines. Musicians he has collaborated with include well-known folk artist and singer-songwriter Billy Bragg.

He will take to the stage at Band On The Wall on the Thursday (19 October) at the festival.

Lady Nade

Lady Nade is a Bristol singer-songwriter continuing to make a name for herself on the scene with an eclectic style of music influenced by both Americana and folk.

Her third album Willing entered both the official Folk and Americana charts on its release and she was named one of the most influential women in her home city in 2022.

Manchester fans will be able to hear her music on the Friday night (20 October) of the festival at Soup on Spear Street.