Moseley Folk festival announce line-up

Jethro Tull, Supergrass and Seastick Steve to headline.

More big names have been added to the line-up of Birmingham’s Moseley Folk and Arts Festival 2022.

Running from Friday 2nd-Sunday 4th September at Moseley Park and Pool, the annual event will see appearances from Jethro Tull, Dr. John Cooper Clarke, The Coral, Midlake, poet Simon Armitage, and Vashti Bunyan.

They join the previously publicised Supergrass, Kurt Vile, The Weather Station and Bess Atwell – who will be taking to the stage on opening night (Friday 2nd September) alongside the just-announced LYR (featuring Simon Armitage, and musicians Richard Walters and Patrick Pearson), North of England troubadour Martin Stephenson, and the quasi-psychedelic Novelty Island (aka Liverpool songwriter Tom McConnell).

Day two (Saturday 3rd September) sees bluesman Seasick Steve joined by Bristol-based a capella folk quartet The Longest Johns, who are at the forefront of the current sea shanty revival; singer-songwriter Billie Marten, whose third album, Flora Fauna, has been met with widespread acclaim; and Ruarri Joseph’s ‘swamp-grunge blues’ trio, William The Conqueror.

Saturday also finds the festival welcoming Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, multi-BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominees Gilmore and Roberts, songwriter Reg Meuross, Warwickshire’s Ellie Gowers, and Yorkshire-based folk duo The Magpies (aka Celtic Connections Award-winning guitarist/singer Bella Gaffney and fiddle-player Holly Brandon).

The festival concludes on Sunday 4th September with British progressive rock luminaries Jethro Tull, returning after headlining the festival in 2009; The Coral, fresh from UK dates marking the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut album; and Texan band Midlake, back with For The Sake of Bethel Wood, their first album in nine years.

Meanwhile, ‘punk poet’ legend Dr. John Cooper Clarke and Vashti Bunyan (discussing her memoir, Wayward) top-line the Arts Stage, and Scottish musician Alasdair Roberts, US artist Diana Jones and folk duo Megson take to the chilled Kitchen Garden Stage.

John Fell, Moseley Folk and Arts Festival Manager, says: “We’re very pleased to return with another varied and surprising line-up that combines well-known iconic artists – like Jethro Tull, Supergrass and The Coral – with emerging acts who are really making an impact, such as The Weather Station.

“This year also sees some great guests to our Arts Stage, including two incredible and era defining poets – John Cooper Clarke and Simon Armitage – and 1960s singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan, who’ll be discussing her remarkable career.

“And, of course, our bars will be well-stocked with great ales and cocktails, while a selection of great award-winning street food vendors will ensure plenty of choice on the food front.”

Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in 2021, Moseley Folk and Arts Festival is one of the best-loved and most anticipated music and arts festivals in the region, attracting an enthusiastic and loyal audience of music fans and families to the picturesque suburban oasis of Moseley Pool and Park, Birmingham.

For tickets and more information, see moseleyfolk.co.uk.