Thu 2 July 2026 ➡ Sun 5 July 2026

The Gate to Southwell Festival 2026

at The Gate to Southwell Festival 2026, SOUTHWELL

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Please note: Info provided by the Event Organiser

This isn’t just a festival. It’s four days each year when the ordinary world can wait outside the gates. GTSF is "quite possibly the best small folk and roots festival in the UK" — not because we say so, but because our audience does, and you return year after year to prove it. If you come too, then from the moment you arrive — by festival bus or pitching up with your car by your tent — you step straight into the heartbeat of the festival. Nine performance areas including three main stages of genre-busting music. 60+ acts, with many playing multiple stages, and more to participate in than you could ever imagine over 4 celebratory days: the laughter, late-night sessions, pints of great beers and ciders, wonderful street theatre and kids' entertainment, and the sense that you’ve stepped into something rare and real. From 2nd to 5th July 2026, our 19th festival returns to its beautiful lakeside home near Southwell, Nottinghamshire. And what you carry away won’t fit in your bag: songs, laughter, and a little magic.

By the way, GTSF is a not-for-profit organisation, run by enthusiastic and experienced volunteers, and we love putting on this festival. Any surplus income goes straight back into future events.

Appearing:

The Proclaimers

Strikingly individual, twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid emerged with their debut album This Is The Story and Top 3 single ‘Letter from America’. Since then their enduring appeal across generations has have over the years seen them enjoy huge success across the globe. The Proclaimers songs are timeless, capturing a gamut of human emotions, written with poignancy, emotional honesty, political fire and wit. Their songs feature at weddings, funerals and everything in-between and there is one song, an early celebration of falling head over heels in love that is known the world over and has become a staggering global anthem. There are many others that have gained great popularity in different parts of the planet and then there is a wide cross section of sublime songs embraced by a multitude that has kept up with The Proclaimers studio albums, compilation collections and extensive touring over three decades. The Proclaimers have carved out a niche for themselves in the netherworld where pop, folk, new wave and punk collide. In the process, they have enjoyed Gold and Platinum singles and albums in UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They have even inspired a musical, the play and film Sunshine on Leith. The movie was the fifth highest grossing Independent UK film of 2013. On BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island discs, David Tennant describes his first track by The Proclaimers - "I could have chosen any and every track from this band, probably my favourite band of all time. They write the most spectacular songs, big hearted, uncynical passionate songs."

See The Proclaimers tour dates

Richard Thompson

Former member of Fairport Convention and one of England's most respected singer/songwriters whose live performances are enjoyed across the world, and whose new material is on a par with the classics he wrote decades ago. Being described as 'the English Bob Dylan' is a fair comparison, only Richard is a good few years younger!

See Richard Thompson tour dates

Honeyfeet

A tuneful, joyous band from Manchester playing ethio-trad, folk-hop & barrelhouse-pop, inspired by artists as diverse as Mulatu Atstake, Flook and Junior Wells.

See Honeyfeet tour dates

Keston Cobblers Club

Siblings Matthew and Julia Lowe join with their old Keston school friends to make foot-stamping mod-folk music based on an old folklore story. Once upon a time, many years ago, in the little village of Keston there was a man who mended shoes. He managed to save his business by buying a fiddle and gathering all the local musicians into the rickety public house on the corner and playing toe-tapping music that wore thin the shoes of anyone listening. Keston Cobblers Club maintain this tradition by embracing contemporary styles and traditional melodies, promising to 'heel your soles'!

See Keston Cobblers Club tour dates

Blackbeard's Tea Party

Bold and riotous modern folk rock built for late nights and big stages. Hold on to your tri-corn hats and be prepared to stamp your wooden legs – Blackbeard’s Tea Party are in town. Sea-shanties will be given a bombastic rock edge, and folk instrumentals will become late-night floor-fillers when this raucous bunch of reprobates hit the stage. They have dirt under their fingernails and a twinkle in their eyes, and you can expect fantastic musicianship, playful choreography and an unstoppable urge to move your body.

See Blackbeard's Tea Party tour dates