Liverpool Folk and Roots Festival is a celebration of the history, social significance and abiding presence of folk music in Liverpool.
But what do we mean by “folk music”?
For our purposes, we consider folk music to be “Music of The People”; Music that concerns itself with real people's lives, loves, triumphs and tragedies; Music that tells the story of our collective past, the history of our humanity, or to put another way “our roots”
Music has always been at the very centre of Liverpool's cultural identity and the city's rich and varied history has served to add further depth resonance to the music the city has produced. All styles of folk and roots music have made their presence felt in Liverpool's music scene over the years - and it is this diversity of influence that has enabled the city to create so much and such variety of quality music.
But folk music is not a thing of the past. It is as much a part of Liverpool's music scene now as it has ever been...
Whether you're looking for murder ballads, sea shanties, protest songs, traditional Irish music, soulful blues, alt-country or toe-tappin' bluegrass, it is their to be found in any numbers of bars, clubs and pubs all over the city and on any day of the week.
Through this years festival programme we have aimed to reflect some proportion of the vibrant diversity of Liverpool's abundant musical heritage and demonstrate that “folk music” of all styles and origins are still the heart of Liverpool's cultural identity.
Kind regards,
The Random Family
Festival Curators