Cambridge Folk Festival and Newport Folk Festival will form a partnership it has been announced.
Two of the oldest and most prestigious folk festivals in the world, the new partnership (or twinning) will be the star of a unique new transatlantic artistic relationship.
Cambridge Folk Festival Managing Director Steve Bagnall commented: ‘Cambridge Folk Festival has always tested the boundaries of Folk with its programme and we are excited to be working with and learning from a Festival that has the artistic heritage and ambition of Newport. Twinning with Newport will allow both Festivals to explore unique and extraordinary artistic opportunities that will excite audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.’
Jay Sweet, Newport Folk Festival Executive Producer commented: ‘We are excited that from next year Newport Folk Festival will be twinning with Cambridge Folk Festival. This move will allow us to share ideas, experiences and some artists from two festivals that have grown up together and in their own way played a role in shaping the folk music landscape on both sides of the Atlantic. This partnership will allow us to bring a little bit of Newport to Cambridge and vice versa.’
The Cambridge Folk Festival was established in 1965 and has pushed the boundaries and definition of what might be considered folk. The Newport Folk Festival is a must-attend highlight of America’s festival calendar and was launched in 1959.
The partnership is a natural one as Ken Woollard went on to set up Cambridge Folk Festival in 1965 after being inspired by the seminal documentary, Jazz On A Summer’s Day, about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
Full details of the twinning will be confirmed after the 2017 festivals.
A few tickets remain for this year’s Cambridge Folk Festival and can be purchased at www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk.
