ABOUT FOLK IN THE BARN
Folk in the Barn aims to bring the best Folk - Acoustic artists in the UK - and beyond - to beautiful and interesting venues in the Canterbury and East Kent region - Why? To inspire, entertain and enhance the lives of those who come along and provide lovely settings for these amazing artists to display their immense talent.
Folk in the Barn was born in 2003 in order to meet a need. Back then our favourite folk duo Show of Hands didn’t have a Kent ‘On the Level’ gig, and we wanted to see them without having to drive across 3 counties. The reason was simply that they didn’t have a suitable loval venue/promoter, so somebody suggested we promote them ourselves. With a lot of help and encouragement we did, and that first gig in April 2003 in the Kingston Barn was a wonderful night and the start of something amazing. We hadn’t intended to repeat the process until we came across another amazing band called ColvinQuarmby. They came to play locally and we rushed to see them as we’d remembered they were brilliant. Our party of nine that night made up half the audience which was a shame for the Band as they’d travelled a long way. It made us determined to do something about it. CQ became gig number two, and pretty soon they were selling out the Barn.
The venue for those first two gigs was the historic and beautiful Kingston Barn, an old Kentish Flint Tithe Barn in the village of Kingston, which lies 5 miles Southeast of Canterbury. Originally given to the people of Kingston to be used as a community hall in 1931, the Barn was restored and converted in 1996 to its present superb state and provides a cosy, welcoming, and beautiful space, with good access and facilities.
Whilst many of the Folk in the Barn concerts are still held in the Barn, we have now spread to include other venues in the area, the remit being that they are beautiful and inspiring places with great ambience and a perfect setting for acoustic music. From the elegant and more spacious Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, located in the Precincts of Canterbury Cathedral, to the ancient and stunning St Mary’s Church Arts Centre in Sandwich. See venues page for full list and details.. We will continue to look for other interesting local venues as necessary in order to provide the best and friendliest local Acoustic Music concerts. If you know of any – let us know.
Without exception all the artists and performances have been wonderful, and support and enthusiasm for what we do has grown to the point where it would be impossible to stop doing this now. Many of the concerts sell out, so advance booking is advisable. To keep in touch join the emailing list – you’ll get priority news and booking for all the gigs. (link to mailing list)
A regular dose of inspiring live music – we’re certain is essential and life enhancing – spread the word and come along and share the fun with others who feel the same way.