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MUSIC

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

 


Friday

Acoustic Stage

14.00 Acoustic Stage Competition Winner

Stay tuned for details of the successful applicants from our spotlight on young acoustic acts!

 

14.35 Rachel Hill

Rachel Hill is a folk-inspired singer-songwriter whose effortless vocals have been described as ‘gorgeous commanding and enchanting’ (Indie Top 39). With her authentic and vulnerable lyricism Rachel’s songs come alive to create entrancing performances, especially with her mastery of live vocal looping. The clarity of tone within Rachel’s higher register allow her melodies to dance around effortlessly in a way which has been repeatedly likened to birdsong.

 

15.10 Acoustic Stage Competition Winner

Stay tuned for details of the successful applicants from our spotlight on young acoustic acts!

 

15.45 Acoustic Stage Competition Winner

Stay tuned for details of the successful applicants from our spotlight on young acoustic acts!

16.20 Reg Meuross

Fatea Best Male Vocalist 2013, FolkWords Best Album 2014, Song of 2017 (Faraway People), Soloist of the Year 2019 Folking.com

Reg’s clever and imaginative lyrics have earned him the title of  “Master Storyteller” (PennyBlack Music) and led Mike Harding (Mike Harding Folk Show) to introduce him onto the stage of The Royal Albert Hall as  “one of the finest singer-songwriters this country has produced”. Whether it’s a village hall or the Albert Hall, Reg brings to the stage a collection of extremely beautiful songs, performed with humour and depth, and sung with the voice of an angel. Reg has that rare gift of being able to touch people, through his songs and performance, on a really human level. His words and music paint pictures that remain with the listener long after the song has been sung.

 

Tolpuddle Fringe Tent

From 21.00 – DJ sets in the Tolpuddle Fringe

Martyrs' Marquee

19.00 Performers TBC

20.15 Reg Meuross – Stolen from God

With evidence of the slave trade across the South-West of England, and a real need for our history to be told, Reg Meuross has researched and written a song cycle ‘Stolen From God’ – a set of moving and thought provoking songs, with narration, to tell the challenging and often harrowing tales of the region’s past.

Recognised as a “true troubadour with a social conscience” by Mark Radcliffe, Reg Meuross has made it his life’s work to bring the stories of the oppressed, forgotten and misrepresented members of our human family to light.

“My task with Stolen From God has been to produce a song cycle of original songs telling the stories I’ve found, and to present a history of The South West’s involvement in Slavery in a way that will be easily accessible and will have impact – as a recorded album and a live show of songs performed by a diverse group of musicians: the great Master Kora player and Grio Jali Fily Cissokho, concertina player Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne and vocalist Jaz Gayle. The shows will be accompanied by a succinct history around each song.”

21.30 Kima Otung

Kima Otung, the exciting Welsh-Nigerian Pop/R&B artist, had a breakout year in 2022, highlighted by her showcase at the FIFA World Cup 2022 as a “Best of British” representative for UK music. This propelled her into the global spotlight alongside notable figures like Basement Jaxx.
Recognised by Google Arts & Culture and TRENCH as a Future Leader in Black British Music and Culture, Kima’s music aims to empower women and girls to be delusional when it comes to their self-belief, a message that has resonated in mainstream media.
Kima’s musical journey, which began at the Welsh National Youth Opera at age 14, has matured into a multi-instrumental talent with a sound enriched by classical and gospel influences. She is hailed as “stupidly talented”.

 

22.45 Alt Blk Era

Fierce, Raw & Unconventional! ALT BLK ERA are MOBO Award nominated, alternative music, sister duo, Nyrobi and Chaya, who break the rules by reaching outside of traditional expectations.

Their genre-bending music is filled with heavy basslines, electric guitars and tongue-twisting rap, where their softer tracks compile of dark strings, haunting harmonies and a chilling, circus-type vibe. Difficult to define, ALT BLK ERA’s eclectic sound will both delight and unnerve you.

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Saturday

Tolpuddle Fringe Tent

19.00 Tolpuddle Unplugged


Tolpuddle Unplugged is the festival’s best kept secret.
Nobody knows quite what will happen in the Fringe Tent on Saturday night, not even the hosts of this stage with no PA, no lighting and no running order but something special always does, as headline acts from other stages mix with walk-ups and festival regulars to perform completely unplugged to an audience prepared to expect the unexpected.
You never know who might turn up to sing a song or two.

