Key to events:
Festival or special event
Concert
Dance
Workshop/ Session
Music and spoken word
Children’s event
Folk Club
► Click on the headline for more information and ticket link
January 2026
Saturday 10th January
Hekety Ceilidh at Crookes Social Club
Doors 7.30PM, With caller Ian Nichols. TICKETS
Saturday 17th January
Ashley Hutchings and Blair Dunlop House Concert at Live at Sam’s
Ashley’s son Blair Dunlop joins his father for this very special evening. A BBC Folk Award-winning singer-songwriter in his own right, the pair will reflect on a very special musical relationship in chat, music and song.
Ashley Hutchings ‘The Guvnor’ formed Fairport Convention in 1967, a group that went on to invent British folk-rock with the album Liege & Lief – an album that was voted the ‘Most Important Folk Album of All Time’ by BBC Radio 2 listeners in 2002, and at the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards it won the award for Most influential Folk Album of all time. Doors 7.30PM TICKETS
February 2026
Monday 2nd February
Julie Murphy and Ceri Rhys Matthews House Concert House Concert at Live at Sam’s
Julie Murphy ( voice and shruti ) and her partner Ceri Rhys Matthews ( flute ) who met at art school in 1979 are founder members of groundbreaking Welsh folk group fernhill. Together they perform traditional songs from Wales, England and beyond, with particular emphasis on the music and poetry of West Wales. Their exquisite musical evocations of landscape and culture are timeless and universal and their musical rapport is breath for breath.
They have toured worldwide and their music has been featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Late junction, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Alba, BBC Radio 2 and stations across Europe.
Julie has just released a limited edition double vinyl celebrating a 30 year musical journey which includes work with fernhill, other musical collaborations and her own songwriting.. Doors 7.30PM TICKETS
Saturday 7th February
Gaelforce at Crookes Social Club
Gaelforce – superb Celtic folk rock band with fiddle, bagpipes, electric guitar, bass & drums. Traditional songs & music given a folk rock treatment. Doors 7PM Tickets
Sunday 8th February
Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman + Brown Boots at Alder Bar
New Musical Traditions Club Doors 7.30PM TICKETS Dave and Anni joined forces in 1985, after spending many years around the folk club scene, in which time they featured on several albums made by other performers.
Although Dave and Anni perform substantially at home in the UK they also make at least one trip each year to the United States, where they have an established following and have also performed in Holland, Denmark and Finland.
Anni has developed a specialist repertoire of songs originating from her native North East, and Dave has been writing songs in traditional vein since 1982 many of these are widely sung and have become part of the general song repertoire of singers all over the world.
Brown Boots features Martin Clarke on fiddle and Will Allen on box. They are both highly accomplished and musicians individually and together, equally at home playing tunes with friends in the pub as performing on a festival main stage.
They came together for a gig at the Man of Kent in Rochester, having previously met at Shrewsbury Folk Festival. Musically it immediately seemed to click, and an audience member commented on their choice of footwear, so the duo’s name was set.
Since then Will and Martin have made two duo albums together, performed at all the main UK folk festivals, played for countless ceilidhs and have collaborated to form a multi-award winning partnership playing for Tower Ravens rapper sword dancers.
Thursday 12th February
Holly Clarks and George Sansome House Concert House Concert at Live at Sam’s
After their initial collaboration as part of Queer Folk, Holly Clarke and George Sansome found their musical chemistry to be undeniable. Their shared passion for traditional songs and their remarkable stage presence quickly became apparent to those who had witnessed their first performance, that this was a duo in the making.
