Beardy Folk Festival 2025 – The small festival with a big heart returns for its eighth installment.

The Beardy Folk Festival 2025, set against the backdrop of the breathtaking Georgian Hopton Court Estate in Shropshire, returned this June with its signature mix of heartfelt music, family-friendly fun, and a uniquely relaxed atmosphere. Now in its eighth year, Beardy has matured into one of the most beloved independent, small-scale folk festivals in the UK, offering three and a half days of music, creativity, and community in the rolling countryside near Cleobury Mortimer.

Held between 12–15 June 2025, this year’s edition continued to blend the traditional with the contemporary, bringing together established names, emerging artists, and passionate festival-goers for a long weekend of discovery and celebration.

A Perfectly Sized, Beautiful Setting

One of Beardy’s greatest strengths lies in its setting. Hopton Court’s walled, sloping former kitchen garden provides a natural amphitheatre, wrapped in tall, old brickwork and surrounded by woodlands and meadows. It’s a place that manages to feel secluded and welcoming all at once. Unlike many larger festivals, Beardy keeps things intimate—a maximum of 5,000 attendees per day—which means there’s room to breathe, chat, dance, and really listen.

The site spills gracefully beyond the garden into areas like the Orangery lawn, new for 2025 meadow tent, and woodland glade, creating a series of zones each with its own unique character. Whether you’re sitting on the grass with a pint, strolling through stalls of handmade crafts, or taking it easy at the acoustic stage, there’s a strong sense that every detail has been carefully considered.

An Eclectic, Engaging Line-up

This year’s line-up was a brilliant mix of roots, folk, acoustic and world music. The main stage hosted some superb headline acts including (delayed from 2024) The Magic Numbers, Skinny Lister, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, An Dannsa Dub and the ever-energetic, but non-storm invoking 3 Daft Monkeys, whose fusion of fiddle-fuelled chaos and humour brought the crowd to life on Saturday night.

But the joy of Beardy lies in the spaces between the big names. The acoustic stage (aka the 2024 lifeboat) tucked under canvas and softly lit, gave a platform to predominantly more intimate performances by singer-songwriters and acoustic duos that rewarded close listening.

Over at the now undercover pallet stage in the meadow, festival-goers themselves had a chance to perform, with open mic slots that ran each morning. It was here you could stumble across future stars, or simply appreciate the raw, communal spirit of folk music as people shared songs for the sheer love of it.

Thursday

Full festival ticket holders are allowed onsite from midday on Thursday, which provides ample time to find a pitch, wrestle with your tent, mumble a few expletives, rue the fact that you didn’t book a hotel and then finally relax before the gates open at 6pm. Thursday has a reduced capacity, making for an even more intimate atmosphere. Thursday evening is comprised of three sets, this year the opening honours fell to Piskey Led, the fantastically entertaining guitarist Damien Nolan who combines a sublime fingerstyle with percussive slaps (you can tell he really wanted to be a drummer!) and Man The Lifeboats.

Friday

Friday opened bright an early (too early for me) with Ha Ha Hannah and her Laughter Yoga on the Orangery lawn, which suitably warmed the vocal chords of anyone brave enough to sign-up for a biref slot on the open mic pallet stage in the meadow tent. The programmed music started sharply at noon (Beardy run a tight ship, to prevent overlapping performances) with Wise Woman, two things must ye know about the wise woman, firstly they are actually three women and secondly they are very good, and very likely wise.

They were also the first of a large entourage of Welsh performances at Beardy 2025. The second Welsh act was Blino who opened immediately afterwards on the acoustic Stage. Common Culture; the first of two Barnsley based bands appeared on the main stage, to perform their 18th ever gig (not that you would’ve known, unless they told you) and included a rather marvellous tune about a mole off it’s face on acid…

the right side of risque

Maddie Morris was due to perform on the acoustic stage, but sadly was taken ill, get well soon Maddie! This being Beardy there is always someone around who can fill any unexpected vacancies without the photographers being to forced to perform a rather ropey acapella set. Fortunately, the audieneces ear drums were saved from that particular horror and fellow Lancastrian Phil Cudworth performed a fantastic set with his guitar, some personally penned, authentically northern tunes, which were humourous and on the right side of a little bit risqué.

