English Folk Dance and Song Society
@efdss.bsky.social
The national organisation for folk music, song and dance in England. Based at Cecil Sharp House
I like that you have mistaken me for the bourgeoise
February 10, 2026 at 1:04 PM
I like that you have mistaken me for the bourgeoise
Merry neets, morris and more: social and display dancing in the Lake District and Cumbria
@suecumbria.bsky.social historian, writer and folklorist who researches and publishes on Cumbrian customs, traditions and dialect.
Tonight: 7:30pm-9pm
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Bewick Dancers
@suecumbria.bsky.social historian, writer and folklorist who researches and publishes on Cumbrian customs, traditions and dialect.
Tonight: 7:30pm-9pm
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Bewick Dancers
February 10, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Merry neets, morris and more: social and display dancing in the Lake District and Cumbria
@suecumbria.bsky.social historian, writer and folklorist who researches and publishes on Cumbrian customs, traditions and dialect.
Tonight: 7:30pm-9pm
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Bewick Dancers
@suecumbria.bsky.social historian, writer and folklorist who researches and publishes on Cumbrian customs, traditions and dialect.
Tonight: 7:30pm-9pm
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Bewick Dancers
One of my Fantasy PhD subjects is Karaoke as Folk Performance. One of the places I go, some people where the most amazing costumes to sing - Liberty (Marketing and Membership)
February 10, 2026 at 11:01 AM
One of my Fantasy PhD subjects is Karaoke as Folk Performance. One of the places I go, some people where the most amazing costumes to sing - Liberty (Marketing and Membership)
Brian Peters has written a thorough examination of Cecil Sharp's views and collecting practices, which is really interesting: www.academia.edu/129495133/No...
'Not to bury Sharp, but to crucify him': A Critical Appraisal of the Academic Assault on Cecil Sharp's Politics
Cecil Sharp, the most prolific and culturally-significant collector and promoter of English folk song, has for forty years been subjected to a series of virulent political critiques, culminating in a ...
www.academia.edu
February 10, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Brian Peters has written a thorough examination of Cecil Sharp's views and collecting practices, which is really interesting: www.academia.edu/129495133/No...
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's break time chat will be "Bucknell - Morris Mecca". Note: No class on 17th Feb (Half Term).
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Travelling Morrice Trigger Pond, Bucknell
Terry Carter Taborer
Ollie Simons Jig
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Travelling Morrice Trigger Pond, Bucknell
Terry Carter Taborer
Ollie Simons Jig
February 10, 2026 at 9:05 AM
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's break time chat will be "Bucknell - Morris Mecca". Note: No class on 17th Feb (Half Term).
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Travelling Morrice Trigger Pond, Bucknell
Terry Carter Taborer
Ollie Simons Jig
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Travelling Morrice Trigger Pond, Bucknell
Terry Carter Taborer
Ollie Simons Jig
From the 19th century onwards, men and women on both sides of the Atlantic were fascinated by the folk tradition and set out to catalogue songs, first by collating lyrics and annotating tunes, and later via making recordings. In the UK, the major name in the field was Cecil Sharp: bit.ly/4ks0Xin
How the work of American folk song collectors inspired The History of Sound
In the early 20th century, armed with new-fangled recording devices, folklorists and ethnomusicologists set out on song-collecting expeditions across the US. Their work documented music that might oth...
bit.ly
February 9, 2026 at 11:46 AM
From the 19th century onwards, men and women on both sides of the Atlantic were fascinated by the folk tradition and set out to catalogue songs, first by collating lyrics and annotating tunes, and later via making recordings. In the UK, the major name in the field was Cecil Sharp: bit.ly/4ks0Xin
See @eynshammorris.bsky.social dance near our painting 'Chairing the Feathers; The Eynsham Morris at the Gates of Blenheim Palace' on loan to Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
Come and join us!
Saturday 14 March
Eynsham Morris dancing at the gallery at 11.30am and 1.30pm
Come and join us!
Saturday 14 March
Eynsham Morris dancing at the gallery at 11.30am and 1.30pm
February 6, 2026 at 1:28 PM
See @eynshammorris.bsky.social dance near our painting 'Chairing the Feathers; The Eynsham Morris at the Gates of Blenheim Palace' on loan to Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
Come and join us!
Saturday 14 March
Eynsham Morris dancing at the gallery at 11.30am and 1.30pm
Come and join us!