As they pick their way through some of their favourite traditional songs, Holly Clarke and George Sansome are continually exploring innovative ways to arrange the music between their instruments. Their goal is to create arrangements that not only showcase their individual talents but also highlight the unique synergy and connection they have when playing together. Doors 7.30PM TICKETS
Saturday 14th February
Powerhouse Ceilidh Band: The Anti-Valentines Ball at Crookes Social Club
This February 14th, instead of battling to reserve a table at an overpriced and overcrowded restaurant, why not head to Crookes Social Club and hurl your partner (or a total stranger, we won’t judge) around the dancefloor to Powerhouse’s extremely romantic high-octane folk rock/metal ceilidh music? TICKETS
EFDSS Broadside Day– Conference at University of Sheffield
Organised by the Traditional Song Forum with the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, the Broadside Day is a conference for people interested in street literature in all its fascinating aspects, held at the University of Sheffield. The Broadside Day is the annual one-day conference for people interested in Street Literature and Cheap Print in all its fascinating aspects – broadsides, chapbooks, songsters, woodcuts, engravings, last dying speeches, catchpennies, news (real and fake), almanacs, carol sheets, wonder tales, and all kinds of cheap printed ephemera sold or distributed to ordinary people in the streets and at fairs, from pedlars’ packs, and in back-street shops, up and down the country. TICKETS
Sunday 15th February
The English Fiddle Ensemble at Walkley Community Centre 2.30PM
The English Fiddle Ensemble is a distinguished folk group featuring Bryony Griffith, Jim Boyle, Ross Grant, and Rosie Butler-Hall. Each member is an accomplished fiddler, bringing their unique style and regional influences to the ensemble. Together, they celebrate the rich tapestry of English fiddle music, delivering performances that are both authentic and invigorating. TICKETS This concert was rearranged from October.
Bridge & Boden – Bed & Breakfast Album Launch at Shakespears
Will Bridge (fiddle and vocals) and Jackie Boden (melodeon) debut their new album “Bed & Breakfast” at Shakespeare’s in Sheffield. TICKETS
Tuesday 17th February
The English Fiddle Ensemble Album Launch at Highfied Trinity Church, London Road.
A distinguished folk group featuring Bryony Griffith, Jim Boyle, Ross Grant, and Rosie Butler-Hall. Each member is an accomplished fiddler, bringing their unique style and regional influences to the ensemble. Together, they celebrate the rich tapestry of English fiddle music, delivering performances that are both authentic and invigorating. TICKETS
Wednesday 18th February
Filkin’s Drift at Cafe #9
Filkin’s Drift reimagine traditional melodies through pizzicato grooves, intricate guitar tunes, and boundless improvisation. Their 870 mile foot-powered-tour, described as ‘committed and fascinating’ by BBC 6 Music’s Cerys Matthews, has recently propelled them into the spotlight. This radical approach to sustainable touring has earned the duo global attention from major news outlets including BBC News, Billboard, The i, Radio New Zealand, Canadian Broadcasting Company, and The Times. TICKETS
Thursday 19th February
Spiers and Boden at Firth Hall
Spiers & Boden have been at the forefront of the English traditional folk scene for 25 years both as aground breaking duo and as founder members of folk phenomenon Bellowhead. Colour chord harmony workshop before the gig. TICKETS
March 2026
Sunday 1st March
Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening at Firth Hall 7PM
Based in the shadow of Hadrian’s Wall yet reaching out to the wider world, Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening explore the connecting threads of music, landscape and people over a period of almost 2000 years. Songs range from themes of freedom, nature and venturing out into the world after times of darkness, to a Roman inscription with links to Libya and Syria magnetically pulled into the 21st century with glorious vocal harmonies and the wildest of piping. TICKETS
Saturday 7th March
Raise your Voice Harmony Festival at Crookes Social Club Sat 7th & Sun 8th
Welcome to the third festival of a cappella vocal harmony hosted by Melrose Quartet, who will be inviting some of their favourite singers The Wilsons, The Melsons (Melrose and Wilsons combined!), and special guests Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman and Janice Burns & Jon Doran to join them in Sheffield for a weekend of concerts, workshops and social singing gatherings. TICKETS
Sunday 8th March
Thomas McCarthy+ Sandra & Nancy Kerr at Alder Bar
New Musical Traditions Club Doors 7.30PM TICKETS Thomas McCarthy was born in the town of Birr, County Offaly, in the Irish midlands into a well respected Irish Traveller family. His grandfather was known as a “seanachie” which is an Irish term for someone with a profound orally derived knowledge of the history and families of Ireland. Thomas learnt his crafts of singing and storytelling from his mother, aunts and uncles.
