The first of an annual industry showcase event for English folk music

Venue: The Met, Bury, Lancashire - 18th-20th October 2013

Playpen Management & Agency, in partnership with the English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS) and The Met in Bury, announces English Folk Expo 2013; the first of an annual industry event which will showcase the best of English folk music in its broadest sense, across one weekend in October each year.  

English Folk Expo will be open to an audience of music programmers and music industry representatives from the UK and abroad, and aims to make a significant contribution to the export of contemporary and traditional English folk music, and to nurture support for English folk music from domestic music programmers.

English Folk Expo will be in association with Homegrown, a new festival of English folk music, which will be run and programmed by The Met.  Homegrown will have its first year between the 25th and 28th October 2012, with its second year, seeing the addition of English Folk Expo as a separate but complementary industry-focussed event between 18th and 20th October 2013, offering industry delegates access to Homegrown festival performances as well as additional industry-only showcases and events. 

Since the late 1990s English folk music has experienced a dramatic revival, seeing a new generation of young, daring and skilled artists emerge in both the contemporary and traditional English folk genres.  This has been matched by a rise in public and media interest in folk music, fuelled by a significant increase in the number of UK folk festivals, the establishment of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, the launch of a Folk and Traditional Music Degree at Newcastle University and more.  As the folk scene in England has been transformed, pop artists have been increasingly keen to associate themselves with folk music, as its image has been refreshed by an explosion of young talent creating some of the best music, of any genre, coming out of England. 

By providing an opportunity for UK and international music industry representatives to experience a packed programme of the best that English folk music has to offer across one weekend, English Folk Expo aims to open up new performance opportunities for artists and new routes for the export of English folk music across the world, supporting the continued development of the English folk artist community, audience and industry.

English Folk Expo is made possible through the support of Arts Council England, EFDSS, The Met and Bury Council, and will be produced by Playpen Management & Agency. 

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NOTES TO EDITORS

For over 100 years the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), and its parent organisations, have been preserving, protecting, disseminating and promoting the English folk arts. EFDSS is the national folk arts development organisation for England, aiming to place the indigenous folk arts of England at the heart of our cultural life. Through programmes of performance, outreach and education at its headquarters, Cecil Sharp House in north London, and around the country, EFDSS seeks to support folk artists’ and practitioners’ development. EFDSS aims to promote the best of folk arts through a range of mediums including dance, music, song, film, exhibitions, and publications. Cecil Sharp House is also home to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library – the national folk music library and archive – which contains a vast collection of books, manuscripts, films and audio-visual materials, serving as a touchstone for anybody working in the folk arts.

EFDSS is a charity registered in England and Wales, no. 305999
www.efdss.org | www.facebook.com/theefdss | www.twitter.com/TheEFDSS

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Situated in Bury, Lancashire, The Met is a centre of live music noted nationally for its specialist folk music programme incorporating two performance spaces, a restaurant and Edwin Street Recording Studio.  As an independent charity, The Met works to develop a growing audience to experience the arts and nurturing traditional talent to grow into national stars.  The Met is organiser and promoter of a number of outdoor events including the annual Ramsbottom Festival.   

The Met is an independent arts and entertainment venue run by Bury Metropolitan Arts Association, a company limited by guarantee (No. 2370868) and a registered charity (No. 701879) supported by Arts Council England and Bury Council.

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Playpen Management & Agency was established in 2003 and is run by Terry O’Brien, an artist manager and agent with over 17 years’ experience in the music industry across genres, specialising in folk music for the last 10 years.  Winner of the MMF’s Music Export Award for Managers in 2003, Terry has worked with a host of award-winning artists including Spiers & Boden, Jim Moray, Jackie Oates and Sam Carter.  She also produced the three day ‘5000 Morris Dancers’ event at London’s Southbank Centre in September 2010. 

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For more information contact:

Terry O’Brien, Playpen Management & Agency

Tel: 01795 533 551 / 07932 720 058 / terry@playpen.fsbusiness.co.uk

Venue:

Locality: United Kingdom

Contact Details

Terry O'Brien, terry [at] playpen.fsbusiness.co.uk |