 

 

Martyrs' Marquee

19.00 Naomi Bedford and The Ramshackle Band

Naomi Bedford’s unique voice has long gathered support from all corners of the musical fraternity.

Her emotive hybrid of plaintive British folk and high lonesome Americana has gained plaudits from such diverse artists as Peter Buck, Shirley Collins, Chris Difford, Linda Thompson, Iggy Pop and many others.

The Ramshackle Band are a revolving troupe of musicians that feature guitars, banjos, lap steel, harmonica, bass, percussion and rich harmonies, all of which combine to produce an entrancing folk/country/ceilidh hybrid that is all their own.

 

20.15 Dead Sheeran

Dead Sheeran is a solitary artist, well versed in the dark side of the Force. One man and a trusty laptop, a victim of lockdown blues. Scathing, raging, tender and hilarious.

“Protest and survival that you can dance to, whilst pissing yourself laughing -so that you don’t put your fist thru the screen every time Boris appears…” Louder Than War 7/11/20

 

21.30 Lady Nade

Lady Nade started writing poems and songs as a form of healing from grief, performing in venues across her native city of Bristol, her work developed into a calling to connect with her fans on a deeper level and help lead them through life’s complicated tapestry with the healing power of music. She pours creativity into every song, often lavishing them with a recipe to match.

Named one of Bristol’s most influential women of 2022, Lady Nade is continuing her rise as a multi-award winning eclectic Folk and Americana singer-songwriter. Her third album ‘Willing’ entered both the official Folk and Americana charts on its release. With the title track Single winning ‘UK song of the Year’ in the 2022 UK Americana Awards.

Her songs carry messages of love, loss, hope, relationships, friendships and the positive connection between music, well-being.

 

22.50 She Drew The Gun

 

Passionate, principled, and refreshingly plain-spoken, Louisa Roach will not be cowed into silence. As She Drew The Gun, the Wirral-based singer-songwriter has spent the last seven years cementing her reputation as a vital voice in the alternative scene, using punk-infused psych-pop as a vehicle for exposing injustice and for advocating for a fairer and more tolerant society. That message is more potent than ever on Behave Myself, her incendiary third album due in September 2021.

 

Open mic and poetry sessions

No advance booking – get your name on the board

Nestled in between the Fringe and the Workers Beer tent is a small stage where the great, the good and sometimes the “A* for effort come and showcase their talent. You might spot some rising starts here. We also have a great line up of performing poetry.  Why not give it a go?

12.00-13.00 Poetry
13.00-16.30 – Open Mic music

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Sunday

Main Stage

MC: Robb Johnson

Robb’s widely recognised as one of the UK’s finest songwriters.
He enjoys playing pubs, clubs, benefits, art centres, picket lines & Tolpuddle Festival.“An English original”, (Robin Denselow, the Guardian) … “a national treasure” (Mike Harding)…“one of this country’s most important songwriters (no argument!)” (fROOTS).

 

11.00 Mischa and his Merry Men

Mischa & His Merry Men are an ethically driven, collective of over 40 musicians, with songs crossing multiple genres, with many shows a completely unique line-up and experience.

They are known for getting crowds stomping at festivals or uplifting audiences with merry melodies at folk festivals across the country. If you want to come on a completely unique, musical and magical journey, come and enjoy the Merry Many!

 

11.55 FFTP

FFTP (Freedom for Travelling People), foot stomping Folk from Bristol’s Chezney Newman and Maxine Venton.
FFTP’s a folk duo with an edge, they’ll glow an ethos of having properly travelled the world and written tunes from experience, rather than having taken em out of a book… They deftly weave original tunes with world folk music that takes you away on a musical experience full of verses and melodies of love, hate, murder and mystery…
Their tunes narrate their adventures and are laced with the love two travelling companions share. Each gig is a journey, so go see them or die trying!!

 

13.00 Dakka Skanks

Meeting at music college in Brighton, this young band have pulled together so many influences, to take a classic ska rhythm into the 21st century. They blend established Jamaican dance rhythms, sprinkled with indie rock guitar and catchy choruses that give this band a truly fresh and new sound. Clara Byrne’s mesmerizing lead vocal cuts through like a wave of emotion, her lyrical content straight from the soul, with serious social issues explored through dramatic delivery.

