Weymouth: crowds enjoy return of Wessex Folk Festival

Stalls lined the traffic-free streets serving up local goods for hungry and thirsty revellers, who sipped on Dorset cider as they enjoyed live music by the water.

Some of the country's top folk acts and dancers performed at the two-day Wessex Folk Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

Two stages were set up for people to enjoy the array of acts put on by organisers, who were rewarded with fine weather and healthy crowds which were boosted by the recent half term break and made use of nearby pubs and bars. 

The main stage was set up outside the Brewers Quay building and another along the harbourside which was bathed in glorious sun. 

The harbour was a hive of activity and smells as barbecues were fired up and ice cream eagerly enjoyed in the heat at the popular festival.

Top of the bill on the main stage on Saturday was Merry Hell, the popular Lancashire-based eight-piece folk-rock band, who recently added Weymouth’s Simon Swarbrick to their line-up on violin.

The octet played an energetic mix of their own songs that draw on the best of the folk music tradition.

The Wessex Folk Festival was free to attend and saw well-known musicians joining local Dorset favourites this June.

It was also the first time the festival has been held over two days since before the pandemic. 

Radio 2 Folk Award winners, The Trials of Cato, were another act making their first appearance at the event, playing the banjo, bouzouki, guitars and mandolin to create new takes on traditional folk songs.

Songwriter Reg Meuross made his a return to the festival, bringing captivating songs that tell stories of struggles and injustices, past and present.

Morris dancers also popped up along the crowd-laden streets with bells jingling from their iconic clothing to entertain festival-goers, who turned up in their thousands across the weekend. 

For more information on the event, visit the Wessex Folk Festival website at www.wessexfolkfestival.com