The Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival takes place in June in Middlewich

Middlewich

Middlewich is a market town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is east of the city of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach....

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The festival builds on the towns industrial

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 heritage in which canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 boats

Narrowboat

A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...

 were used to move coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 and other raw materials in the town for the production of salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

, and then move the salt out of town, either for use directly , or as a raw material in the manufacture of chemicals such as Chlorine

Chlorine

Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...

 and soda ash

Sodium carbonate

Sodium carbonate , Na2CO3 is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Sodium carbonate is domestically well-known for its everyday use as a water softener. It can be extracted from the...

.

The Middlewich Folk and Boat festival is now firmly established on the folk circuit and it is estimated that 30,000 people visit the town during the festival weekend, along with 400 boats. The festival was originally organised by members of the Middlewich Paddies

The Middlewich Paddies

The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...

. The festival was declared among the top three folk festivals in England by Guardian Online.

History

The festival has been held since 1990. It was cancelled in 2001 because of Foot and Mouth disease.

The festival

Since 1990 there has been an annual folk music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 and (canal) boat

Narrowboat

A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...

 festival, which is now highly regarded on the folk circuit with visitors coming into the town from all over the UK. During this festival artists appear at venues throughout the town, whilst Morris Dancing

Morris dance

Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...

 and Craft Stalls also featured. The boating festival centres on the Trent and Mersey Canal

Trent and Mersey Canal

The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....

. The main venues where people and boats converge are the Big Lock and Kings Lock, public houses next to locks of the same name on the Trent and Mersey canal.

2009 (19th - 21st June)

• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• Blue Murder
  Blue Murder (folk)
  Blue Murder is an occasional English folk "supergroup", consisting at various times of various members of Swan Arcade, Coope Boyes and Simpson, Waterson:Carthy and The Watersons....
  
  
• Ade Edmondson's Bad Shepherds
• All Blacked Up & Baz Parkes
• Thea Gilmore
  Thea Gilmore
  Thea Eve Gilmore is a British female singer-songwriter. She began her career working in a recording studio, where she was discovered by her now long-time collaborator, producer and sometime co-songwriter Nigel Stonier, whom she married in October 2005.-Career:Gilmore was born in Oxford to Irish...
  
  
• Jim Moray
  Jim Moray
  Jim Moray is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.-Recording artist:While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded I Am Jim Moray EP. During 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury festival and the Cambridge Folk...
  
  
• Stan's Magic Foot
• The Rainbow Chasers
• Gina Le Faux
• Tom Doughty
  Tom Doughty
  Tom Doughty is an English, Cheshire-based lap steel acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has released three albums. His style is free-flowing and improvisational, drawing from the blues, folk and jazz-swing standards. He has played at venues all over the United Kingdom and frequently...
  
  
• Greg Cave & The Village Band
• Ella Edmondson
• Vicki & Trefor
• Andrea Glass
• Rachel Harrington
• Liz and the Lizzettes
• Isambarde
• Zoox
• Acoustak
• Barron Brady
• Bill Malkin
• Breeze and Wilson
• Brendan Fahy
• Calico Jack
• Chloë
• Chris Layhe and Oyster
• Cold Flame
• Dave Dove
• Deportees
• Dominic Collins
• Dr Bob and the Wildboys
• Fiona Simpson and Brian Adams
• Full House
• Geoff Mather
• Guitar Mal
• Holy Maggots
• James & the Giant
• Jaywalkers
• Jonathan Tarplee
• JP Slidewell
• Kavona
• Last Ones Out
• Lorelei Loveridge
• Lost in the Mist
• Madcap
• Men in Black
• Michelle Martin
• Nigel Beck
• Peter Butler
• Picnic Area
• Providence Jug Band
• Salt Town Poets
• Shake the Barley
• Song & Story
• The Huers
• Thom Kirkpatrick
• Time Bandits

2008 (13th - 15th June)

Including

• June Tabor
  June Tabor
  June Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...
  
  
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• Martin Simpson
  Martin Simpson
  Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
  
  
• Bandersnatch
• Kerfuffle
  Kerfuffle
  Kerfuffle were a four-piece English folk band, originally formed in 2001 around the East Midlands and South Yorkshire regions of the UK, initially comprising Hannah James , Sam Sweeney , Chris Thornton-Smith and Tom Sweeney . Thornton-Smith was replaced by Jamie Roberts in 2007...
  
