top of page
topof page
blue paint stripe.png
blue paint stripe.png
blue paint stripe.png
blue paint stripe2.png
blue paint stripe2.png
blue paint stripe.png
blue paint stripe4.png
blue paint stripe3.png
logo-design-transparent-2.png
D5D_0742-2.jpg
grey.png

Loads of Photos Here

blue paint stripe.png
blue paint stripe2.png
paint stripe 3 turq.png
paint stripe 3 turq.png
paint stripe 3 turq.png

The Gate To Southwell Festival

17th International Roots & Acoustic Music Festival

paint stripe 3 sky.png
paint stripe 3 sky.png
paint stripe 3 sky.png

4th to 7th July 2024

 

Prepare to be moved, surprised, and forever changed by the enchanting sounds that await you at this remarkable event. The Gate To Southwell Festival takes place from 4th to 7th July 2024, again in a beautiful lakeside setting at Kirklington where we've been since 2021, just outside Southwell, Nottinghamshire (England's most perfect market town, according to The Daily Telegraph in 2023).

If you haven't seen our new location there's a great photo gallery on the about us page here. We had glowing reviews - including from RNR Magazine which says "excellent cast list...too many good performances to mention. It has become a great favourite" and implores "if you haven't been already, try it"

We are a not-for-profit organisation run by enthusiastic and experienced volunteers who love staging what 2023 festival-goers described as "quite possibly the best small folk and roots festival in the UK"! Any surplus income we generate is ploughed straight back into future events. 

paint stripe 3 sky.png
paint stripe 3 sky.png
paint stripe 3 sky.png

News...

 

Follow us on Facebook too to keep up to date, and join our mailing list via the link at the bottom of the page. Our latest news posts are below.

 

Big news for 2024 is the introduction of a cover for our main stage (The Lake Stage). The Folk Stage remains in a marquee, and our third stage (The Frontier Stage) will still be fully open. See the about us page here.

paint stripe 3 sky.png
paint stripe 3 sky.png
paint stripe 3 sky.png

Line-Up 2024

Line-up

Here's the the first of 50+ acts to be booked...

2024

Rhiannon Giddens

Two-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning American singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens will be headlining on Saturday.“Without doubt one of the most important roots artists of her generation and the most significant booking we’ve ever made”

Saturday

Blue Rose Code...

...with the Big Caley Soul Band! Ross Wilson aka Blue Rose Code writes songs straight from – and to - the heart, addressing universal themes of love, loss, home and faith, and seamlessly blending folk, Americana, jazz, soul and pop influences into something truly unique.

Friday

Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening

“Wildly thrilling” The Guardian, “unexpectedly cosmic” MOJO. Winner of every award going, Kathryn Tickell leads her celebrated new group creating a unique and striking soundscape.

Thursday

Mànran

Internationally recognised as one of the most iconic and respected Scottish bands on the road today, the seven-piece line-up continues to push boundaries, "Mànran live are electric and quite simply unstoppable" Sunday Herald.

Sunday

The Haar

"spontaneous, alive and affecting, The Haar will take you on a journey and have you appreciating the purest of life’s pleasures" Folk Radio UK

Friday

Melrose Quartet

Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, Jess Arrowsmith & Richard Arrowsmith deliver a diverse folk repertoire – carousing chorus songs, lively dance tunes, ancient stories and modern pieces: this is music for everybody.

Friday

Reg Meuross

A true modern troubadour; contemporary English folk writing at its best. Captivating audiences with his beautiful tenor voice, and the breadth and depth of material

Sunday

An Dannsa Dub

Unique and unstoppable Scottish live act born out of a love for traditional Scottish folk, dub reggae and dance music, summoning the joyous, communal energy of a cèilidh and a sound system session!

Friday

Campbell/Jensen

Americans Ashley Campbell and Thor Jensen are strong instrumentalists and with the combination of Thor's deep baritone and Ashley's clear as a bell vocals, together they make a one of a kind blend.

Saturday

Cider with Molly

The Ciderhouse rebellion, Adam Summerhayes (fiddle) and Murray Grainger (accordion) are joined by stellar Irish singer Molly Donnery, as "Cider with Molly".

Friday

Stolen From God

Reg Meuross, Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and Suntou Susso perform Reg's incredibly powerful song cycle tackling England’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, unearthing both incredible tales and uncomfortable truths.

Sunday

Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra

Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra have been gleefully trampling over genre boundaries for over a decade now, chucking Western Swing, Blues, Country, Rock & Roll, Soul and more into their musical gumbo, but always sounding mostly just like themselves.

Day tbc

The Fugitives

A Canadian folk collective known for unforgettable live shows, brimming with complex harmonies, infectious storytelling and top-notch musicianship.

