Official Folk Albums Chart - Launch event

11 October 2020 - Press release

Live-streamed from HOME, Manchester
Presented by Manchester Folk Festival
Hosted by Mark Radcliffe 

Live performances announced
FAY HIELD  *  KRIS DREVER  *  THE BREATH  *  VRï

Saturday 17 October, 8pm

 

On Saturday October 17, Manchester Folk Festival presents a special event to launch the Official Folk Albums Chart.  It takes place during the weekend which would have seen the fourth annual edition of the Manchester Folk Festival.

Hosted by BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show presenter, Mark Radcliffe, the event will be streamed live from HOME in Manchester and announce which artists have made it into the October 2020 chart, the very first Top 40 Official Folk Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company.  

Today, Manchester Folk Festival unveils the four artists to perform exclusive sets at the event, each representing a country eligible to appear in this brand-new chart – England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. 

Yorkshire-born Fay Hield, a core member of the English folk scene, delights audiences with her compellingly classic folk voice and traditional tales of the otherworld of fairies, ghosts and the animal kingdom, while Scottish singer-songwriter-guitarist Kris Drever, a stalwart of the UK folk and roots scene, presents his mix of traditional and contemporary folk. The Breath - Irish singer/flautist Ríoghnach Connolly and guitarist Stuart McCallum, perform a set of impassioned heartfelt songs with jaw-dropping voice and Welsh chamber-folk trio VRï bring a joyous celebration of Welsh identity.  

Audiences can watch the celebration event that also features special guest interviews from 8pm, free of charge, from English Folk Expo’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels. 

The inaugural Official Folk Albums chart will be published in full on OfficialCharts.com the same evening and on the first Monday of each month thereafter.

The Official Folk Albums Chart serves to recognise the huge appetite for folk music in the UK and Ireland, a broad genre that takes in everything from acoustic pop, roots and Americana to traditional music.  As an example of both the popularity of the artists and the loyalty of the fans keen to support them, three online folk festivals staged this year by the award-winning podcast, Folk on Foot, was viewed more than 200,000 times online, with viewers donating almost a quarter of a million pounds, an extraordinary success.

The Official Folk Albums Chart also hopes to provide a platform for folk artists to raise their profile at a time when the postponement of live events and the loss of some traditional media has found the latest music struggling to find its way to fans.