  
• Peatbog Faeries
  Peatbog Faeries
  The Peatbog Faeries are a largely instrumental Celtic fusion band. Formed in 1991, they are based in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.Their music embodies many styles and influences, including folk, electronica, rock and jazz, - but their main influence is traditional celtic music...
  
  
• Nick Barraclough
  Nick Barraclough
  Nick Barraclough is a British radio producer, presenter, musician and writer, who is best known for hosting shows related to specialist American music...
  
   and the Burglars
• Lau
  Lau (band)
  Lau is a contemporary folk three-piece from Scotland, named after an Orcadian word meaning "natural light." The band is composed of Kris Drever , Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke . To date, the band has released two studio albums and a live album.Their debut album, Lightweights and Gentlemen, was...
  
  
• Rory Ellis
• Zoe Mulford
• The Warsaw Village Band
• Stomp
• Nick Harper
  Nick Harper
  Nick Harper is an English singer-songwriter/guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper.-Early life:Nick Harper was born in London in 1965 to the famous folk singer-songwriter Roy Harper...
  
  
• Jonathan Kelly

2007 (15th - 17th June)

• Seth Lakeman
  Seth Lakeman
  Seth Bernard Lakeman is an English folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who is most often associated with the fiddle and tenor guitar, but has also mastered the viola and banjo...
  
  
• Elbow Jane and Dave Dove
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
   with Mark Radcliffe
  Mark Radcliffe
  Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
  
  
• Dave Hunt and Happenstance.
• Blazin’ Fiddles
• Queensberry Rules
• Ashley Hutchings
  Ashley Hutchings
  Ashley Stephen Hutchings is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founder member of three of the most noteworthy English folk-rock bands in the history of the genre; Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band...
  
   and Rainbow Chasers
  Rainbow Chasers
  Rainbow Chasers are an English folk band, formed in 2004 by Ashley Hutchings. They play traditional and original compositions largely on acoustic instruments and have already gathered a reputation for their quality of their musicianship, arrangements and live performances.-Origin:After the...
  
  
• The Demon Barber Roadshow
• Breeze & Wilson
• Full House
• Peeping Tom and caller Mick Peat.
• The New Rope String Band
• Richard Digance
  Richard Digance
  Richard Digance is a comedian and folk singer.- Biography :He studied Mechanical Engineering at Reid Kerr College Paisley, during which time he was inspired by Billy Connolly....
  
  
• Show of Hands
  Show of Hands
  Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots and folk duo comprising singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. In recent years they have been accompanied on tour and in the studio by jazz double-bassist Miranda Sykes.-Origins:...
  
  
• De Develeski
• PJ Wright and Thom Kirkpatrick

2006 (16th - 18th June)

• The Stereo Graffiti Show with Darren Poyzer and Friends
• Tommy Kirkpatrick and the Beautiful Noise
• The Dylan Project
• Tom Doughty
  Tom Doughty
  Tom Doughty is an English, Cheshire-based lap steel acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has released three albums. His style is free-flowing and improvisational, drawing from the blues, folk and jazz-swing standards. He has played at venues all over the United Kingdom and frequently...
  
  
• PJ Wright and Dave Pegg
  Dave Pegg
  Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
  
  
• Karine Polwart
  Karine Polwart
  Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide...
  
  
• CrossCurrent
  Crosscurrent
  Crosscurrent is Jake Shimabukuro's second solo album. It was released in August 2003.-Track listing:# "Crosscurrent"# "Toastman's Dilemma"# "Fragile"# "I've Been Thinking"# "Wish On My Star"# "Spain"# "Mrs. Robinson"# "Skyline"# "Orange World"...
  
  
• Michael McGoldrick
  Michael McGoldrick
  Michael McGoldrick is a flute and tin whistle player. He also plays the Uilleann pipes and low whistle. He is well known for his ability to skate switch and regular with the same level of ability.-Bands:...
  
   and His Band
• Emma and The Professor
• Hazel O'Connor
  Hazel O'Connor
  Hazel O'Connor is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of a soldier from Galway who settled in England after World War II to work in a car plant...
  
