17th Gate To Southwell Festival set to be the best yet, with over 60 international artists

The 17th iteration of a roots and acoustic music festival is set to be the most successful yet — with more than 5,000 visitors expected.

This year’s Gate To Southwell Festival (GTSF), which takes place from Thursday, July 4, to Sunday, July 7, at the festival site in nearby Kirklington, boasts over 60 international artists performing across four stages.

The four-day festival of music and dance will continue to build on the critical and commercial successes of recent years, according to GTSF director Mike Kirrage.

“Since the move to our beautiful lakeside setting at Kirklington the audience response has been phenomenal,” said Mike.

“Buoyed by this we've booked an amazing line up of artists headlined by the incredible Rhiannon Giddens making her only UK festival appearance.”

2024’s festival begins with Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell headlining with her award-winning band The Darkening. She’s the first folk artist to appear at the BBC Proms as a composer and performer, an OBE and the Queen’s Medal for Music.

Also lined up for the Thursday night, there’s one of British folk’s most enduring partnerships, Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, and as it’s the Fourth of July, there’ll also be a celebration of The Great American Songbook featuring various festival artists performing alongside Leeds-based jazz, jive, soul and lindyhop combo Louis Louis Louis.

Friday, July 5, has a Celtic flavour with the return of Blue Rose Code and his Big Caley Soul Band. Ross Wilson, aka Blue Rose Code, went down a storm the last time he played Southwell and has just released his first album in five years to great acclaim.

Also on Friday, The Haar unite three of Ireland’s most talented instrumentalists — Cormac Byrne, Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger — with one of the most talented Irish voices in Molly Donnery, while Sheffield’s Melrose Quartet will mix up the sounds with four internationally renowned singers and musicians — Nancy Kerr on voice and fiddle, James Fagan on bouzouki, and the Arrowsmiths on fiddle and melodeon.

Adding Gaelic and West African rhythms to the melting pot, GTSF will also welcome An Dannsa Dub, who fuse sound-system-style reggae and dub to create modern Celtic dance music.

Saturday looks certain to be one of the key moments in the ongoing development of the festival as, arguably the most critically-acclaimed artist to appear, Rhiannon Giddens takes to the stage.

The double Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winning folk star recently guested on Beyonce’s 300-million plus streamed country hit ‘Texas Hold Em’ and was a founding member of the country blues old-time music band The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

She’s worked with a wide range of famous artists including Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and Tom Jones — and her work celebrates her multi-racial heritage.

Adding to the typically eclectic, diverse and international music mix, Saturday also welcomes the New York-based singer-songwriter Lizzie No, Americana stars Campbell/Jensen featuring Glen Campbell’s daughter Ashley, and Canadian folk collective The Fugitives.

Bringing the Gate To Southwell Festival to a Celtic climax on Sunday will be the iconic and internationally respected Scottish band Manran, and one of the biggest names in Irish folk music, the Daoiri Farrell Trio.

Multi-award winning Manran went down a storm at GTSF 2015 and they return with two new members — singer-songwriter Kim Carnie and guitarist and vocalist Aidan Moodie — while Daoiri Farrell, the Dublin singer and bouzouki player will play with Kieran Munnelly on flute and tin whistle and Kevin Glackin on fiddle.

Sunday also offers the chance to catch The Cable Street Collective who bring upbeat rhythms and Congolese-influenced guitar sounds, and The Often Herd, an award-winning bluegrass band who blend a Trans-Atlantic sound with songs coloured by their surrounding natural and industrial landscape of Northern England.

GTSF 2024 will also pay tribute to one of the greatest pioneering American singer-songwriters, Woody Guthrie, and other notable international acts appearing over the weekend, include Australian sister duo Charm Of Finches; Canadian singer-songwriters Catherine MacLellan and Tara MacLean; Rocky Mountain duo Over The Moon; and Finnish folk-punk band Slack Bird.

From closer to home, GTSF welcomes back The Activators, Frog On A Bike, Rob Heron and The Tea Pad Orchestra, Winter Wilson, the Rye Sisters, the Thomas Bradley Project, Seb Stone, the Banjo Jen Trio, Hase Waits, the Jolly Grogsters, Martha Woods, The Phil Ashmore Band, Reuben and The Bridge, Louise Rogan, Keith Donnelly, and Southwell’s own Becky Syson.

“Overall the array of acts is as eclectic as ever with something for everyone whatever your tastes,” added Mike Kirrage.

“There’s also a comprehensive and engaging programme of family entertainment. And just in case the sun doesn't shine again this year we've invested in an impressive audience cover for our main stage.”

GTSF is a family-friendly festival, with camping, glamping, ceilidhs, comedy, music workshops, campfire sessions with cooking and games, craft stalls and food and drink vendors.

Family entertainment includes Dan The Hat, Fit Up Street Circus, Becky Bops, Mark Fraser of Walk The Lines, music workshops and ceilidh, family yoga, Festival Fairies, arts and crafts, face painting, multi-sensory activities, outdoor games, and music by Paul Carbuncle.

There are accessible toilets and showers on site, and buses to and from Southwell.