Cumbria’s biggest, brightest and best music and arts festival, Solfest is delighted to announce the first wave of headline bookings for Solfest 2013. 

Founded in Los Angeles in 1997, by Irishman Dave King, Flogging Molly has always defied categorisation. The infectious originality of their songs is a badge of honour and key to the band’s creativity, their urgency. They infuse punk rock with Celtic instruments—violin, mandolin and the accordion—and they merge blues progressions with grinding guitars and traditional Irish music, the music of King’s youth. “We’re not a traditional band,” explains Dublin-born King. “We are influenced by traditional music and inspired by it, but without question we put our own twist on it.” Theirs is music of exile and rebellion, of struggle and history and protest. It’s music of a country torn down the middle, a deeply beautiful and wounded country that knows no quit, and Flogging Molly pays homage to that resolve in every note.

Flogging Molly’s fans have always appreciated the social and political awareness driving the music. Swagger, the band’s first album, transcended everyone’s expectations in 2000, and the track ‘The Worst Day Since Yesterday’ was included in the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Drunken Lullabies was released in 2002 and certified Gold. In 2004, the band released Within A Mile Of Home, and in 2008, Flogging Molly put out Float, a deeply stirring and personal album recorded in King’s native Ireland. No surprise that Float found the band’s widest audience yet. Through all of this, Flogging Molly—first, last, and always a live band—was touring, playing raucous and adrenaline-fuelled shows in bars, pubs, and nearly every major rock festival in North America, Europe, and Japan. 

Their latest album Speed Of Darkness debuted at number nine on the Billboard American charts and has already sold over half a million copies.

Also appearing throughout the weekend are Maxïmo Park, Afro Celt Sound System, Oysterband,  The Undertones, (currently seeing their song ‘Teenage Kicks’ as a smash top-selling mash-up courtesy of boy band One Direction),Home Service fronted by John Tams (the actor who played Daniel Hagman alongside Sean Bean in ITV drama Sharpe), Solfest favourites Pikey Beatz plus DJ Yoda, The Jaywalkers, Bombskare, The Roughneck Riot, New Rope String Band and much more.

And we’ve still much more to announce…watch this space!

Since its inception in 2004, tickets for Solfest have sold out completely each year. We expect Solfest 2013 to do the same. We recommend getting your tickets early.

Early Bird tickets are an online exclusive and won't be available from the over-the-counter outlets so make sure you get yours right away

All our tickets are for the full weekend. Day tickets are not available.

Young Person tickets can only be purchased with at least one Adult ticket. Children five years old and under will get their tickets for FREE but you must still order them.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday night camping is included in your ticket price and there's no extra charge for live-in vehicles, caravans, campervans or trailer tents unless you intend to arrive on Thursday. If so, you will need to purchase one advance Thursday Camping Pass per vehicle (not per person). This is a £15 vehicle permit that applies for any vehicle with 2 or more axles. It does not apply to motorcycles.

Solfest 2013 at Solfest, Tarnside Farm, Tarns, Nr Silloth, Cumbria, CA7 4NQ Fri 23rd to Sun 25th August 2013 Tickets on sale HERE Tickets for Solfest 2013 are priced as follows Adult Online Early bird - £99 (Limited to the first 1000)Adult Standard - £109.