Saturday 14 March
Eynsham Morris dancing at the gallery at 11.30am and 1.30pm
Great article about the Black British Folk Collective, founded in our very own basement! @thequietus.com @angelcakepie2.bsky.social
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
Radical Traditional: Folk Music for Winter, by Patrick Clarke | The Quietus
In October last year the musician Angeline Morrison, whose 2022 masterpiece The Sorrow Songs drew on deep research to present new folk music that centred the real Black British figures who are often w...
thequietus.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Great article about the Black British Folk Collective, founded in our very own basement! @thequietus.com @angelcakepie2.bsky.social
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
thequietus.com/quietus-revi...
We’re delighted to announce the National Youth Folk Ensemble was a winner of the 2026 ABO Impact Award. The Ensemble has significantly increased Global Majority representation through projects such as its Bhangra Ceilidh collaboration with Kuljit Bhamra MBE
www.efdss.org/about-us/wha...
www.efdss.org/about-us/wha...
National Youth Folk Ensemble receives an ABO Impact Award at the Association of British Orchestras Awards 2026
We’re delighted to announce the National Youth Folk Ensemble was a winner of the 2026 ABO Impact Award last night. The award was presented at a live event and ceremony at the Southbank Centre in Londo...
www.efdss.org
February 6, 2026 at 10:00 AM
We’re delighted to announce the National Youth Folk Ensemble was a winner of the 2026 ABO Impact Award. The Ensemble has significantly increased Global Majority representation through projects such as its Bhangra Ceilidh collaboration with Kuljit Bhamra MBE
www.efdss.org/about-us/wha...
www.efdss.org/about-us/wha...
We're pleased to be able to share with you a new recording ‘Banks of the Nile’ made by folk musician Thomas Bull, using one of the wax cylinder recordings from our Archive.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4h7...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4h7...
Banks of The Nile
YouTube video by Thomas Bull
www.youtube.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:36 PM
We're pleased to be able to share with you a new recording ‘Banks of the Nile’ made by folk musician Thomas Bull, using one of the wax cylinder recordings from our Archive.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4h7...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4h7...
The Alan Surtees Trust is a grant giving organisation that supports young performers whose work is rooted in, or influenced by, folk or traditional music and arts of any culture. Deadline 30 April: bit.ly/4kd88e8
2026 Funding Applications Open for Young Folk and Traditional Music Performers
The Alan Surtees Trust has opened its 2026 round of funding for folk and traditional music performers aged 16 to 30. The Trust will make four awards of up to £2,000 per person and applications close 3...
bit.ly
February 4, 2026 at 5:03 PM
The Alan Surtees Trust is a grant giving organisation that supports young performers whose work is rooted in, or influenced by, folk or traditional music and arts of any culture. Deadline 30 April: bit.ly/4kd88e8
We love it!
February 4, 2026 at 10:28 AM
We love it!
EFDSS-funded music video!
Claire Vine used her Micro Grant from us to create this ‘mesmerising’ video to accompany the track ‘Let No Man Steal Your Thyme’ from her debut album ‘We Carve Our Path’.
youtu.be/hPINZPFQlBM?...
Claire Vine used her Micro Grant from us to create this ‘mesmerising’ video to accompany the track ‘Let No Man Steal Your Thyme’ from her debut album ‘We Carve Our Path’.
youtu.be/hPINZPFQlBM?...
Claire Vine - Let No Man Steal Your Thyme
YouTube video by Claire Vine
youtu.be
February 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM
EFDSS-funded music video!
Claire Vine used her Micro Grant from us to create this ‘mesmerising’ video to accompany the track ‘Let No Man Steal Your Thyme’ from her debut album ‘We Carve Our Path’.
youtu.be/hPINZPFQlBM?...
Claire Vine used her Micro Grant from us to create this ‘mesmerising’ video to accompany the track ‘Let No Man Steal Your Thyme’ from her debut album ‘We Carve Our Path’.
youtu.be/hPINZPFQlBM?...
This week's Classic Folk features:
@martynjosephwales.bsky.social
Hamish Imlach
The Rheingans Sisters
Mama Yancey
Kan
@jonboden.bsky.social
Chris While & Julie Matthews
Jeff Warner
The Smoking Stone Band
Salsa Celtica
And many more.....
www.efdss.org/listen
@martynjosephwales.bsky.social
Hamish Imlach
The Rheingans Sisters
Mama Yancey
Kan
@jonboden.bsky.social
Chris While & Julie Matthews
Jeff Warner
The Smoking Stone Band
Salsa Celtica
And many more.....
www.efdss.org/listen
Listen: Classic Folk
Classic Folk with Mike Norris
Classic Folk is unique.
