Leigh Folk Festival

Leigh Folk Festival Leigh Folk Festival, Leigh-on-Sea The Leigh Folk Festival is fantastic, it's free and it's all our own.

Rather than drifting towards becoming another commercially driven, ticketed event, the team of volunteer organisers has doggedly held fast to the original grass roots, access-for-all ethos, and so the festival has retained its unique, eclectic and idiosyncratic atmosphere. Music has the power to make us all feel part of something bigger than ourselves, while nurturing a true sense of community and

local pride. The pastoral, village fete atmosphere of the Library Gardens and the bustling, waterfront location of Old Leigh are both fundamental to the spirit of the weekend, and offer a natural, unpretentious welcome to visitors in their thousands. A century ago, Essex proved fertile ground for the first wave of folk song collectors like Cecil Sharp and Ralph Vaughan-Williams, and perhaps some of this legacy persists in our local traditional music scene. While Southend and the 'Thames Delta' are probably best known for the blues and pub-rock bands of the 60s and 70s, as well as today's local heroes, it has always supported a flourishing folk and acoustic music scene and has in recent years seen poetry and storytelling take to the stages, along with traditional dance sides and a truly special procession. And what's more we have more mud than Glastonbury... but only when the tide is out!

๐ŸŽถ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐…๐จ๐ฅ๐ค ๐…๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ ๐š๐๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ! ๐ŸŽถLeigh Folk Festival is almost here โ€” 25โ€“28 June 2026 ๐ŸŒž๐ŸŽปThe ๐†๐ข๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ง๐ž๐ซ is n...
25/06/2026

๐ŸŽถ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐…๐จ๐ฅ๐ค ๐…๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ ๐š๐๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ! ๐ŸŽถ

Leigh Folk Festival is almost here โ€” 25โ€“28 June 2026 ๐ŸŒž๐ŸŽป

The ๐†๐ข๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ง๐ž๐ซ is now LIVE on our website, making it easier to navigate four days of music, spoken word, dance and community vibes โœจ

With festival venues just a short stroll apart, you can spend less time figuring out where youโ€™re heading and more time discovering something unexpected ๐ŸŽธ๐ŸŽค

Start marking your must-sees, map out your route, and prepare to change your plans a few times along the way... There is so so much happening across the weekend!!! ๐Ÿ‘€

Visit www.leighfolkfestival.com for full details โœจ

Leigh Folk Festival ๐ŸŽป
25โ€“28 June 2026

Be a Festival Hero & support LFF โค๏ธ
Help keep the UK's largest free folk festival thriving with a donation and boost your impact by 25% with Gift Aid. Details in bio.

See you in Leigh soon โœจ

๐Ÿšจ Important Festival Information ๐ŸšจIf you're joining us this weekend, please be aware that during particularly busy perio...
24/06/2026

๐Ÿšจ Important Festival Information ๐Ÿšจ

If you're joining us this weekend, please be aware that during particularly busy periods we ๐‘ด๐‘จ๐’€ need to temporarily limit access to the park to help keep everyone safe and ensure the best possible experience for everyone attending.

If this happens, a one-in, one-out system will be in place. If you choose to leave the park during these times, youโ€™ll need to rejoin the queue for re-entry.

As the UK's largest free folk festival, we want to make sure everyone has the chance to enjoy the weekend safely and fairly. Many of our amazing team are volunteers, so if these measures become necessary, please be patient and kind โ€” we'll get you back into the park as quickly as possible ๐Ÿ’›

Leigh Folk Festival ๐ŸŽป
25โ€“28 June 2026

Visit www.leighfolkfestival.com for full details โœจ

Be a Festival Hero & support LFF โค๏ธ
Help keep the UK's largest free folk festival thriving with a donation and boost your impact by 25% with Gift Aid. Details in bio.


At the end of day one of the festival, the brilliant No Good Woman & The Kingsnakes are bringing their powerhouse live s...
24/06/2026

At the end of day one of the festival, the brilliant No Good Woman & The Kingsnakes are bringing their powerhouse live set to Strictly Smartz.

For blues, RnB, soul old & new, sassy & swinging, hot & heavenly. then this is where you need to be.

DJ support through the night from the tremendous Jason West (The Phrogs).