Back to Wales on the main stage, with the brilliant Welsh bluegrass of Taff Rapids – their music was tight and brilliant, the sun was out, it was windy but warm, dare we dream of a dry Beardy 2025 Folk Festival? Back up the hill and we enjoyed an excellent set from Beardy first-timers Birdbrother, who delighted the audience with a unique prog-folk vibe that felt thouroughly modern and deeply traditional at the same time.

magic (numbers)

Simeon Hammond Dallas and her superb band immediately followed on the main stage, with a highly polished, professional set, followed by Michele Stodart on the acoustic stage – Michele was due to perform in 2024 but was unfortunately unable to make it, thankfully she was back and also headlined Friday night with The Magic Numbers.

Back to the main stage…there was a palpable tension in the air, I checked three different weather apps…quickly scanned the skyline, would we get through a full 3 Daft Monkeys set without a biblical lightning storm, could the inshore rescue team stand down? only time would tell…The first two songs went without a hitch, then they started to perform their Beardy stormcall…the song ‘I love you’ – and although there were defintely a few spots of rain, we made it through the entire set unscathed, miraculous…and a brilliant performance from the band.

Hase Waits awaited us back in the acoustic tent, certainly a band worth checking out and I think they also hold the record for playing the first ever Hurdy-Gurdy at Beardy. The evening closed with a very accomplished set from 2024 delayed headliners The Magic Numbers, it was great that they were invited back and is just another one of those nice little things about this particular, independent festival.

Saturday

Saturday offered the very early birds Tai-Chi, a 5k run and Laughter Yoga…I opted for a later start and a gentler introduction to the day with a rather tasty raspberry smoothie, washed down with a crepe – it’s important to keep properly fuelled when you race up and down the walled-garden hill upwards of 20 times a day, well thats my excuse…I think it’s also fair to say that Saturday promised to be a real stonker, with an incredible line-up to look forward to.

Milly Mason opened on the acoustic stage, another Beardy import from Wales, this Cardiff girl belied her tender years to perform a set of the highest calibre – that any performer should be proud of. Ciderhouse Rebellion & Molly Donnery returned to Beardy with an incredible set that would ordinarily be witnessed much later in the day, Summerhayes’ virtuso fiddle solos were mesmerisingly magical to behold. Rachel Hill , The Cain Pit and Steve Tilston followed in quick succession in what was already proving to be an unforgettable Beardy day.

I sloped off to a secret rendezvous point and had the great pleasure of partaking in Beardy’s first foray into foraging, led by Sam Kelly. Sam really knows his stuff and has a passion for all things botanic, this gave guests the chance to explore parts of Hopton Court that they may have previously ignored, or like me, didnt even realise existed. Sam has a real talent for leading these walks and approaches the topic in an accessible and fascinating way that is sure to increase the popularity of his events in the future.

double shifts

Beardy favourites Honey & the Bear returned to the main stage, ably accompanied by Toby Shaer, Archie Moss and Evan Carson who put in a double shift as part of Saturday’s headliner. Back on the acoustic stage, Dan the Hat returned with his anarchic blend of comedy, juggling and improv skills – Dan is natural, consummate entertainer, whose show is crafted to appeal to children on a simple, surface level, but who also skillfully includes improv that entertains all ages, and most defintely goes over the heads of the children, particularly the poorly behaved ones.

The Cinelli Brothers would definately be awarded ‘most stylish Beardy band’ if such an award existed and appeared to have teleported to Shropshire from an especially classy London blues bar, it didn’t take long to understand why this was the UK Blues Band of the Year in 2024 – pure class. The prolific Brooks Williams & Dan Walsh, masters of their respective crafts, wowed the acoustic tent with their tight guitar, banjo and vocal work – a real delight, saturday was really setting a high bar for future Beardy festivals!

TOO LIGHT!

Back to the main stage and the highlight of my Beardy 2025 – Sam Kelly & the Lost Boys. I first saw this band at Love Folk Festival 2017, in my hometown of Southport, I’ve seen them many times since, but never had the opportunity to photograph them – so I was really looking to this. All the photographers experienced a new an unusual problem during the Lost Boys set – too much light! This isn’t an issue that we are accustomed to, usually working in poorly lit venues with minimal space – the blinding sunshine was also thwarting the band, who rapidly deployed an array of colourful sunglasses.

