Gate to Southwell Festival

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An independent, brilliantly curated, genuinely friendly, perfectly sized festival with a rich mix of UK and international roots music in a beautiful lakeside setting. The Gate to Southwell Festival is now established as one of the premier roots and acoustic music events in the Midlands Calendar rivalling other well established festivals and receiving many accolades. We are on the edge of the historic and beautiful market town of Southwell, at the village of Kirklington for the first time in 2021, and approximately 13 miles from Nottingham and 8 miles from the A1 and Newark.

30/10/2026

🎵Announced: The Jake Leg Jug Band, the authentic sounds of 1920s and 30s America - jazz, blues, ragtime and gospel. Songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption.

"A masterpiece of nostalgic music. The band display real virtuosity and create a wonderful sound that will be hard for any other band to repeat" Folk North West

"Pick any track at random and prepare to be entertained " RNR Magazine

30/10/2026

Also announced today, Sailor Swift aka Pete Morton!

"It’s a truly unique show from start to finish: Sailor Swift’s fast-moving links between the pieces with so many references is breathtaking, besides the communication with the audience and opportunities for audience participation; but most of all, there’s his vocal versatility, talent and energy! He kept us completely engrossed." Cambridge Folk Club

This new show of Pete’s is a tour de force, it is honestly a revelation, and a real joy, to see a performer at the top of his already deeply impressive game.

"Fiercley creative, skilful, talented and terminally unpredictable" Mojo Magazine

"Not only original...but a revelation" The Guardian

Playing Saturday through Sunday. See website address in pic.

30/10/2026

🎶 Announced! The Weeping Willows, from Australia, Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth are a couple of old souls, steeped in Bluegrass tradition and draped in Gothic Americana imagery. They regale their audiences with "stories of sunshine and romance, God and The Devil, murder and decay".

"Australian alt. country at its near-finest...” / “Australian Gothic-Country is in good hands.” Rolling Stone

“What makes The Weeping Willows sound quite distinctive is their impressive dual vocal lines that start to weave from the opening ‘House of Sin’ to the closing ‘North Wind’ ...they are on the way to making some serious waves in Americana circles with ‘You Reap What You Sow’.” AmericanaUK

See web address in pic.

30/10/2026

A few more announcements today, starting with 🎻 POSSUM MONORAIL 🎶
Hailing from North Carolina, USA, Possum Monorail is an acoustic string band serving up a lively mix of Appalachian old-time music, early country, blues, and American roots music.

Here from Friday to Sunday - see website for more (address in pic). Facebook has decided we can no longer post links without chopping an arm off.

13/10/2026

🎶 We Mavericks back for our 20th festival in 2027. From Australia, they bring powerful harmonies, soaring strings and driving rhythms to a lively mix of contemporary folk, alt-country and acoustic pop.🎻

“...an undoubted masterclass in music delivery and songwriting from two classy musicians coming together in perfect harmony.” Fatea Magazine, UK

Please go to our website for tickets (Facebook not allowing links now unless we sell our grandmas).

02/10/2026

👏👏👏 The Folk Stage is not a stranger to standing ovations, but they are always for very special acts. Jim Crawford is one of them. Originally from Bury, Lancashire, Jim now resides in Appledore, North Devon, where he has gained something of a cult status and from whence he rarely ventures too far these days. This is another golden opportunity to see and hear him live, outside of his adopted home. 🎶🎶

He's been a stalwart of the British blues & roots scene for the past 35 years, and, he'll reprise the blues event on the Barleycorn Stage (with another group of festival artists) next year too, and he's staying for 2 days this time!

See web link in our bio.

02/10/2026

🥁 Second up today is Man The Lifeboats, "Raucous, upbeat folk music, for those who like a drink with their tunes, straight-up lyrics, pounding bass-lines, lilting mandolin, fiddle melodies and stomping beats" The Folk Show. 🎻

If you missed Man The Lifeboats in 2026 (Sunday night on The Frontier) you may have heard how they went down a storm. Fear not, they return to play two sets on Saturday in 2027.

www.gtsf.uk/manthelifeboats

02/10/2026

🎻 Big news coming your way today as we start building the line-up for 2027. The first act we're announcing is Maggie’s Wake, a Canadian powerhouse quartet who came together in late 2022 and quickly took their home province of Ontario by storm. We have 2 more acts to announce today, both returnees from 2026. 🎶

Maggie's Wake are an award-winning contemporary folk group: classic country, the spirit of Celtic reels and jigs, the heat of Cajun twin fiddles, and the groove of world rhythms.

“The quality of the musicianship within this ensemble cannot be overstated!.”...and "some of the finest singing Canada has ever produced" The Beat Magazine

“Their sound is tight, their stage presence electric...layered harmonies, rich storytelling, and serious energy” Ottowa Life Magazine

www.gtsf.uk/maggieswake

28/09/2026

Some news! We're putting on another chance to see Richard Smith, this time a little further afield in Brackenfield, Alfreton, supported by Sticky Bones Jones (who's played the last 2 festivals). Tickets are on sale now.
https://www.gtsf.uk/local-gigs

18/09/2026

⌚We are about to get rid of the remainder of this year's lost property. The only thing left of any value is a gold coloured ladies' watch. A quick search on the manufacturer website says a new one is £125-£140. Please send us a message if you think it's yours.

p.s. the picture is for interest only - it's not the make of watch in question.

Address

Kirklington
Southwell

Telephone

+441636816678

Website

http://www.gtsf.uk/

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