Famed Birmingham festival welcomed stunning sets from Father John Misty, The Waterboys, Doves and more.
The latest edition of Birmingham’s Moseley Folk and Arts Festival wrapped up on Sunday, concluding three days of incredible performances.
Last on stage were the rejuvenated Doves. Having taken part in a Q&A with BBC 6Music presenter Chris Hawkins earlier in the day, brothers Jez and Andy Williams both thanked the enthusiastic crowd for sticking with them over the years while ploughing through tracks from across their illustrious career, including Catch The Sun, There Goes The Fear and Kingdom Of Rust.
The Mancunian chart-toppers closed an exemplary day that also boasted stand-out appearances from such varied artists as cult US mavericks Mercury Rev, Cornish shanty singers Fisherman’s Friends, and Kurdish/ Syrian singer and bouzouki player Mohammad Syfkhan. Others taking to the stage included poet Henry Normal and comedian Scott Bennett, while Mrs Barbara Nice led the festival’s traditional annual procession through the crowd, accompanied by a giant corn dolly and array of characters, before launching a hay-throwing cèilidh.
The annual festival, which takes place in Moseley Park – a hidden urban greenspace in Moseley, Birmingham – opened on Friday 29th August with outstanding sets from ’90s faves The Lightning Seeds and The Libertines’ Peter Doherty. Peter’s crack band included Mike Joyce, former drummer with the legendary Smiths, and their enthusiastically-received evening set included not only a couple of Libertines and Babyshambles tracks, but also a cover of The Smith’s Panic.
Friday night ended with an inspiring headline set from Mike Scott’s Waterboys, making their third appearance at the festival.
Day two, meanwhile, boasted a stellar main stage double-bill from the Bella Union record label with BC Camplight, appearing with his full touring band, and highly respected US songwriter Father John Misty, with an expertly delivered performance.
Other highlights from the day included Kate Stables’ This Is The Kit, newcomers Dug and the debut of Barbara Nice’s Blind Date, which drew a capacity crowd to the Speakers’ Corner stage.
John Fell, Moseley Folk and Arts Festival Manager, said: “With Weekend Tickets sold out in advance, it was another electric festival.
“All the acts delivered amazing performances, including the new artists from BIMM Music Institute – Dear Lily, Fern, Freya Gamblin and Bo Bardot. And our collaborations with The Glee Club, The Heath Bookshop, Close-Up Comedy and the Birmingham Comedy Festival allowed us to continue to broaden our programming with some great comedians, artists and writers.
“It was especially brilliant to see Father John Misty appear on Saturday night after BC Camplight’s fantastic show, as J Tillman (FJM) is an artist we’ve been trying to book for 10 years. His show was stunning.”
Next year will see Moseley Folk and Arts Festival celebrate its 20th anniversary. Tickets for the festival, which will run from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th September 2026, are on sale to previous ticket holders and newsletter subscribers from 10am today , before going on General Sale on Friday (5th September), at 10am.
Says John: “We’re already looking forward to our anniversary year and have lots of great things planned. Look out for details of 2026’s Moseley Folk line-up soon, as well as news of some very special one-off events happening across Birmingham beforehand featuring some of our favourite Moseley Folk artists.”
For more information on Moseley Folk and Arts Festival, see: moseleyfolk.co.uk.
