That’s all, folks!

Saddleworth Folk Festival opened officialy with a parade led by... Boarshurst Brass Band!

2 More Image(s) In Gallery

Festival director bows out after 12 years — but the show goes on
FIDDLES and melodeons, guitars and banjos — you name it and it was there at the 12th annual Saddleworth Folk Festival.

Around 70 events took place at the Civic Hall, pubs, church halls and clubs of Uppermill and Greenfield on a fabulous weekend of music which attracted upwards of 1,000 people intent on indulging their passion for folk music.

Followers piled into events which ran simultaneously in a bid to cram the masses of concerts on offer into the weekend, with proceedings starting on Thursday evening and running until late yesterday.

Folk fans from across the country camped on Greenfield’s Churchill playing fields, but the festival ended with a sad note when the hard-working Ali O’Brien announced it would be her last as festival director.

Ali is one of a small group of dedicated folk music lovers who steered Saddleworth Folk Festival from its modest beginnings to the mammoth proportions of today.

And she can be rightly proud of her involvement in this year’s festival, which saw Scotland-born Eric Bogle, a big name on the folk scene, make an appearance with John Munro in his last tour before returning to his adopted country of Australia.

The festival showcased many renowned folk singers and musicians, from Crompton folk hero Stanley Accrington and The New Rope String Band to Zoe Mulford and Other Roads.

The weekend saw plenty to keep both hardened festival-goers and locals entertained, from singarounds and musician seasons and ceilidhs and workshops.

Making their first appearance were the incredible Young ‘uns, a Hartlepool-based folk trio who took the festival by storm with a fabulous acapella performance which resulted in a rare call for an encore in Saturday’s precisely-timed Civic Hall concert.

They were brought to the festival by Ali, who shrugged off her usual backstage role to act as one of the main MCs.

Stepping down from her role as festival director was a big emotional wrench for the 58-year-old. She said: “It’s my baby and I absolutely love it, but it’s just too much to fit in with the rest of my lifestyle.

“Hopefully I will still be involved to some degree, I would love be an MC or steward if I am needed, but what I can’t commit to is a lot of meetings throughout the year.”

Ali has been combining her festival organising duties with her busy full-time day job as North-West adviser for the National Anti-Bullying Alliance, which takes her all over the region.

She also has four grandchildren to help keep entertained, and presents a weekly folk music show on Oldham Community Radio — for which she hosted three live

broadcasts over the festival weekend.

Ali recalled how the festival started off as a germ of an idea put forward by Dave Ritchie, who was a well respected traditional and maritime folk singer from Lees.

“He was a fantastic, powerful singer, he mentioned it to one or two people and I went along to the first meetings,” said Ali.

“Dave never got to see the first festival because he died, but he left a fantastic legacy.”

Ali and Hilary Yates are the only founder members still involved with the committee.

“We have seen it grow so much,” said Ali.

“The first year we hired the Civic Hall on the Saturday, Friday was at The Waggon, and Sunday at the Cross Keys and that was it.

“The festival office was just a gazebo outside The Waggon.

“Now there are something like 10 venues and any time of the day there is the choice of three or four events to go to.”

Next year’s festival — the 13th — is planned for July 16-18.