  
• A Woman's Word
• McDermott's
• The Levellers
  The Levellers (band)
  The Levellers are an English rock band, founded in 1988 and based in Brighton, England. Their musical style is said to be influenced by punk and traditional English music.-1988-1990:...
  
  
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• Darren Poyzer
• Ann English
• Kirsty McGee
  Kirsty McGee
  Kirsty McGee is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who started performing on the Manchester band scene when she was fourteen but then moved onto the acoustic music scene where she built herself a reputation with well-crafted original songs...
  
  
• Dear Gregory
• All Blacked Up
• Cave
• Martin Eden and The Assembly Boys

2005 (17th - 19th June)

• Queensberry Rules
• Uiscedwr
  Uiscedwr
  Uiscedwr is a trio which plays British folk music influenced by world music. The group started off as a trio and was originally based in Manchester.Uiscedwr won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award in 2002 ....
  
  
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• Mostly Autumn
  Mostly Autumn
  Mostly Autumn is a British band, producing music heavily influenced by classic 1970s rock. The group formed in 1996, and have built their reputation through constant touring, never signing to a major label. The group's early influences were Genesis, Renaissance and Pink Floyd, and folk music...
  
  
• Bellowhead
  Bellowhead
  Bellowhead are an English contemporary folk band originally brought together by John Spiers and Jon Boden. The eleven-piece band plays traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide diversity of musical styles and influences...
  
  
• Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies
  Jez Lowe
  Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a coal mining family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He performs both as a...
  
  
• Kerfuffle
  Kerfuffle
  Kerfuffle were a four-piece English folk band, originally formed in 2001 around the East Midlands and South Yorkshire regions of the UK, initially comprising Hannah James , Sam Sweeney , Chris Thornton-Smith and Tom Sweeney . Thornton-Smith was replaced by Jamie Roberts in 2007...
  
  
• Martin Carthy
  Martin Carthy
  Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
  
  
• Eddi Reader
  Eddi Reader
  Eddi Reader MBE is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known both for her work with Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards and has topped both the album and singles charts...
  
  
• Tickled Pink
• Brian Kennedy
  Brian Kennedy (singer)
  Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author, known for his ballads, and has represented Ireland at Eurovision 2006. He is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.-Personal life:...
  
  
• Eliza Carthy
  Eliza Carthy
  Eliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
  
  
• The Ratcatchers

2004 (18th - 20th June)

• Fairport Convention
  Fairport Convention
  Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
  
  
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• Simon Mayor
  Simon Mayor
  Simon Mayor is a mandolinist and fiddle player, guitarist, and composer.- Works :With his solo debut The Mandolin Album in 1990 he embarked on a series of recordings to give the mandolin a uniquely British voice. The CD was made Recording of the Week on BBC Radio 2...
  
  
• Hilary James
  Hilary James
  Hilary James is a British musician. A vocalist and multi-instrumentalist she plays guitar, mando-bass and is a singer, and songwriter. She works mostly with her partner Simon Mayor and with their ensemble the Mandolinquents...
  
  
• Shooglenifty
  Shooglenifty
  Shooglenifty are an Edinburgh-based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally. The band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from electronica to alternative rock...
  
  
• Baker's Fabulous Boys
• Show of Hands
  Show of Hands
  Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots and folk duo comprising singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. In recent years they have been accompanied on tour and in the studio by jazz double-bassist Miranda Sykes.-Origins:...
  
  
• The Levellers
  The Levellers (band)
  The Levellers are an English rock band, founded in 1988 and based in Brighton, England. Their musical style is said to be influenced by punk and traditional English music.-1988-1990:...
  
  

2003 (13th - 15th June)

• Bob Geldof
  Bob Geldof
  Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
  
  
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• John Wright, Gary Forrest and Serious Kitchen
• Whapweasel
• Gordon Potts
• The New John Wright Band
• Ian Bruce
• Kirsty McGee
  Kirsty McGee
  Kirsty McGee is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who started performing on the Manchester band scene when she was fourteen but then moved onto the acoustic music scene where she built herself a reputation with well-crafted original songs...
  
