Tickets are now on sale for the Diamond Anniversary of Sidmouth FolkWeek – 1st – 8th August 2014. Feedback from those who came to festival number 59 was that it was the ‘best so far!’…and the Diamond Anniversary celebrations promise an even more dazzling week of music, dance and song, tapping a rich seam of vintage talent that has contributed to the festival’s glory down the years.

As FolkWeek means so many different things to different people, they will celebrating all week with special events in each part of the festival - gems from the archives as well as stars of the future – including a special retrospective concert at The Ham Marquee with legendary traditional singers The Copper Family at the helm, some familiar faces in the Diamond Geezers shows and an English Folk Dance & Song Society-curated series, Folk Rising Plus showcasing the best in rising talent.

The EFDSS were there at the very beginning of festivals in Sidmouth in 1955, as social dancers gathered in Connaught Gardens for the very first event. Sixty years on, dance still plays a massive role at the festival with some extra special ceilidhs, social dances, ritual dance, displays and processions planned. Add to the mix some fantastic storytelling with Sidmouth veteran Taffy Thomas and new favourite Debs Newbold, the very best in traditional music and song, a sizzling fun-packed Children's Festival with an unmissable programme of workshops, shows, fun and laughter for children of all ages and Sidmouth-born Shooting Roots youth sessions coming of age events (21 years old in 2014!)…and you’ll begin to see the sparkling appeal of the Diamond Anniversary Sidmouth FolkWeek.

Great value Early Bird Season ticket savings on offer with no booking fee - lots of flexible deals available including Family Offer and a brand new All-In-One Weekend ticket. More details and ticket links here.

A preview of the line-up so far…with plenty more to come:

Concerts – from mainstage marquee to intimate venue settings The Copper Family, Oysterband, Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham, Cara Dillon, Steve Knightley and Friends, Martin Simpson, Kathryn Tickell & The Side, Martin Carthy & Eliza Carthy, Belshazzar's Feast, Breabach, Lisa Knapp, Roy Bailey and John Kirkpatrick, Kris Drever & Éamonn Coyne, Calan, Le Bruit court dans la ville, The April Verch Band, Tony McManus, Habadekuk, Kan, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson, Pete Coe, John Kirkpatrick, Martyn Wyndham Read, Sandra Kerr New Rope String Band, Zulu Tradition, Andy Cutting, Mary Hampton, Gren Bartley Band, The Carravick Sisters, Steve Ashley and a special acoustic set with members of Oysterband, The Oxford Girl and other stories.

Ceilidhs Oysterband, Old Swan Band, Gas Mark 5, Florida, The Pigeon Swing, Toothless Mary, The Liam Robinson Dance Band and Monty's Maggot.

Social Dance Andrew Shaw, Madeleine Smith Les Barclay, Mike Courthold, Martyn Harvey, John Meechan, Jerry O’Reilly, Andrew Swaine, The Falconers, The Night Before, Paul Hutchinson with John Hymas and Linda Byrt, Rod and Frances Stradling, Fat Harry (Alison Ellacott, Vic Smith and Mollie Koenigsberger) and Double Dichotomy.

Morris and More A special Morris Party hosted by Great Western, plus a special anniversary show. Throughout the week: The Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden's Tuppenny Dish, Windsor Morris, US rapper sword team Candyrapper, The Ouse Washes Molly Dancers, Thrales Rapper, Newcastle Kingsmen Sword Dancers, Eynsham Morris, Black Adder Rapper & Step, Jake Jones and Dan Eccles, Sidmouth Steppers, Great Western Morris, Luascadh Irish Dancers and Feet First Appalachian Dancers.