St Albans Folk at the Festival

St Albans Folk Music organises pub music sessions, concerts, and an annual ‘New Roots’ competition for young musicians under 25 who play or sing folk, roots, or traditional music. It is part of the ‘Folk at the Festival’ Committee, which organises the annual St Albans Folk Festival.

Concerts are held at St Saviour’s Church, 25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF, a beautiful building with excellent acoustics, flexible space, and a licensed bar with real ale. Tickets are £15, with concessions at £10 for under-18s and students, except where stated otherwise. The church can be cold in winter, and some concerts are held in the church hall.

Weekly sessions run at 8.30pm on Wednesdays, mainly featuring traditional Irish, English, Scottish, and other traditional music. All are welcome to listen or play; the sessions are mainly tunes, but singers are welcome. Sessions alternate between the Farmer’s Boy, London Road, St Albans AL1 1PQ (other Wednesdays) and the Queen’s Head, 9 Church End, Sandridge, St Albans AL4 9DL (second and last Wednesdays of the month). A St Michael’s Street folk evening takes place on the first Wednesday in July, with dancing in the street and music everywhere.