Richard Thompson, one of the defining figures of British folk and folk-rock, will headline the Saturday evening of this year's Bromyard Folk Festival, performing with Zara Phillips on a bill that brings some of the most respected names in the genre to a corner of rural Herefordshire.
The festival runs from 10 to 13 September 2026, taking over the rolling fields on the edge of the market town for four days of concerts, ceilidhs, dance displays, workshops and acoustic sessions in local pubs.
Now in its sixth decade, Bromyard has quietly built a reputation as one of the more characterful weekends on the British folk calendar, deliberately small in scale and rooted in the community that hosts it.
The 2026 programme runs to almost 100 events across 20 indoor venues, with around 400 performers booked over the long weekend.
Alongside Thompson, the headline bill includes the Sharon Shannon Trio on Friday evening, the Orkney fiddle-led quartet FARA on Sunday, a transatlantic pairing of Kris Drever and Cahalen Morrison, and the English songwriter Chris Wood.
Jackie Oates and John Spiers, Olivia Chaney, Emily Portman and Friends, and Suntou Susso and The Gambian Superstars are also confirmed, along with the festival's longstanding patrons Granny's Attic.
One of the festival's set-piece moments is the torchlit Morris procession that winds through the centre of Bromyard on the Friday evening, drawing dance sides from across the country.
Hundreds of Morris dancers perform across the weekend, supported by ceilidhs, workshops and a full programme of contras, squares, Playford and tea dances in the Falcon Ballroom.
Concerts are all-seated and spread across multiple stages, with quieter acoustic sessions running in the Falcon Mews and a handful of local pubs that lend themselves to the format.
Away from the music, a craft market, trade stalls and a row of festival food vendors sit alongside the Dave Jones bar, which pours real ales and ciders for the duration.
Family entertainment runs throughout, with children's workshops, storytelling and dedicated activities pitched at younger visitors.
Weekend ticket holders can camp with easy accessible camping on site, and those who prefer a softer landing can book one of the luxury yurts or bell tents available for hire on the festival fields.
Day and evening tickets are also on sale, with prices rising in stages as the festival approaches, so early booking carries a meaningful saving.
For a small market town in Herefordshire, the September weekend has become something of a fixture, the kind of homegrown event that reminds visitors what a folk festival is supposed to feel like.
Full details of the line-up, concert programme, dancing at the Falcon and camping and glamping options are available on the festival's tickets page.
Share