Durham Folk Festival: A Guide to the City's New Folk Celebration

The North East has one of the richest folk traditions in England, and in September 2026 Durham gains a festival to match it. The Durham Folk Festival launches its inaugural edition across the city, turning cathedral, concert hall, chapel and even a river cruiser into stages for three days of folk, roots and traditional music. With a line-up that mixes major international names and the region's own celebrated musicians, it arrives as one of the most ambitious additions to Durham's cultural calendar in years.

When and where

The first Durham Folk Festival takes place over the weekend of 18 to 20 September 2026. Rather than a single site, it spreads across some of the city's best-known venues, including Redhills, the Durham Miners Hall, Durham Cathedral, the Gala Theatre, Elvet Methodist Church and Durham Town Hall. There are even musical cruises aboard the Prince Bishop river boat on the Wear, so the festival makes full use of Durham's compact, walkable centre and its riverside setting.

What's on

The programme is substantial, with more than 100 performances and events across the weekend. It brings together major international artists, leading traditional musicians, ceilidhs, workshops, talks, screenings, family events and free outdoor activity, alongside the informal pub sessions that are the beating heart of any folk festival.

The opening line-up includes names such as Sharon Shannon, Shooglenifty, Honeyfeet, Leveret and the North East's own Jez Lowe, with festival patrons The Wilsons among a wide cast of folk, roots and traditional performers from the region, the wider UK and beyond. It is a programme designed to appeal to committed folk fans and curious newcomers alike.

Best for: More than 100 events in one weekend, from headline concerts to free family sessions. It is worth planning ahead which performances you most want to catch.

Free and ticketed events

The festival is a mix of ticketed and free. Headline concerts and the bigger venue shows are ticketed, while much of the festival's spirit lives in its free offering: pub music sessions, free family events, ceilidhs and outdoor activity that anyone can wander into. That mix makes it easy to build a day around a couple of booked highlights and fill the gaps with the free programme.

Tickets for the concerts are sold through the festival's own website, durhamfolkfest.org.uk, where the full programme and venue details are published. Popular concerts can sell out, so it is worth booking the ones you most want early.

Planning your visit

Durham is one of the easiest cities in the region to explore on foot, and the festival's venues are mostly within a short walk of one another around the peninsula and city centre. The city is well connected by rail, with Durham station a few minutes from the centre, which makes the train an easy option for an evening concert. If you are driving, use the Park and Ride or the city-centre car parks, as central parking is limited, especially over a busy festival weekend.

With so much packed into three days, the festival pairs well with a wider weekend in the city. Our guides to a weekend in Durham, the Durham Cathedral visitor experience and the best days out from Durham all help you build the festival into a fuller trip.

A new festival always takes a year or two to find its feet, but with this scale of programme and these venues, the Durham Folk Festival has arrived with real ambition. For anyone with an ear for folk and traditional music, it is one to mark in the diary.

Going to the first Durham Folk Festival? Get in touch with your highlights.