Operates Friday 1pm – 11.30pm, Saturday 12 midday – 11.30pm and Sunday midday – 11pm.
Most artists perform on Stage 1 at some point. Stage 1 is housed with a huge marquee, in front of a large arena, with the main bar at one end. Viewing screens and delay towers are provided within the arena and many people like to sit outside the marquee in the sun, going into the marquee to see specific artists.
There is often space at the front of marquees to get closer to the artists.
Operates Thursday 6pm – 10pm, Friday 3pm – 11.30pm, Saturday 12 midday – 11.30pm and Sunday 12.30pm – 11pm.
Most artists, apart from some of the largest, appear on Stage 2 at some point. Stage 2 also hosts some special events such as a ceilidh, a session featuring some of the best instrumentalists booked to appear over the weekend and and a children’s concert. There is a also juggling workshop before the music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Stage 2 is housed within a marquee. If it is raining after the stages finish, sessions can take place within Stage 2.
Operates Thursday 6pm – 10pm, Friday 6pm – 11.30pm, Saturday 12 midday – 11.30pm and Sunday 12 midday – 11pm.
The Club Tent is a more intimate acoustic stage with its own bar at one end and place to discover unexpected delights. There is a concert on Thursday night, but on Friday, Saturday and Sunday it is hosted on the Festival’s behalf by five regional folk clubs, who present some of their regular guests and floor singers, alongside artists from the main bill and hugely popular Showcases. Over the years there have been some legendary surprise performances, for example Joan Baez joining a local Cambridge musician who she’d met previously at a local pub session.
The Club Tent also presents your chance to perform on stage, as there are a limited number of approximately fifteen minute slots for those attending the Festival. These fifteen minute slots are intended for people already attending the Festival and not for those wishing to attend purely to perform. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Signing up times are given in the Festival programme which will be available on site. If you’re a musician and coming to the festival, as well as taking part in the numerous sessions around the site, do sign up for a slot.
The Den is a stage for emerging talent and younger artists and audiences, located just round the corner from The Hub, away from the bustle of the main stages. It is a partnership between the Festival, Cambridge’s premier acoustic night The Living Room and former BBC Radio 2 Folk Club of the Year, The Nest Collective. It is set within a beautiful Indian marquee and decorated to create a quirky, welcoming and intimate space. In addition to booked artists, 15 minute slots are set aside daily for musicians attending the Festival. These slots will be allocated via a signing up system on site, details available in the Festival programme.
The Hub, located in a funky Bedouin tent next to the Folknet Café, is a music making area reserved for young people only. Here you will find sessions and workshops, with workshops leaders including some of the young artists booked to appear on the stages.
The People’s Front Room is a cosy new music venue, which you’ll find just off the main path in front of Cherry Hinton Hall. A melting pot of creativity, artistry and performance, combined in a strangely familiar yet surreal environment, it is run by a collective of artists and musicians. Drop in to listen or perform.
The Flower Garden is beautiful area in front of Cherry Hinton Hall intended for quieter forms of entertainment and music making, such as singarounds, storytelling and workshops. Musicians are welcome to use this area for quieter sessions, when there is not scheduled entertainment. This area closes at dusk.
The MOJO signing tent is hosted on the Festival’s behalf by staff from MOJO Magazine and is open throughout the weekend. Details of signings are announced from the stages and listed at the tent.
Impromptu music sessions by members of the audience are encouraged and take place all over the Festival site. They are a very important part of the Festival’s unique atmosphere and we thank these musicians for the great contribution they make towards the event. We do however ask that, late at night, musicians consider the local residents who live close by. Loud campsite noise is a threat to the future of the Festival.
Free internet access and a great cafe are located in the heart of the Cherry Hinton Campsite, at the Folknet Café.
A host of street theatre companies bring great walkabout characters and entertainers to both Cherry Hinton Hall and Coldhams Common on a daily basis.
