Wessex Folk Festival

GREAT NEWS!

Award winning duo to star at Wessex Folk Festival in 2019

The award-winning folk duo Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have been announced as the first star names booked for the 2019 Wessex Folk Festival.

Mixing traditional songs with their own material, the husband and wife duo from Dartmoor have established their reputation over two decades and won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for the best duo in 2016 and 2013. They will play on the main stage at the festival, which takes place around Weymouth Harbour from May 31 to June 2.

Kathryn Roberts is originally from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, where her musical parents introduced her to a wealth of music, including regular visits to folk festivals. She has been praised as one of the finest singers of her generation and her flute playing adds a distinctive touch to the duo’s sound.

Sean Lakeman is the eldest of the three Lakeman brothers and was brought up on Dartmoor, where he began playing the guitar at the age of six. He and his brothers Seth and Sam teamed up with Kate Rusby and Sean’s wife-to-be, Kathryn Roberts, to form the folk pop band Equation, who earned comparisons with folk rock greats such as Fairport Convention during their decade performing together.

Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman recently released their fifth album, Personae. Its mix if self-penned songs and traditional ballads has drawn widespread acclaim.

“We’re really pleased that Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have agreed to play at next year’s Wessex Folk Festival,” said Mike Donovan, chair of the festival’s organising committee. “The fact that top national folk performers want to come to Weymouth confirms the event’s reputation as one of the best free folk festivals in the country.”