Date: Saturday 27th June

Doors: 7:00 PM

Venue: Strictly Smartz, 1A Elm Rd, Leigh-on-Sea (opposite Library Gardens)

Entry: ยฃ10 cash on the door

โœจ TONIGHT! Don't miss out! โœจJoin us at Chalkwell Park Rooms TONIGHT for an amazing comedy night! ๐Ÿ˜‚ You will enjoy an a...
24/06/2026

โœจ TONIGHT! Don't miss out! โœจ

Join us at Chalkwell Park Rooms TONIGHT for an amazing comedy night! ๐Ÿ˜‚ You will enjoy an absolute powerhouse line-up: Andrew Maxwell, Malinda Mukuma, Bert Broadbent, & Ash Frith!

Come along, have a laugh, and help raise money for the Leigh Folk Festival. ๐Ÿป

๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ Grab your tickets at the link in our bio so you don't miss out!

https://leigh-folk-arts.yapsody.com/event/index/868035/a-midsummer-comedy-night-chalkwell-park-rooms

โฐ Doors 7pm | Show 8pm
๐Ÿ“ Chalkwell Park Rooms

Thanks to Cliffs Pavilion & Palace Theatre for their support!

To ensure a safe and brilliant weekend for everyone, please remember that no glass is permitted anywhere on the festival...
23/06/2026

To ensure a safe and brilliant weekend for everyone, please remember that no glass is permitted anywhere on the festival site.

Many thanks for your understanding and see you there!

Leigh Folk Festival Dates
25th to 28th June 2026
Visit www.leighfolkfestival.com for full details


Who needs a mid-week pick-me-up? ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™‚๏ธ We are 75% sold out for our comedy night TOMORROW!Come down to Chalkwell Park...
23/06/2026

Who needs a mid-week pick-me-up? ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™‚๏ธ We are 75% sold out for our comedy night TOMORROW!

Come down to Chalkwell Park Rooms for 'A Midsummer Comedy Night' in partnership with The Joker Comedy Club. We've got an absolute powerhouse line-up: Andrew Maxwell, Malinda Mukuma, Bert Broadbent, and Ash Frith! ๐Ÿ˜‚

Grab a drink, pull up a chair, have a laugh, and help us raise money for Leigh Folk Festival. ๐Ÿป

๐Ÿ“… TOMORROW (Weds 24th June)
โฐ Doors 19:00 | Show 20:00
๐Ÿ“ Chalkwell Park Rooms
๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ ยฃ15 (+BF)

There are only 30 seats leftโ€”grab one of the final tickets right here ๐Ÿ‘‡
https://leigh-folk-arts.yapsody.com/event/index/868035/a-midsummer-comedy-night-chalkwell-park-rooms

Our thanks to Cliffs Pavilion and Palace Theatre for supporting this event.

๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ข๐  ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐ž ๐ƒ๐ซ๐š๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐‹๐ˆ๐•๐„โฃโฃโฃโฃ! ๐ŸŽ‰ Support Leigh Folk Festival and be in with a chance to win something special from o...
23/06/2026

๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ข๐  ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐ž ๐ƒ๐ซ๐š๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐‹๐ˆ๐•๐„โฃโฃโฃโฃ! ๐ŸŽ‰

Support Leigh Folk Festival and be in with a chance to win something special from our amazing local community.

For just ยฃ๐Ÿ“ ๐š ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ž๐ญโฃ, you could win:

๐ŸŽง 2 X Ruark Audio RS1 Smart Radios โ€“ premium sound, crafted in Southend
๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Sunday Lunch โ€“ at the Michelin Guide-listed Food - Leigh on Sea
โ˜• Afternoon Tea โ€“ seaside elegance at the Roslin Beach Hotel
๐Ÿป Brewery tours, an acoustic guitar, rum, flowers, vouchers and more!

Every ticket helps pay for the festival โ€” and every prize has been generously donated by brilliant local businesses and supporters.

๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐ž ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž: โฃ

โฃwww.leighfolkfestival.com/bigprizedraw


โœจ๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—š๐—ก๐—”๐—ง๐—จ๐—ฅ๐—˜ ๐—–๐—ข๐—ก๐—–๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—ง โ€“ ๐—”๐——๐—ฉ๐—”๐—ก๐—–๐—˜ ๐—ง๐—œ๐—–๐—ž๐—˜๐—ง ๐—”๐—ฉ๐—”๐—œ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—•๐—œ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ฌ ๐—ข๐—ก๐—Ÿ๐—ฌ โœจThe Leigh Folk Festival is this weekend, and there are only a few...
23/06/2026

โœจ๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—š๐—ก๐—”๐—ง๐—จ๐—ฅ๐—˜ ๐—–๐—ข๐—ก๐—–๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—ง โ€“ ๐—”๐——๐—ฉ๐—”๐—ก๐—–๐—˜ ๐—ง๐—œ๐—–๐—ž๐—˜๐—ง ๐—”๐—ฉ๐—”๐—œ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—•๐—œ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ฌ ๐—ข๐—ก๐—Ÿ๐—ฌ โœจ
The Leigh Folk Festival is this weekend, and there are only a few days left to buy your tickets for our first ever Signature Concert on Friday 26th June, featuring The Long Run, who have put together a unique show just for the festival.

