Sark Folk Festival organisers have announced a prestigious and exciting start to the line-up for Sark Folk Festival 2012. Eight acts have been confirmed today with more promised in the next few weeks. The list includes folk family royalty Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, Spiral Earth’s Best Live Act 2011 3 Daft Monkeys, six-woman folk and bluegrass group The Shee and all the way from Western Australia, BAFTA-winning singer-songwriter, Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo. 

Organisers also announced that Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson, one of the most popular acts from Sark Folk Festival 2011 will be returning to the Bailiwick to perform at Folkal Point at the Fermain Tavern on Saturday 9 June. The next Folkal Point is on Saturday 25 February and will be a Ceilidh held at St Martins Parish Hall. 

Weekend tickets for Sark Folk Festival sold out weeks ago – before any acts were announced. Ticket-holders have been patiently waiting to find out who would be taking the stage for the festival’s third year. 

The full list of acts confirmed so far for the festival is: Emily Portman, Lucy Ward, Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo, James Findlay Trio, 3 Daft Monkeys, Ewan McLennan, Sean Lakeman and Kathryn Roberts and The Shee. Between them the artists boast dozens of awards and successful albums. Their extremely high calibre reflects the growing reputation Sark Folk Festival has as a unique event on the folk and roots scene.

As well as the international visiting artists announced, organisers promise that there will be a strong representation from Channel Island acts on the same stages. Confirmed acts are The Barley Dogs, The Big Sheep, The Space Pirates of Rocquaine and The John Wesley Stone. More local acts will be announced soon. 

Folkal Point is a series of events held in Guernsey throughout the year to raise funds for the festival. The next event will be a Ceilidh at St Martins Parish Hall on Saturday 25 February, where there will be dancing for everyone with music provided by local band, Les Veillees. No experience of dancing is required and it is suitable for all ages. This is an excellent family event and a great way to support the festival. Doors open at 7.30pm for dancing at 8pm.

The June Folkal Point, which is the last one before the festival itself will welcome back Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson. The Irish-Australian duo was one of the highlights from Sark Folk Festival 2011. They blend Australian folk with delta blues, Irish trad and an eclectic mix of other influences they have picked up along the way. They have an intensity and life-enhancing energy that is hard to resist once they get started. 

Sark Folk Festival Isle of Sark, Channel Islands, UKFriday 29 June - Sunday 1 July 2012 Limited tickets available from HERE

February Folkal Point Ceilidh featuring music from Les Veillees

St Martins Parish Hall, Guernsey Saturday 25 February 2012Doors open at 7:30. Dancing from 8:00All welcome. No experience needed.Entrance £5 on the door (under 12s free)Licensed Bar

June Folkal Point featuring Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson

Fermain Tavern, Guernsey Saturday 9 June 2012 Doors open 7.30pmTickets £10 available from here or on the door

The following comments from our sponsors reflect their views on Sark Folk Festival
Stuart Pearce Director – CCD Architects

“We are delighted to be able to continue our support of the Sark Folk Festival again this year. To have such a well organised cultural events set in the picturesque Island of Sark is a triumph to the team. It is great for Sark and the Bailiwick, bringing music fans from near and far – hopefully they will not be able to resist coming back after the experience of SFF 2012!
Other than the obviously talented acts on the formal stages, the memorable events for me over the past two years have been the impromptu gigs struck up in all sorts of unusual venues in Sark’s dusty lanes. We are looking forward to hearing about this year’s acts and wish the team well in their organisations for another successful event this year.
Sitting in a sunny field in Sark, looking back across the Big Russell toward home, with a cold Rocquettes cider and the sound of a drifting mandolin/tin whistle/harp in the background, with the knowledge you haven’t got to be back at work for 3 whole days…its just sheer bliss!”

James Meller Rocquette Cider 

"We love the Sark Folk festival and everything it stands for. Great music and great company on a chilled out island all on its own in the English Channel. What more could you ask for! The weekend of the festival is a real back to nature experience and something which we at Rocquette Cider believe in wholeheartedly. It is a wonderful feeling having grown the apples and made the cider in Guernsey to be able to offer it at a unique local festival. When we initially heard of the plans for this event we said that we must try and get involved. Now we are very proud to be supporting the event and it is a firm fixture in our calendar. We enjoyed many of the bands. We listened to Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson and picked up one of their albums which is now a firm favourite. 6 Day riot are amazing of course and having headlineda couple of times they never disappoint. Roll on 2012 we say!"

Guernsey Arts Commission 

“The organisers of the Sark Folk Festival contacted the Guernsey Arts Commission very early on in their plans for a festival. From those first initial meetings is was clear they were passionate about creating a major event in the Channel Islands but, more than that, they had brought together a team of dedicated people who were determined to deliver an outstanding music festival with a unique ambience.
The event has already put Sark on the folk festival map and improves year on year. It also highlights how music and the arts can stimulate and support local economies. The Guernsey Arts Commission is pleased to be a sponsor of the Sark Folk Festival and is proud to be associated with what is now becoming a world class event.”

Norman Piette

“Norman Piette, as a major sponsor of the Sark Folk Festival, has been pleased to be associated with this event from the beginning. We straight away saw what a fantastic festival this could be in what is a beautiful island. The festival compliments the nature of the island perfectly and we are proud to be associated with such a successful event.”