  
• Te Vaka
  Te Vaka
  Te Vaka is an Oceanic music group that performs original contemporary Pacific music or "South Pacific Fusion". The group was founded in 1995 by Opetaia Foa'i in New Zealand...
  
  
• Rick Roser
• Waterson:Carthy
  Waterson:Carthy
  Waterson:Carthy are an English folk group originally comprising Norma Waterson on vocals, her husband Martin Carthy on guitar and vocals and their daughter Eliza Carthy on fiddle and vocals....
  
  
• Les Barker
  Les Barker
  Les Barker is an English poet. He is best known for his comedic poetry and parodies of popular songs, however he has also produced some very serious thought-provoking written work....
  
  
• Jim Moray
  Jim Moray
  Jim Moray is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.-Recording artist:While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded I Am Jim Moray EP. During 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury festival and the Cambridge Folk...
  
  
• The Oysterband
  Oysterband
  Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
  
  
• Eliza Carthy
  Eliza Carthy
  Eliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
  
   Band
• Sean Cannon
  Seán Cannon
  Séan Cannon is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been lead vocal and guitarist for the Dubliners.-Early life:Seán Cannon was born in Galway, Ireland. He travelled around Europe at an early age, rambling in England, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. It was during these trips that Cannon learned to...
  
  

2002 (14th - 16th June)

• Fairport Convention
  Fairport Convention
  Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
  
  
• Lindisfarne
  Lindisfarne (band)
  Lindisfarne were a British folk/rock group from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1970 and fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. Their music combined a strong sense of yearning with an even stronger sense of fun...
  
  
• Kate Rusby
  Kate Rusby
  Kate Anna Rusby is an English folk singer and songwriter from Penistone, South Yorkshire. Sometimes known as The Barnsley Nightingale, she has headlined various British national folk festivals, and is regarded as one of the most famous English folk singers of contemporary times...
  
  
• Black Umfolosi
• Andy Cutting
  Andy Cutting
  Andy Cutting is an English folk musician and composer. Born 18 March 1969 in Harrow, he plays melodeon and has had instruments made by Castagnari to his own specification. He won the Folk Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008 and 2011...
  
   and Chris Wood
  Chris Wood (folk musician)
  Chris Wood is an English folk musician and composer who plays fiddle, viola and guitar, and sings. He is an ardent enthusiast for traditional English dance music , including Morris and other rituals and ceremonies, but his repertoire also includes much French folk music and traditional Québécois...
  
  
• Isla St Clair
  Isla St Clair
  Isla St Clair , is a Scottish singer, actress and former game show co-host.-Early career:Isla St Clair was born in Grangemouth, central Scotland, in 1952. Her family came from North East Scotland and it was here that she spent her early years...
  
  
• e2k
• Cara Dillon
  Cara Dillon
  Cara Dillon is an Irish folk singer. In 2001, she launched her career as a solo artist in the UK with the eponymous Cara Dillon album...
  
  
• Kathryn Robert and Sean Lakeman
  Sean Lakeman
  Sean Lakeman , is an English folk musician and producer.-Early life:He was brought up in the village of Buckland Monachorum, near Yelverton, Devon with his brothers, fellow folk musicians Seth Lakeman and Sam Lakeman...
  
  
• John Boden
  John Boden
  John George Boden was an English first-class cricketer, who played one match for Yorkshire County Cricket Club against the Australian touring team at Bramall Lane, Sheffield in 1878....
  
   and John Spiers
  John Spiers
  John Spiers is an English melodeon, concertina and bandonion player.-Career:He plays with the duo Spiers and Boden and the band Bellowhead, and used to be a part of Eliza Carthy's old band The Ratcatchers.-Personal life:...
  
  
• Whorticulture
• Jenny Butterworth
• Jon Brindley
• Emily Slade
• Hot Tamales
  Hot Tamales
  Hot Tamales are a cinnamon candy manufactured by the Just Born.They are shaped like Mike and Ike candies and were introduced in 1950.In addition to the hot and spicy flavor, there is also Hot Tamales Fire which is more intense than the original, a darker red in color, and less opaque.A spearmint...
  