The Lost Boys set was everything I hoped it would be, there was even an unexpected outing for The Shining Ship – which was probably more befitting a darkly lit evening performance, but I am very glad that it was played. The Lost Boys have more of a supergroup feel about it nowadays, as the members are all involved in other successful projects, but I would love more albums, more tours and more content – a girl can ask can’t she?

high energy plus

The second Barnsley band took to the acoustic stage, I’ll leave you to decide which one you preferred – and its fair to say that there was a massive sense of anticipation for their set, the acoustic tent was completely rammed (and it wasn’t even raining!) The Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican returned to Beardy for a second time and in their 20th year. It’s fair to say that the audience were well up for the party, it’s also fair to say that the band were taken aback with the reception they received. The set was a blast from beginning to end and even included the first ever crowd surf (no boat sadly) in the acoustic tent.

If you thought Doonicans were high energy, well nothing would prepare you for Skinny Lister. This was my first time seeing them live and oh boy did they fulfill their headlining responsibilities. Lorna had clearly drunk all the espresso and the entire set was as electric as her movements were energetic, the band didn’t seem to draw breath and thrashed through their set at breakneck speed whilst somehow always performing at the highest level – simply astounding.

Sunday

I think we were all feeling a bit battered from Saturday, those with any energy remaining had even been able to dance away their last vestiges of stamina at the late(ish) night disco, did anyone manage to attend the 8am yoga session? I salute you if you did.

Sunday opened in the glorious sunshine with Wet The Tea on the main stage and a Bodhran workshop in the jasmine perfumed Orangery. Polly Morris opened the acoustic stage with a incredibly funny and at times poignant set. Polly has been compared to Flanders and Swann – for me she struck me as a folkie Victoria Wood – that’s not to underplay what she does, for Polly has an incredibly sharp wit and beautiful observes the human condition, but just as importantly she exhibits a naughty sense of humour – especially when it comes to the looper.

Demi Marriner, Dunsdon & Black and Joshua Burnell eased us through the beautiful afternoon under the Shropshire skies, Eliza Marshall performed a solo set in advance of her Ranagri appearance with an variety of instruments, including her trademark flutes, bansuri, whistles, drum , guitar and what I think was a balafon!

I hadn’t seen Foreign Affairs setting up or sound checking, so I was genuinely suprised when I arrived at the acoustic stage and there was just two of them – the sound they make is immense and I had assumed to be hearing a band of at least four, a really great blues rock band with catchy tunes; reminiscent of White Stripes, that quickly become ear worms – it’s no wonder they rated by whispering Bob Harris.

SUBLIME

Ranagri were as sublime as ever, I’ve seen them many times now, their perfomances are always of the highest quality – I am really looking forward to hearing their new material as their musicianship is up there with the best. Unfortunately I missed the comedy with Improv Wolves In The Orangery, for possibly the second time – huge apologies, it’s nothing personal but there’s only one of me – promise to catch you next time!

Good friend of Beardy and Ragged Bear Festival Empresario Steve Bentley brought his Warwickshire outfit Greenman Rising back to Beardy, this time opting to perform in the acoustic tent – the band are always well received and for me this was Greenman’s best performance to date – see you all again in October!

Sunday evening was headlined by An Dannsa Dub – if you’ve not heard them before then the thought of entwining trad Scottish folk, dub, world music, sound system culture and reggae may sound a little unpalatable – but as they say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. An Dannsa Dub’s set started off and it’s far to say that there were some bemused faces, trying to understand what was going on – but the vast majority stuck it out and were rewarded with a thrilling crescendo of a set, with more people on their feet, pogoing the night away than not – an absolutely fantastic, exciting sound.

Not resting on laurels

One of the reasons that Beardy Folk Festival goes from strength to strength is that it doesn’t rest on it’s laurels, if something doesn’t quite work – it’s changed, and new things are tried each year. This year this resulted in the Meadow Tent and the ‘After Show Show’. The An Dannsa Dub set finished, we all trooped back up the hill for a final time and had a good old fashioned knees up in the acoustic tent. Ceilidh band extraordinaire Notorious J.I.G. acted as MC and belted out an hour of familiar dance tunes, but with a folk twist.

The ceilidh dances increased in difficulty as the night wore on, but a sizeable crowd of dancers were up to the challenge and if nothing else – it meant that everyone returned to their tents nice and warm! It was a great way to finish the festival and I think we’ll see this carried forward to 2026.

