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40 years of Ely Folk Festival: a brief synopsis

The first Ely Folk Festival took place on 19-20 July 1985 when it was called Ely Folk Day. The line-up was the Kipper Family, Steve Turner, English Tapestry, and Titanic Productions, and the venue was the Cutter Inn by the river in Ely. A ticket to the full event cost £4.50. The second festival took place on 18-20 July 1986 and the line-up included Dr Sunshine’s Pavement Show, The Crows and Chris Cole plus lots of Morris dancers. From this time Morris dancing became an important element of the festival.

The third festival in 1987 was a more ambitious affair – it had become the Ely Folk Weekend and the season ticket price went up to £10. Guests included Martin Carthy, Steve Turner, Roger Wilson, Witcham Toll, Janet Russell, John and Sue Kirkpatrick, Dr Sunshine, the Kipper Family and Syzewell Gap.

The early festivals were organised by Sue and Gerry Rees who moved to the Ely area in the early 1980s, with help from Rick and Wendy Rolph. A committee of volunteers was established to organise the annual festival and in 2011, Ely Folk Festival  Community Interest Company was established.

Ely Folk Festival continued to grow gradually and used various pubs and other venues around Ely until 1991 when it moved on to one site with a marquee at the Pocket Park near the river in Ely. The Pocket Park site is fondly remembered for its scenic views of Ely Cathedral, the rattle of the trains from the nearby rail line, and the aroma of the neighbouring sewage works, especially on warm summer evenings.  Here acts such as Show of Hands, Baka Beyond, Anam and Last Night’s Fun introduced a wider audience to the diversity of folk music.

The Festival remained at Pocket Park until 2000, when a last minute problem with the site forced a move to Ely Outdoor Centre where it continued annually until 2020, when Covid forced its cancellation. The festival ran virtually with online content from booked artists instead. In 2021 the festival returned in physical form in a Covid-friendly manner and was one of the few outdoor festivals to run that year.

Since 2022, the festival has been located at its current home, the Stuntney Estate, approximately two miles outside Ely. Located next to Ben’s Yard, the site is surrounded by trees and there is an adjoining nature reserve where festival goers can walk and spot wildlife.

The Festival continues to go from strength to strength hosting a variety of national and folk & roots music acts and providing a platform for new talent; plus ceilidhs, instrumental and dance workshops, ‘meet and greet’ sessions with some of the festival’s leading artists, jam sessions and children’s entertainment, an outstanding real ale bar and gin bar, and a wide range of  food and craft stalls. Have a peek at our compilation reel of the 2025 festival to get a flavour of Ely Folk Festival (note that there is sound!) – Ely Folk Festival Showreel 2025

Marking 40 years is worthy of celebration and the line-up for the 2026 festival draws from the past and looks to the future, and hopefully many more years of great music and entertainment to come.

REVIEWS

2026 Ely Folk Festival

“Ely Folk Festival is what festival should be, well organised, fun and that little bit different, everyone, especially the stewards want you to have a good time, job well done.” – FATEA magazine – Read full review

“This is not your average festival, not by a long stretch, which is why having tasted the thrill and ambience of Ely Folk Festival for the first time last year I have returned for more…” – Danny Neill, Fruit Tree Records – Read full review

2025 Ely Folk Festival

“Ely Folk Festival is, above all, great fun.” – Mike Wistow, Folking.com – Read full review

“Until this year, Ely never really had a chance to ping my radar, it does now and it’s a huge signal.” – Neil King, FATEA – Read full review

“…Ely is certainly smaller but with three stages filled by programmes of music, a beer tent, food stalls, market stalls, craft and family activities, generous camping areas, reliable shuttle buses from town centre to festival site and a round the clock air of jigs, reels and folk jams breaking out there is absolutely nothing lacking in the festival experience at all. ” – Danny Neill, Fruit Tree Records – Read full review

2024 Ely Folk Festival

“What a splendid weekend at Ely Folk Festival 2024″ – Folking.com, 2024. Read full review

“As good a small festival as you can find anywhere in the country” – Rock’n’Reel, 2023.  Read full review

“Nest year can’t come soon enough” – Rock’n’Reel, 2022.  Read full review

“A hugely enjoyable weekend” – Rock’n’Reel, 2019. Read full review