 

15.45 NoGood Boyo

Dressed in attire resembling a steampunking Welsh Nana, and with their music mixing Welsh language songs with the sounds of 90s rave and nu-metal, NoGood Boyo are are ready to rave like it’s 1699.

NoGood Boyo take their genre-bending ‘trash-trad’ label from the purists out to stop them, and the traditional music they have proudly mashed, remixed and moulded in to a 21st Century sound. Their uniform consists of a boiler suit, sunglasses, and a traditional Welsh hat – seen only on biscuit tins and tacky merchandise at Barry Island until now.

They have never hidden away from their political or social beliefs – they also include speeches made by Aneurin Bevan in the 1940s in their performances, and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru is featured in the video for another of the band’s tracks.

They are the perfect balance between paying tribute to their Welsh heritage and all out recklessness.

 

16.45 Gonora Sounds

Gonora Sounds is a family band that has been busking on the streets of Zimbabwe since 2004. Entertaining thousands of commuters with their street beat dubbed Gonora Sounds by regular revellers. The band is led by blind singer/songwriter Daniel Gonora, a wizard on the guitar with his drumming protege son Isaac on drums. In recent years, the band has extended to include seasoned musicians such as Nelson “Mr Longman” Mutanda on lead guitar and Malizani Mbewe on bass. Daniel and Isaac’s street performances have garnered millions of views online, and a growing international fanbase.

The father and son duo feature in multi award winning documentary ‘You Can’t Hide From The Truth” which tells their story. For more than two decades, Daniel has pieced together a living for himself and his family, a disabled man playing for the world’s most beleaguered currency’s pocket change. He is one of the few remaining members of Zimbabwe supergroup Jairos Jiri Band, a group that tragically fell apart as successive members passed away since their heyday on the early 90s.

 

Martyrs' Marquee

11.00 Maria Tucker

The unique Maria Tucker, singer songwriter, is our very own Janis Joplin, saying it as it really is and pouring her heart into all her performances.
She sings not only cover songs making them her own but has a large repertoire of her own that tell about her support of many local social struggles. A true modern day bard!

 

1140 Bridget Hart

Bridget Hart (they/them) is a queer, working class writer, performer and creative producer.
Bridget has performed at a variety of events including Manchester Punk Festival, Shambala, Boomtown Fair, Audacious Women Festival, and probably your back garden circa 2011-16. In 2017 they released the debut pamphlet Better Watch Your Mouth with Burning Eye Books. Their work has also appeared in Paper & Ink Literary Zine, Untitled Writers, Dear Damsels, Ink, Sweat & Tears and Hollow Earth Zine.

 

1220 Anne-Marie Allen

Anne-Marie Allen is a BBC Introducing singer-songwriter whose unique musical style does not confine itself to one specific genre. Her lyrics are honest about the human condition, yet her music has an upbeat vibe that keeps audiences smiling. Her songs tell stories of freedom, capitalism, and human connection, presenting a lucid lyrical landscape with percussive guitar rhythms.
Her addictive hooks, melodies and original songs make audiences want to dance and wake up the next day singing her songs!

 

1300 Sam Draisey

Sam Draisey is a singer/songwriter from the West Midlands, England. His music has, in the classic singer/songwriter style, many influences and muses, with particular attention paid to the story telling qualities and political nature of his songs. His notable influences include Frank Turner, Damien Rice, Billy Bragg, Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Johnny Cash as well as other more traditional folk artists.

 

1545 Katie Grace Harris

Katie Grace Harris is a multi-tasking, foot tapping, piano, dulcimer and accordion player. She’s a singer and story-weaver with a fast-growing reputation in the UK Folk world. Her sound has been described as ‘earthy, spine tingling English Folk’.

Her repertoire ranges from gentle new arrangements of traditional songs alongside raw and exposed original compositions. Her well-crafted live sets combine historic legends and stories with a smattering of social justice to temper the mix.

Katie will be performing at Tolpuddle as a trio with Andy Nice on Cello and Jo Gill on fiddle & vocals.

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