  
• Aphrodite
• Jug O' Punch
• Steamhead
• Taggart and Wright
• Trefor and Vicki Williams
• Roam
• Quartz
• Ailsa and John Booth
• Brass Tacks
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• The Peace Artistes
• Root Chord
• Odd at Ease
• Tom Brown and Ian Goodier
• South Cheshire Pipe Band
• Elle Osbourne
• Sarah Hayes
• The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...
  
  

2000 (16th - 18th June)

• Vin Garbutt
  Vin Garbutt
  Vin Garbutt , though second generation Irish, is an English folk singer and songwriter...
  
  
• Iron Horse
  Iron horse
  An Iron horse is an iconic literary term originating in the early Victorian culture when horses still powered most machinery, excepting windmills and stationary steam engines, the term was common and popular in both British and North American literary articles.Iron Horse was used admiringly when...
  
  
• Te Vaka
  Te Vaka
  Te Vaka is an Oceanic music group that performs original contemporary Pacific music or "South Pacific Fusion". The group was founded in 1995 by Opetaia Foa'i in New Zealand...
  
  
• Roy Bailey
  Roy Bailey (folk singer)
  Roy Bailey MBE , is a British socialist folk singer. Roy began his singing career in a skiffle group in 1958.Colin Irwin from the music magazine Mojo said Bailey represents "the very soul of folk's working class ideals.....
  
   and John Kirkpatrick
• Blue Horses
• Show of Hands
  Show of Hands
  Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots and folk duo comprising singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. In recent years they have been accompanied on tour and in the studio by jazz double-bassist Miranda Sykes.-Origins:...
  
  
• Les Barker
  Les Barker
  Les Barker is an English poet. He is best known for his comedic poetry and parodies of popular songs, however he has also produced some very serious thought-provoking written work....
  
  
• Blowzabella
  Blowzabella
  Blowzabella are an English band who play bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies and an array of acoustic instruments to produce an inimitable, driving, drone-based sound influenced by British and European traditional dance music.-History:...
  
  
• Loctup Together
• Jenny Butterworth
• Cuckoo Oak
• Seize the Day
  Seize the Day (band)
  Seize The Day are a folk band from the United Kingdom. They specialise in protest songs, and have supported many environmental campaigns across the world.-History:...
  
  
• Dragonfall
• The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone
  The Family Mahone are a folk rock band from Chester, England. The most famous member of the band is the radio DJ Mark Radcliffe.-Discography:*Songs of the Back Bar *On the Razzle with the Family Mahone *Mahone Brew...
  
  
• Slip Jig
• Karen Burton
  Karen Burton
  Karen Burton is a female freestyle swimmer from USA. She represented her native country at the 1991 and 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Western Australia, competing in one individual events ....
  
  
• Tania Opland and Mike Freeman
• Bob Webb
• Calico Jack
• Steamhead
• Bakers Fabulous Boys
• Ceolta
• The National Youth Folklore Troupe of England
• John Barden
• Roy Clinging
• Davian Reel
• Quartz
• St Patrick's Pipe Band
• The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...
  
  

1999 (18th - 20th June)

• Cherish the Ladies
  Cherish the Ladies
  Cherish the Ladies is an American all-female Irish-American super group. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985, the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female musicians in America in what had been a male-dominated scene...
  
  
• Black Umfolosi
• The Poozies
  The Poozies
  The Poozies are an all-women band that produce folk music from the English and Scottish traditions. The band perform traditional and self-composed material. Contemporary songs written by Sally Barker also feature heavily in the current live set...
  
  
• Tanglefoot
  Tanglefoot (band)
  Tanglefoot was a folk band from Ontario, Canada. Formed in the early 1980s by schoolteachers Joe Grant, Bob Wagar, and Tim Rowat to play traditional music, they became a five-piece band playing largely original music...
  
  
• The Old Rope String Band
• Cock and Bull
• The Oldham Tinkers
• Bernard Wrigley
  Bernard Wrigley
  Bernard Wrigley is a singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog"....
  
  
• Ian Bruce
• The Boat Band
• Acquiesce
• The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...
  
