Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival & Museum

In 9 weeks time Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival 2019 will be opening the gates once again to thousands of people enjoying a weekend of debate, music, comedy, film and more!
The Friday music programme kicks off at 2pm on our outdoor acoustic stage. Featuring the best in young, upcoming musical talent, this is a great way to start your weekend and maybe spot a Tolpuddle star of the future!
This year's line-up includes performances by Horses In Disguise, Shannon Amy Lewis, Rowena, K...orti Fyah and Nature's Cage.
We recommend that you get down early and make the most of this fantastic weekend!
Festival info and tickets from
https://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/
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Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival?? You're having a laugh!!
We're excited to announce a brand new Comedy event at Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival 2019, on the Friday evening 19th July from 7pm at the Village Hall.
'The People's Comedy' is a showcase of young, upcoming political comedians, curated by Matthew Johns from his regular night in Bristol.
... 5 acts plus Jon himself will be injecting a healthy dose of humour into the weekend, featuring Firuz Ozari, Eliza Fraser, Henry Palmer, Caz Costley and James O'Donoghue.
Doors open at 7pm. This is a seated event strictly limited to 60 people and cannot be pre-booked so please arrive early.
There will be a bucket collection on the door to help cover costs for this special festival extra.
There will be a basic licensed bar available in the village hall for this event.
See poster for more details.
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Breaking taboos and convention with a wink in their eye, a cider in their hand (and quite possibly a dancing badger in the crowd), those loveable rogues The Skimmity Hitchers are back at Tolpuddle this year for more mirth and mayhem.
http://skimmityhitchers.co.uk/
They'll be playing at the Unite the union tent on Saturday 20th July at 5pm, and we invite you along for a song, a dance and a heckle!
... Remember that festival tickets are on sale NOW from https://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/
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Finishing off the Martyrs' Marquee music programme in some style on Sunday 21st July will be the fantastic sound of Joe Tilston & The Embers Band.
Joe's music echoes years of influence from his upbringing in and around the English folk scene, with a fresh twist and energy provided by his own venture into punk over the last decade as a member of Random Hand.
This is one of the first few performances as The Embers Band and we are very privileged to have them play at Tolpuddle M...artyrs' Festival 2019, ahead of a UK tour later this year.
https://joetilston.bandcamp.com/album/emb ers
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Fans of genuine, roots folk music should be sure to take a seat in the Martyrs' Marquee on Sunday afternoon, 21st July.
Dave Milburn, known as Our Deev, from Jarrow in Co. Durham has been playing his brand of solo trad-folk guitar songs up and down the country, especially prized in the North of England, where he has played by Invitation in Stafford, Salop, The Bridge Club in Newcastle and recently a sold out show with Dwina Hayes at The Black Swan Folk Club in York.
https://s...oundcloud.com/user-245053801/ sets/the-reiver-album
He plays finger-picking, Slide and a mighty fine harmonica at the same time, and his influences range from 19 Century Rants & Reels to Ceilidh Folk, usually featuring all styles during his show.
He appeared this year with The Odd Socks at the Saltburn Folk Festival, and at The Festival Conouille at Quimper in Brittany, France, where the locals, not knowing what quite to make of him, gave him a raucous reception as he gave them Weissenbourn solo slide celtic music.
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Another exciting, upcoming young talent in the Martyrs' Marquee on Sunday 21st July is Jess Silk.
Jess is a guitarist, singer and songwriter from the Black Country. Her shouty but melodic brand of folk/punk music often has her being likened to a female Frank Turner or Billy Bragg, and it gets people sitting up and listening. Armed only with an increasingly sticker-covered acoustic guitar and a distinctive, gravely voice that many don’t expect, Jess plays to audiences up and d...own the country and has shared stages with many well known names among the folk/punk scene.
https://jesssilk.bandcamp.com/
Jess’s debut album, ‘Break the Bottle’, was released on the 11th May 2018, the launch being celebrated with a packed out show at Katie Fitzgeralds in Stourbridge. Previous to this release, Jess also has two self-produced EPs under her belt, ‘Background Noise’ and ‘The SP EP’, the former being recorded predominantly using only an iPad with a terrible microphone, hence the title. She is currently working on her second album, ‘Preaching From the Barricades’, and is hoping to release it in 2019.
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National Trust People's Landscapes: Walking the way of the Tolpuddle Martyrs: Tolpuddle-Dewlish. Saturday 11 May 11am 2.5 miles with Time and Tide folk group. email maxgate@nationaltrust.org.uk and... Sunday 26 May 11.30 and 3.30 Storytelling with Martin Maudsley
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We forsee some toe-tapping, knee-slapping fun in the Martyrs' Marquee when this next band take to the stage on the Sunday afternoon.
The Two Man Travelling Medicine Show are an eight piece Americana/Country/punk outfit from Dorset.
They've been described as 'Pastoral folk on a white knuckle ride on an out of control Cider cart' - who are we to argue with that??
... Check out their excellent track 'A Snake's A Snake' here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch…
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Opening the Sunday music programme in the Martyrs' Marquee will be the fantastic female solo performer Anairda.
https://www.anairda-arte.com/
Anairda is a Latin American singer-songwriter, community artist and activist based in Plymouth who believes in the power of art to inspire change.
... She has been involved in the grassroot movements for climate justice, women's rights and animal welfare. Her fiery folk-rock/world music has been described as deeply radical.
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As well as the Main Stage offerings on Sunday 21st July, there will be a packed programme of music in the Martyrs' Marquee from 11am to 5pm. We encourage you to drop in and enjoy some brilliant artists perform across the day, while you peruse the various campaign stalls.
Your MC for the day will once again be the dilectable John Diment, aka John D Revelator.

Topping off a fantastic bill of live music outside the Martyrs' Museum on Sunday 21st July will be the brilliant Eddi Reader.
http://eddireader.co.uk/
Eddi grew up in Glasgow and Irvine, Scotland and it was in those towns that she learned to use music as a vehicle for communicating with others through busking and performing at the local folk clubs. In the early 1980s, Eddi travelled around Europe with circus and performance artists before moving to London where she quickly be...came a sought after session vocalist. She famously harmonized with Annie Lennox touring with the Eurythmics, after her time with successful punk outfit Gang of Four. It was the short-lived but warmly remembered Fairground Attraction that really brought her into the limelight and to the attention of a much wider audience. The single ‘Perfect’ and parent album First of a Million Kisses both topped the British charts.
However, it was her subsequent albums which signalled her increasing ability to assimilate different musical styles and make them all very much her own. Her unerring instinct for fine material, whether self penned, collaborative or a carefully chosen cover version resulted in Mirmama (1992), Eddi Reader (1994), Candyfloss & Medicine (1996), Angels & Electricity (1998), Simple Soul (2001), plus her most recent album Cavalier (2018).
Eddi celebrated her 40th year as a live performer in 2018, a career which started in 1978 singing on Scottish country rock tours, then appearing on worldwide festival and concert hall stages with Gang of Four and Fairground Attraction through the eighties and her own successful solo live career which continues to this day.
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