It mines a rich seam of wonderful folk and roots music and song from around 75 years of recordings.
From the great source singers to the legends o...
www.efdss.org
February 3, 2026 at 3:44 PM
This week's Classic Folk features:
@martynjosephwales.bsky.social
Hamish Imlach
The Rheingans Sisters
Mama Yancey
Kan
@jonboden.bsky.social
Chris While & Julie Matthews
Jeff Warner
The Smoking Stone Band
Salsa Celtica
And many more.....
www.efdss.org/listen
@martynjosephwales.bsky.social
Hamish Imlach
The Rheingans Sisters
Mama Yancey
Kan
@jonboden.bsky.social
Chris While & Julie Matthews
Jeff Warner
The Smoking Stone Band
Salsa Celtica
And many more.....
www.efdss.org/listen
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's break time chat will be "Morris and Pubs".
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Belles of London City Stick Dance at Thaxted 2024
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Belles of London City Stick Dance at Thaxted 2024
February 3, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's break time chat will be "Morris and Pubs".
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Belles of London City Stick Dance at Thaxted 2024
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Belles of London City Stick Dance at Thaxted 2024
Students use music to open up about trauma - Pupils are turning pain into poetry through a new music programme aimed at helping young people process trauma.
bit.ly/4q8Cznn
bit.ly/4q8Cznn
Birmingham music group helps pupils to open up about trauma
Students at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Small Health write and record music about past experiences.
bit.ly
February 2, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Students use music to open up about trauma - Pupils are turning pain into poetry through a new music programme aimed at helping young people process trauma.
bit.ly/4q8Cznn
bit.ly/4q8Cznn
Our Sunday Family Barn Dances make the perfect weekend family bonding activity - and a fun way to dance off your Sunday roast! Accompanied by live music (fiddle and guitar) and a 'dance caller' to teach you the simple moves
Book now: bit.ly/4t4e5hw
Book now: bit.ly/4t4e5hw
January 30, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Our Sunday Family Barn Dances make the perfect weekend family bonding activity - and a fun way to dance off your Sunday roast! Accompanied by live music (fiddle and guitar) and a 'dance caller' to teach you the simple moves
Book now: bit.ly/4t4e5hw
Book now: bit.ly/4t4e5hw
Wonderful to see Satnam Galsian feature in Asian Standard’s Most Influential List (Leeds). Her research work, supported by our Creative Bursary, examined gender-based narratives in folk traditions & inspired her solo work Fragmented Truth, which responds with empowering perspectives. bit.ly/4kqg2Bj
January 29, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Wonderful to see Satnam Galsian feature in Asian Standard’s Most Influential List (Leeds). Her research work, supported by our Creative Bursary, examined gender-based narratives in folk traditions & inspired her solo work Fragmented Truth, which responds with empowering perspectives. bit.ly/4kqg2Bj
Applauding this BBC Bitesize initiative, which encourages young people aged 11-14 to continue singing, offers resources such as arrangements, scores, and videos:
bit.ly/3M3yiDv
bit.ly/3M3yiDv
BBC Launches New Music Education Initiative "BBC Get Singing"
World's Leading Classical Music Platform
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Applauding this BBC Bitesize initiative, which encourages young people aged 11-14 to continue singing, offers resources such as arrangements, scores, and videos:
bit.ly/3M3yiDv
bit.ly/3M3yiDv
Reposted by English Folk Dance and Song Society
The History of Sound is out now in the UK and streamable on Mubi and elsewhere in the US. Here's a piece I just wrote for the Guardian about my experience working on the
film:
film:
‘Magical’: how I taught Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor to sing like folk troubadours in The History of Sound
Singer-songwriter Sam Amidon had just three weeks to make the two stars sound like seasoned balladeers. He recalls their charged harmonies in the little shed at the bottom of his garden
www.theguardian.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:27 AM
The History of Sound is out now in the UK and streamable on Mubi and elsewhere in the US. Here's a piece I just wrote for the Guardian about my experience working on the
film:
film:
Reposted by English Folk Dance and Song Society
Learn about a little corner of Cumbria’s ‘intangible heritage’: folk dancing over the centuries. And how on earth was Beatrix Potter involved? Book now to find out!