  
• The Chipolatas
• St. Patrick's Pipe Band
• Keeper's Lock
• Steamhead
• Davian Reel
• Roy Wilcock & Bridget Guest
• Lorebreakers

1998 (19th - 21st June)

• Dervish
  Dervish (band)
  Dervish are a traditional Irish music group from County Sligo, Ireland. They were formed in 1989 by Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Martin McGinley, Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes. The band was originally formed to record an album of local music which was later released as “The Boys of Sligo”. They...
  
  
• The Albion Band
• Chris While and Julie Matthews
• Artisan
  Artisan
  An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
  
  
• Tanglefoot
  Tanglefoot (band)
  Tanglefoot was a folk band from Ontario, Canada. Formed in the early 1980s by schoolteachers Joe Grant, Bob Wagar, and Tim Rowat to play traditional music, they became a five-piece band playing largely original music...
  
  
• Huw and Tony Williams
• Cock and Bull Band
• The Peace Artists
• Calico Jack
• Davian Reel
• Moorland Folk
• Buzz & Sam Collins
• Stanley Accrington
• The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...
  
  
• Chris Sherburn and Denny Bartley
• Flakey Jake and The Steamin Locos
• John Conolly and Pete Sumner
• Fiona Shirra
• Acquiesce
• The Salt Town Poets
• Ian Goodier and Tom Browne
• Steamhead
• Roy Wilcock and Bridget Guest
• The Lorebreakers
• Biggles Wartime Jug Band
• The Ram Shanty Crew
• Silk Brass

1997 (20th - 22nd June)

• The Yetties
  The Yetties
  The Yetties are an English folk music group and take their name from the Dorset village of Yetminster which was their childhood home. In 2007 The Yetties celebrated 40 years as a professional folk band....
  
  
• Coope Boyes and Simpson
  Coope Boyes and Simpson
  Coope, Boyes and Simpson are an English vocal folk trio, formed around 1990. Their sound is rich and often has unusual vocal harmonies.The group comprises singers Barry Coope, Jim Boyes and Lester Simpson, and almost all of their music is sung entirely a capella, although they have occasionally...
  
  
• Big Jig
• The Boat Band
• Anam - Flook!
• The Geckoes
• Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies
  Jez Lowe
  Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a coal mining family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He performs both as a...
  
  
• Crook
• Sears and Harrison
• Davian Reel
• Gavin Lewery and Jock Tyldesley
• Les Barker
  Les Barker
  Les Barker is an English poet. He is best known for his comedic poetry and parodies of popular songs, however he has also produced some very serious thought-provoking written work....
  
  
• To Hell with Burgundy
• The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...
  
  
• Calico Jack
• Youthquake
• Salt Town Poets
• The Chipolatas
• Gilly Darby
• Chew the Roots
• Harvey Andrews
  Harvey Andrews
  Harvey John Andrews is an English singer, songwriter, and poet.-Career:From 1964, Andrews supported his nascent career as a singer/songwriter by working as a schoolteacher, before becoming a full-time professional musician in 1966.Harvey Andrews has produced 17 successful albums singing his own...
  
  

1996 (14th - 16th June)

• After Hours
  After Hours
  - Television and film :* After Hours , a 1985 movie directed by Martin Scorsese* After Hours , a 1953 Canadian television series* After Hours , a 2007 television drama broadcasted in Singapore...
  
  
• Cosmotheka
• Calico Jack
• Gary and Vera Aspey
• Five Speed Box
• New Bushbury Mountain Daredevils
• Chris Sherbourn and Denny Bartley
• The Southgators
• Keith Donnelly
• Risky Business
• The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies
  The Middlewich Paddies are an Irish folk band formed in 1979, and based around the town of Middlewich in Cheshire. Although not widely known outside of folk music circles, two members of the band were instrumental in setting up the Middlewich folk and boat festival which has now become a recognised...
  
  
• Jenny Shotliffe and Youthquake
• The Great Bonzo and Doris
• Dave Roberts
• Circus Sensible
• Paul and Glen Elliot

External links

• http://www.middlewichfestival.org.uk/
• http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/middlewich/2005/ 2005 Festival page
• http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/gsivills/gsfandb.html 2003 Festival home page
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0O3VKl1OHA Clerical Error at the 2006 festival
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC2KTAv0owo Music at the Big Lock during the 2007 festival