English Folk Expo 2013
03-08-2012
English Folk Expo
The first of an annual industry showcase event for English folk music
The Met, Bury, Lancashire
18 -20 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 25 and 28 October 2012, with its second year, seeing the addition of English Folk Expo as a separate but complementary industry-focussed event between 18 and 20 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.