Merry neets, morris and more: social and display dancing in the Lake District and Cumbria
Our second online Library Lecture of the year
Dr Sue Allan @suecumbria.bsky.social cultural historian, writer and folklorist
Tue 10 Feb
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Dr Syntax (1813) Rural Sport
Our second online Library Lecture of the year
Dr Sue Allan @suecumbria.bsky.social cultural historian, writer and folklorist
Tue 10 Feb
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Dr Syntax (1813) Rural Sport
January 27, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Learn about a little corner of Cumbria’s ‘intangible heritage’: folk dancing over the centuries. And how on earth was Beatrix Potter involved? Book now to find out!
This week's episode of Classic Folk includes tracks by:
Cyril Tawney
June Tabor
Neil Diamond
Joni Mitchell
Paul Simon
The Gigspanner Big Band
@ciderhousereb.bsky.social
Sandy Denny
The English Fiddle Ensemble
Waterson:Carthy
Vin Garbutt
and many more
www.efdss.org/listen
Cyril Tawney
June Tabor
Neil Diamond
Joni Mitchell
Paul Simon
The Gigspanner Big Band
@ciderhousereb.bsky.social
Sandy Denny
The English Fiddle Ensemble
Waterson:Carthy
Vin Garbutt
and many more
www.efdss.org/listen
Listen: Classic Folk
Classic Folk with Mike Norris
Classic Folk is unique.
It mines a rich seam of wonderful folk and roots music and song from around 75 years of recordings.
From the great source singers to the legends o...
www.efdss.org
January 27, 2026 at 9:49 AM
This week's episode of Classic Folk includes tracks by:
Cyril Tawney
June Tabor
Neil Diamond
Joni Mitchell
Paul Simon
The Gigspanner Big Band
@ciderhousereb.bsky.social
Sandy Denny
The English Fiddle Ensemble
Waterson:Carthy
Vin Garbutt
and many more
www.efdss.org/listen
Cyril Tawney
June Tabor
Neil Diamond
Joni Mitchell
Paul Simon
The Gigspanner Big Band
@ciderhousereb.bsky.social
Sandy Denny
The English Fiddle Ensemble
Waterson:Carthy
Vin Garbutt
and many more
www.efdss.org/listen
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's break time chat will be "Wassailing".
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Guildford 12th Night Wassail Mummers Play
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Guildford 12th Night Wassail Mummers Play
January 27, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Have fun dancing at the morris class Tuesdays 6:30pm at Cecil Sharp House. This week's break time chat will be "Wassailing".
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Guildford 12th Night Wassail Mummers Play
www.efdss.org/learning/adu...
Image: Guildford 12th Night Wassail Mummers Play
Merry neets, morris and more: social and display dancing in the Lake District and Cumbria
Our second online Library Lecture of the year
Dr Sue Allan @suecumbria.bsky.social cultural historian, writer and folklorist
Tue 10 Feb
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Dr Syntax (1813) Rural Sport
Our second online Library Lecture of the year
Dr Sue Allan @suecumbria.bsky.social cultural historian, writer and folklorist
Tue 10 Feb
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Dr Syntax (1813) Rural Sport
January 26, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Merry neets, morris and more: social and display dancing in the Lake District and Cumbria
Our second online Library Lecture of the year
Dr Sue Allan @suecumbria.bsky.social cultural historian, writer and folklorist
Tue 10 Feb
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Dr Syntax (1813) Rural Sport
Our second online Library Lecture of the year
Dr Sue Allan @suecumbria.bsky.social cultural historian, writer and folklorist
Tue 10 Feb
Online
Book now: bit.ly/4ri5k1S
Image: Dr Syntax (1813) Rural Sport
Tarren and The National Youth Folk Ensemble play the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall's Music Room
Wed 18 Feb, 8pm
Book your tickets now: www.liverpoolphil.com/.../tarren-a...
Wed 18 Feb, 8pm
Book your tickets now: www.liverpoolphil.com/.../tarren-a...
January 26, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Tarren and The National Youth Folk Ensemble play the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall's Music Room
Wed 18 Feb, 8pm
Book your tickets now: www.liverpoolphil.com/.../tarren-a...
Wed 18 Feb, 8pm
Book your tickets now: www.liverpoolphil.com/.../tarren-a...