3-5th October 2025; “From the sea comes folk.”

With wall to wall wind and rain ushering in the autumn, the festival season shows no sign of abating. OK, greenfield sites may have been put to bed for the year, but it is now the turn of urban based multi-centre shindigs to step into the frame, with Hartlepool threatening to be one of the best. 10 years old, this well-kept secret takes over Hartlepool’s historical Headland for three days at the beginning of next month, and At The Barrier are planning to be there.

Given the geography and the forecast, your man in a sleeping bag may well forgo the camping option, although it is available for the hardy, and very reasonably at that. And, as with similar events, Derby, Manchester and Blackpool, to name but three, concerts and performances are largely spread across the available area, and can be attended either individually, as single shows, or collectively, with a group ticket. Whilst this may require slightly more careful planning and logistics, for every unavoidable clash, there will be an inadvertant welcome new discovery. With a line-up as varied as it is, there should be something for all.

Given the nearness of the border, 80 odd miles, it is unsurprising how many Scottish acts will be making their way south, with Dougie MacLean leading that charge. There is also a welcome appearance for the Kinnaris Quintet, or Kinnaris Q as we must get used to calling them, with Laura Wilkie having peeled off around a month or so back. The opportunity also allows a couple of KQ adjacent gigs, possibly more, with a solo show by Jenn Butterworth, as well as a sighting of From The Ground, the duo enterprise between KQ’s Laura-Beth Salter and Ali Hutton, pipe and whistle man of note, from numerous ensembles, including Treacherous Orchestra and Old Blind Dogs. It is even money as to whether it will be Hutton or Butterworth too, for Malin Lewis and their trio, who so wowed us at Shrewsbury; each have form on Lewis’s guitar stool. (How about a bit of both?)

Sticking with Scots, Iona Fyfe will be also there, as will fellow Iona, Lane, an honorary Scot, her show being a multi-cultural treat with Ranjana Ghatak. Fellow Celts, Iarla Ó Lionáird and the Johnny Quinn Macs wil also be there, from across the Irish sea, the former with the Broadstairs, Co. Kent, Celt, Tim Edey, for an explosive mix of guitar, melodeons and voice. The Johnny Quinn Macs? That’s John McSherry‘s latest band, an acoustic trio of two pipes/whistles with guitar, which would be enough to drag me up there alone.

England? yes, we’re spoilt there too, with John Tams, the Rheingans Sisters and local(ish) lass, Belinda O’Hooley all near the top of the bill, with the more unstructured delights of Goblin Band lower down. Plus a mention for the patrons of the festival, the Wilsons. Stalwarts of unaccompanied song, they are a recurring feature at every Hartlepool and this is no exception.

Take a look at the website for all the necessary details. And if you just fancy a bracing day out, without the palaver of booking, there are plenty enough events around and about the Headland and its environs. As with any folk based festival, there will be dance as well as song, out in the open air. Still not enough? Well, there are talks and film screenings, poetry and comedy, as well as special one-off collaborations. It all sounds a belter.

(Unfortunately, the planned main concert hall, the auditorium of Borough Hall, on the Headland, has had to be closed off, at short notice, on grounds of health and safety. Smaller shows in the building wil still go ahead, but this has meant a switch, for the larger shows, to the more central Town Hal Theatre. Responding swiftly to this unexpected blow, the organisers have assured there wil be plenty transport laid on, to take punters between there and the Headland. The one casualty has been the projected concert pairing the Wilsons and the Durham Miner’s Association Brass Band, but the Wilsons will certainly pop up, elsewhere and undaunted.)

Here’s a bit of vintage Kinnaris Q to get you in the mood, when Wilkie was still on board:

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