We would love to see you all there for this ticketed event, but please be aware that ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ข ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฟ, ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ so make sure you get your tickets before sales close at midnight on Thursday. โณ

Tickets can be bought here: https://leigh-folk-arts.yapsody.com/event/index/870681

Every ticket guarantees you a seat for the gig in the library gardens where we have beer and cocktails provided by Leigh Spirit Company, crepes and hot/cold drinks from Lemon Witch, as well as delicious pizza from Cenzos Pizza. Get your tickets now to be part of Folk Festival history, and we'll see you all there ๐Ÿ™‚

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต ๐—™๐—ผ๐—น๐—ธ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€
25th to 28th June 2026
Visit www.leighfolkfestival.com for full details

๐—•๐—ฒ ๐—” ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ - ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—™๐—™
Help keep the UK's largest free folk festival thriving with a donation & boost your impact by 25% with Gift Aid. Itโ€™s as easy as 1-2-3! Details at https://bit.ly/4nCp935
LEIGH FOLK ARTS ASSOCIATION
Registered Charity No 1271298

๐—” ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต-๐—ผ๐—ป-๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†! ๐ŸปWe are delighted to have Leigh-on-Sea Brewery with us as one of our valued s...
22/06/2026

๐—” ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต-๐—ผ๐—ป-๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†! ๐Ÿป
We are delighted to have Leigh-on-Sea Brewery with us as one of our valued sponsors of Leigh Folk Festival 2026!

For the event they have brewed up something incredibly special for us this year: ๐—Ÿ๐—ฌ๐—ฅ๐—œ๐—–๐—”๐—Ÿ ๐—›๐—”๐—ญ๐—˜, a beautiful 4.5% New England Pale serving as our Official Festival Beer.

An enormous thank you to everyone at Leigh On Sea Brewery for their continued, invaluable support. Keeping the festival free and accessible to everyone takes a village, and having such a brilliant local brewery in our corner makes the event even more special.

Make sure to grab a pint of ๐—Ÿ๐—ฌ๐—ฅ๐—œ๐—–๐—”๐—Ÿ ๐—›๐—”๐—ญ๐—˜ over the festival weekend and raise a glass to good times, great music, and brilliant beer! ๐ŸŽ‰

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต ๐—™๐—ผ๐—น๐—ธ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€
25th to 28th June 2026
Visit www.leighfolkfestival.com for full details

๐—•๐—ฒ ๐—” ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ - ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—™๐—™
Help keep the UK's largest free folk festival thriving with a donation & boost your impact by 25% with Gift Aid. Itโ€™s as easy as 1-2-3! Details at https://bit.ly/4nCp935

LEIGH FOLK ARTS ASSOCIATION
Registered Charity No 1271298

Letโ€™s talk dogs ๐Ÿพ๐ŸถWeโ€™ve had lots of questions about bringing your four-legged festival buddies along, so hereโ€™s the woof...
22/06/2026

Letโ€™s talk dogs ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿถ

Weโ€™ve had lots of questions about bringing your four-legged festival buddies along, so hereโ€™s the wooficial guidance...

As the festival takes place in public spaces, we canโ€™t prevent dogs being brought along, but we do ask owners to think carefully about whether itโ€™s the right environment for their furry friend โค๏ธ

Dogs are not permitted in most of our indoor venues ๐Ÿšซ๐Ÿพ

The bigger thing to consider though is the festival itselfโ€ฆ๐ŸŽถ
Leigh Folk Festival can get very busy, very noisy and very crowded. While we know many dogs love an adventure, a sea of feet, music, excitement and thousands of festival-goers isnโ€™t always their idea of a perfect day out ๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ’ญ

If your festival sidekick is joining you, please keep them on a lead at all times ๐Ÿฆฎ and help everyone have a happy and safe weekend โœจ

Leigh Folk Festival ๐ŸŽป
25โ€“28 June 2026

Visit www.leighfolkfestival.com for full details

Be a Festival Hero & support LFF โค๏ธ
Help keep the UK's largest free folk festival thriving with a donation and boost your impact by 25% with Gift Aid. Details in bio.

Dog featured: Budgie ๐Ÿถ

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