Getting to CambridgeCambridge Festival Travel has lots of info on getting to Cambridge and getting around the Folk Festival by bike, foot, bus and other means. Aiports
Other London Airports
Train Stations
Other Train Stations
Bus StationsCambridge Drummer Street Bus Station is between Parkside Street and Parker’s Piece Park. Other Bus Stations / Park & Ride
Cambridge Festival Shuttle BusShuttles run to/from:
Distances to/from Cherry Hinton Hall
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—options: Camping extra, Low-income tickets |
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Prices in the table are quoted in GBP
Buy Cambridge Folk Festival Tickets
Three ways to book Cambridge Folk Festival tickets
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Cambridge Folk Festival
Cambridge, UKCherry Hinton Hall Park
52.186143,0.163612
type of festival
music
blues, jazz, pop, rock, folk, country, world, avant-garde & experimental, r&b / soul / funk, rock & roll, acoustic & instrumental
other events
theatre: street performance, comedy & cabaret, off; art: visual arts & installations; culture: world-class multigenre
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ADVERTISING
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Cambridge Folk Festival: Folksy ChicCambridge Folk Festival earned its reputation as one of the world’s greatest folk festivals with a half century of eclectic line-ups including Irish folk by The Clancy Brothers, Scottish folk by Alex Campbell, rock-blues-folk by Van Morrison, pop-rock-alternative-folk by Sinéad O’Connor, world folk by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, trendy-folk-rock by Jake Bugg plus a host of genre-blending artists who’ve rejuvenated folk with a sexy-chic vibe. Cambridge folk fest is funky, fashionable, family-friendly and intimate, with headline acts on marquee-covered stages, cosy tents where attendees may perform, and an arty ambiance with roving theatre, impromptu music sessions, food, bars, a kid’s zone and camping at Cherry Hinton Hall in Cambridge England. |
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It’s folk and it’s chic! One of the world’s funkiest folk festivals - 4 days of roots-rock-pop-folk-world headliners amidst a lush park setting on stages under marquee tents with roving theatrical performers, workshops, music sessions, craft traders, food stalls, bars, and campsites at Coldhams Common & Cherry Hinton Hall - an event so popular that attendance is limited to 10,000. After half a century of eclectic line-ups, from Scottish, Irish and Celtic ballads to indie-rock-folk-funk, CFF continues drawing crowds as diverse as its artists.
Cambridge Folk Festival began in 1965 with Irish-folk-revival and Celtic music by the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, bluegrass-folk-rock with The Strawbs (+ an appearance by Paul Simon) for 1,400 fans. Though continuing with Irish folk by The Dubliners & Scottish folk revivalist Big Daddy Alex Campbell + Steeleye Span, it eventually got jazzier & rockier with Pentangle, Maynard Ferguson, Indigo Girls & Billy Bragg. Then came country with The Mavericks & world beats by Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Zulu-style mbube vocalists), and back to folksy with an alternative pop-rock twist via Sinéad O’Connor. Headline acts have included Van Morrison, Frank Turner, Mumford & Sons, The Waterboys, Newton Faulkner, Laura Marling, plus trendy-indie-folk with Jake Bugg and intimate Irish folk-rock moments with Cara Dillon and newcomer Hudson Taylor.
Cambridge Folk Festival is folk-rock-world-music in a lush park in Cambridge UK!
Genre-blending headline artists makes the Cambridge folk music festival one of the most popular in the UK, and the lush setting of Cherry Hinton Hall park (which includes a lake….I mean… a duck pond) is lovely and eco-friendly (CFF has won the Greener Festival Award for 6 years), and ticket sales being limited make it all the more alluring, but the covered areas & tents make it intimate and that allows for participation. That’s it. The Cambridge festival stands out because people participate… in fact, anyone who wants can sign up for their very own fifteen minutes of fame!
The two main stages are open-air, but one is covered with a giant marquee tent – so it’s dry even if it’s wet, and both are used mostly for headline acts. But there’s a Club Tent, which is an acoustic stage for surprise acts, local folk club presentations and… the place where festival-goers can present their own 15 minute performances.
There’s also The Den, actually better than a den because it’s an Indian-style marquee tent for emerging talent, and The Hub - a Bedouin tent that acts as a hub for workshops and where youth can participate in impromptu music sessions with some of the performing artists.
Folknet is exactly that. Free internet & fair trade coffee inside the Cherry Hinton Hall campsite, and the People’s Front Room is an interactive space (mmm… by the people… for the people) where performance, art, music & creativity come together.
Although the Cambridge Folk Fest grounds are grassy and green, the Flower Garden is a place for blossoming ideas and sounds; for impromptu music, singsongs, stories and unscheduled participant-driven workshops.
This is what sets the Cambridge festival apart from other music events and makes it about YOU and not just the headline acts. (BTW, the Cambridge Folk Festival line-up poster doesn’t have larger fonts for headliners, and it’s not an accident). CFF loves non- hierarchical collaboration, which is why it has ´sessions´ - impromptu music gatherings with featured artists and regular festival-goers who have guitars (or some musical instrument smaller than a grand piano), or a lovely voice, or an idea, and want to perform or jam or make noise with other musicians. Sessions are promoted around the festival grounds and needn’t be in a tent or on a stage.
It may be a folk festival dedicated to music, but there’s a motley array of mascots and inner-park street-theatre mayhem with performers walking, clowning, acrobating and roving-about dispensing antics throughout Cherry Hinton Hall & Coldhams Common. These unscheduled ambulatory performances have included the all-female Circo Rum Ba Ba, The Fairly Famous Family, and Flights of Fancy & Piggery Jokery by Hand To Mouth Theatre.
The crèche for kids (a folksy-fun nursery) has games, crafts, storytelling, concerts and a children’s ceilidh (which is a really fancy way of saying music & dancing with more than two people, or in this case, kids), oh… and the Cherry Hinton park has a playground and two shallow paddling pools. Real kids & wannabe-kids can join in other fun stuff like drawing and garland-making classes or juggling workshops.
What do you think?Thank you! |
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AccommodationCambridge Festival Camping
Cherry Hinton Hall or Coldham’s Common Camping PlotsThere are 2 Cambridge Folk Music Festival campsites:
Cambridge Folk Fest Camping Plot SizesUnlike other UK summer festivals where camping is based on how many people are attending, the Cambridge festival charges for tent space. One camping ticket grants a 4.5m x 3.5m space for a tent! Caravan & Live-in Vehicle CampingCampervans, Caravans, Trailers and live-in vehicles are allowed at Coldham’s Common, but space is charged based on vehicle size - one plot = 4.5m x 3.5m. |
AmenitiesEats & Drinks:
Bars, Restaurants, Food Stalls, Food BYO, BYOB, BBQ, Water
Fresh & Clean:
Toilets, Shower
Cash & Shops:
Cash, Shops
Zone In & Out:
Wi-Fi Zone, Kids Zone, Chill Zone
Accessibility:
yes
Cambridge Folk Festival Amenities
BYOB & BYOF
BBQs & Fires
Eco Zone
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Datesstart Thu, 28 July 2016end Sun, 31 July 2016 Cambridge Folk Festival Camping Dates
Folk Festival Schedule
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Season & WeatherSeason: Summer
Temperature: 12 to 23 °C
Cambridge weather in July & August can be hot and sunny, but surprise, surprise…it can rain. Festival organizers have a marquee tent over the main stage and lots of funky waterproof tents to nestle under should it happen to be a wee bit wet. |
Cambridge City Council: Mandela House, 4 Regent Street, Cambridge, UK.
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