Much More Than Just Music

Beardy has always been more than just a music festival. It’s a space for participation, curiosity, and play. This year’s programme of workshops and interactive sessions was as varied than ever. There were singing circles, instrumental tuition, bodhrán classes, and ceildh dancing, along with laughter yoga and storytelling for all ages.

Mornings can began with yoga on the Orangery lawn or a gentle 5K trail run through the surrounding fields and woods—an increasingly popular addition that’s more about enjoyment and togetherness than competition. Later in the day, you could find yourself joining in a maypole workshop, learning new tunes with fiddle players, or trying your hand at improvisational theatre. The aforementioned brilliant foraging walk, led by all round top bloke Sam Kelly was a leisurely 45 minute amble off the beaten track to see what we could find – which as it turned out was quite a lot, Sam was a natural guide and his botanic knowledge impressive – Springwatch and Gardeners World take note!

For children, the festival was a dream: circus skills with Jitterbug Circus, woodland based craft, storytelling with Mark Fraser and an entertaining mix of magic, juggling and all round hilarity from Dan the Hat – who even had an moustachioed entourage as he was celebrating a (presumably significant) birthday.

A Festival That Tastes as Good as it Sounds

The food and drink offering this year was as ever a real highlight. A hand-picked selection of independent street food traders offered something for everyone—from wood-fired pizza and loaded fries to curries, wraps, locally sourced burgers and of course, fish and chips. Veggie and vegan options were plentiful, and there was a noticeable effort to reduce single-use packaging.

The bar, as always, was a hub of good cheer. Local favourite Hobsons Brewery kept the beer flowing, with a fine selection of ales, lagers, ciders and even a few craft options. Prices were fair (a rare treat at a festival!), especially with the return of the Beardy beer card system, which kept costs down and queues moving. Festival-branded reusable cups helped keep the site clean and green, in line with Beardy’s gentle but effective environmental ethos.

Camping Under the Stars

Camping at Beardy is part of the experience, there was a choice of general and quiet camping areas, all within a very easy reach of the festival areas. For those seeking a little more comfort, glamping bell tents were available through Tee & Toast Glamping, offering cosy beds and fairy lights for a more boutique experience.

Campsite facilities were clean and well-maintained, with hot showers, plenty of toilets, and water points dotted around. There were also accessible camping areas and provisions for those with additional needs, reflecting the festival’s inclusive and thoughtful approach.

A Community Atmosphere That’s Hard to Beat

What really sets Beardy Folk Festival apart is its atmosphere. There’s a warmth that radiates from both the organisers and the crowd—a shared sense of being part of something rather special. Performers often mingle with punters before and after their sets, and it’s not unusual to find spontaneous jam sessions springing up under trees.

This is a festival where people make new friends, where children run free and safe, and where every detail—from the music programming to the litter policy—feels guided by a love of the experience rather than a commercial agenda.

The reviews from those who attended this year said it all. Phrases like “magical”, “the friendliest festival I’ve ever been to”, and “it just gets better every year” cropped up again and again. One festival-goer summed it up perfectly: “It’s like stepping into a different rhythm of life for a few days. Everyone’s smiling. Everyone’s present. It’s not about phones or selfies—it’s about being here, with the music, with the people.”

Thoughtful, Sustainable, and Well Organised

It’s worth mentioning how well the festival is run. From entry to camping check-in, from stage management to rubbish collection, everything moved smoothly. A dedicated medical team was on site, stewards were visible but friendly, and the festival’s compact site meant it was easy to find your way around. Dogs were welcome (on leads), and there was a real effort to keep the festival low-impact, with encouragement to recycle, reuse, and tread lightly on the land.

Looking Ahead

If Beardy Folk 2025 is anything to go by, the future of the festival looks bright. Each year, it seems to grow not necessarily in size, but in richness—more creativity, more connection, more small wonders to discover. The Pallet Stage under canvas was a particular success, and the return of late night (but not that late!) DJ sessions gave the evenings a relaxed, grown-up energy that still allowed for dancing before turning in for the night.

And while the headliners drew the biggest cheers, it was the quiet moments—the conversations with new friends, the songs sung by strangers, the children cheering at a flying pineapple —that lingered longest in the memory.

Whether you’re a folk aficionado, a curious newcomer, or just someone seeking a beautiful escape into music and nature, Beardy Folk Festival is an experience that invites you in and makes you feel at home.

Roll on 2026!

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