Sandra Kerr has had a long and distinguished career in folk music since her days with Ewan MacColl’s Critics Group, has performed all over the world, and recorded numerous albums too. Well known as the co- writer, with John Faulkner, of the music for “Bagpuss”,
Sandra is joined by her daughter Nancy Kerr. Nancy is one of the most celebrated folk musicians of her generation, and has to date won 6 Folk Awards from BBC Radio 2:
Friday 13th March
Peter’s Field – Sean Cooney, Rowan Rheingans & Sam Carter at Upper Chapel
Peters Field – an epic musical chronicle that tells the story of one of the most important days in working class history. 7.30PM TICKETS
Tuesday 17th March
The Dubliners Encore – Official Stage Show at Sheffield City Hall
The Dubliners Encore is the official stage show celebrating the greatest folk band of all time. Produced by The Dubliners’ John Sheahan; renowned fiddle player and legendary Irish icon, this new show packs 50 years of songs, stories, and craic, into one unforgettable night. TICKETS
Sunday 22nd March
Emily Portman at The Greystones
Emily Portman and friends, album launch TICKETS
April 2026
Sunday 12th April
Jerry O’Reilly & Rosie Davis + Macdara Yeates at Alder Bar
New Musical Traditions Club Doors 7.30PM TICKETS Jerry O’Reilly is one of Dublin’s best known traditional singers. In 2003 he released his first solo C.D. called “Down From Your Pulpits, Down From Your Thrones”. His second album, “Havoc In Heaven” was launched in early 2012 and has been described by The Irish Times as “a strapping collection which will fuel repertoires from Stonybatter to Sneem”. Rosie Davis was born in Woolton near Liverpool, and has been singing and dancing from the age of three.
Macdara Yeates (‘Dara’ for short) is a traditional folk singer from Dublin, Ireland. Described by the Irish Music Magazine as “a deep and powerful performer”, Macdara is known for his booming baritone renditions of Irish folk songs, ranging from traditional ‘big’ songs, songs of Dublin dock workers, and lesser-known ballads from his native inner-city Dublin. Born and raised in the Irish capital, Macdara is one of a crop of singers associated with the recent resurgence of young singing talent in the city
Thursday 16th April
Sam Carter at Bishop’s House
Sam Carter’s spring tour celebrates the release of The Oakham Poacher (2025), his first solo collection of traditional songs; some captured on record for the very first time. The EP highlights Carter’s distinctive fingerstyle guitar and storytelling flair, arriving soon after his acclaimed album Silver Horizon (2024), a Top 40 Folk Chart success and one of KLOF Mag’s Albums of the Year. TICKETS
Saturday 25th April
Scott Doonican ONE MAN SHOW at The Lantern Theatre
Expect silliness, shenanigans, singalongs and stories a-plenty. TICKETS
Wednesday 29th April
Jethro Tull at City Hall
One of the world’s most successful and enduring Progressive Rock bands. The Jethro Tull brand has continued to this day, as writer, producer, flautist, vocalist and occasional guitarist, Anderson leads the band with boundless energy. TICKETS
May 2026
Sunday 10th May
Peter & Barbara Snape + Jeff Warner at Alder Bar
New Musical Traditions Club Doors 7.30PM TICKETS Peter and Barbara Snape are a very popular duo from the North West of England with a repertoire that is distinctly ‘northern’ in nature and liberally sprinkled with the ‘feel-good’ factor. Barbara’s versatile singing voice is full of character with both the sensitivity to move you with tales of hardships or sentimental love songs and the robustness to belt out invigorating, earthy numbers with such confidence that you will feel compelled to join in. Peter’s well-crafted accompaniments on the melodeon give life to the songs and the occasional dance tune will certainly set your feet tapping.
Jeff Warner is among the nation’s foremost performer/interpreters of traditional music. His songs from the lumber camps, fishing villages and mountain tops of America connect 21st century audiences with the everyday lives–and artistry–of 19th century Americans. “Providing more than just rich entertainment, Jeff will leave you with a deeper appreciation of the land you live in” (Caffé Lena, Saratoga, NY). His songs, rich in local history and a sense of place, bring us the latest news from the distant past. Jeff grew up listening to the songs and stories of his father Frank Warner and the traditional singers his parents met during their folksong collecting trips through rural America. He accompanied his parents on their later field trips and is the editor of his mother’s book, Traditional American Folk Songs: From the Anne and Frank Warner Collection.