Saturday

Fire & Dust

A journey into the heart and soul of one of America’s finest folk musicians, Woodie Guthrie, highlighting racism, bigotry, corruption and inequality - Reg Meuross draws parallels between Guthrie’s time & our own. With Geraint Watkins

Sunday

The Shackleton Trio

Captivating songwriting and fiery tunes that combine mandolin, fiddle, guitar and banjo with powerful three part harmonies. The unmistakable sound of The Shackleton Trio brings to life the stories of their native East Anglia, and beyond.

Saturday and Sunday

Suntou Susso

Multi-instrumentalist: kora player, percussionist, singer and composer from The Gambia - nothing but good vibes combining the rich, traditional sound of his West-African Mandinka culture with Afro funk and soul.

Sunday

Charm of Finches

Australian sister-duo perform graceful and darkly bewitching folk-pop with harmonies that traverse melancholy and wonder in equal measure.

Thursday to Sunday

Catherine MacLellan

Born and raised in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, Catherine's songs reflect her deep connection to the land and the people that call it home

Sunday

Winter Wilson

Kip Winter and Dave Wilson bring a sense of intimacy to every performance, blending superb, often hard-hitting original songs, stunning harmonies and musicianship with sometimes hilarious humour and tales of life on the road.

Thursday to Sunday

Over the Moon

Canadian multi-instrumentalists Over the Moon feature vocal harmonies that are as sweet as you will ever have heard, from 40’s Western Swing and Appalachian Old-Time, to cowboy blues.

Friday and Saturday

Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne

‘Captivating, bold and striking’, and at the forefront of his generation of English folk musicians as both a powerful and commanding singer and a masterful player of the Anglo concertina and melodeon

Sunday

The Activators

11-piece band whose eclectic style transcends Ska, Reggae, Celtic, Punk and Dub, even venturing into Balkan folk and Tango. GTSF regulars now!

Sunday

Tara MacLean

Canadian singer/songwriter Tara MacLean has been an internationally renowned and award winning recording and touring artist for over 25 years.

Sunday

Frog on a Bike

Cambridgeshire’s Frog on a Bike have often been described as “The flat lands’ finest folk-rock ceilidh band” and are fast becoming a staple of the English ceilidh circuit, which includes many of the UK’s biggest folk festivals.

Saturday

The Great American Songbook

Festival artists come together to create our version of the GASB on Thursday on the Folk Stage, playing some of the classics of jazz, blues, country, folk and more - let us know the great songs you'd like to hear!

Thursday

Keith Donnelly

Keith is a very funny, globe-trotting, Geordie tall-tale-telling-singer-songwriter-guitarist and a regular at GTSF.

Saturday and Sunday

The Rye Sisters

The Lincolnshire have performed many times at GTSF with their Americana and folk-country songs in close harmony to guitar, mandolin and fiddle.

Days tbc

Slack Bird

Slack Bird is a Finnish folk-punk band, whose music is a take on Appalachian banjo, Finnish traditional music, and punk songs sung in both Finnish and English.

Sunday

Thomas Bradley Project

Talented folk-rock duo/trio from Liverpool writing and producing original material to create a sweetly melodic sound sometimes acoustic and sometimes rocked up to the max.

Friday and Saturday

Louise Rogan

Louise is singer and songwriter of the highest quality with her arrangements of traditional and original material which suit her “pure and soaring voice” (David Jones, Folk Northwest Magazine).

Thursday

Seb Stone

Traditional singer, whistle player and uilleann piper from the Peak District. In 2022 he won both the Future of Folk and Shantyman of the Year Awards at Bromyard Folk Festival

Thursday to Saturday

Banjo Jen Trio

Sheffield-based artist Banjo Jen is difficult to categorise but easy to fall for. Her unique brand of folky Americana, with insightful observations and an eclectic original repertoire, has seen her gain a growing reputation.

Friday

The Jolly Grogsters

Oxford's answer to all things shanty/folk with a twist of alluring pirate.  According to the band, the Jolly Grogsters are proof that jerk-bags make the best sea shanty bands!

Thursday to Sunday

Reuben & the Bridge

A charismatic duo from West Yorkshire, who make well-crafted, folk-tinged arrangements of an eclectic repertoire drawn from the last sixty years

Thursday to Sunday

The Phil Ashmore Band

Americana roots, folk and blues from guitarist and singer-songwriter, Phil Ashmore. Phil is no stanger to GTSF, having been at the last 2 festivals as part of Thursday night's Local Artist Showcase and has won many fans.

Days tbc

Becky Syson

Our Children's Area co-ordinator, and as well as this Becky is a talented singer/songwriter who ‘seems to radiate positivity.’

Various days tbc

4th to 7th July 2024

top of page

bottom of page