Folk singing organisations, activities, and projects

This is an intersectional, feminist session and song index. The contributors respect the history and tradition of shanties, but also respect the diversity of people who come to sing and socialise in their spaces. Some songs are edited to make sure they’re not perpetuating discriminatory views.

Canto Rovesciato is a community music organisation in Tuscany, Italy. Recently founded by a group of artists and educators to work together and develop a community of singers in and around their geographic area. They run numerous community choirs drawing on Italian and international folk songs as well as other music and song events focused on inclusion and participation.

The EATMT is a Suffolk-based charity that promotes participation in the folk traditions of East Anglia. Their Vaughan Williams' Folk project provides a great example of how heritage can be mobilised in a variety of formats to engage youth and community audiences. 

The EFEx is an annual music showcase that supports artists, the music industry, and audiences through events and partnerships that promote folk, roots, and acoustic music. In this recorded conversation that EFEx co-hosted with Black Lives in Music, Bristolian singer-songwriter Lady Nade speaks to Yola, Kyshona, and Allison Russell about diversity in the UK music scene, in and beyond Black Lives Matter.

Fèis Rois is a Scotland-based charity that provides access and education in the traditional arts and Gaelic language. Their Fun Folk App provides an example of how digital technology can be used to support parents and young children engage with traditional arts, including singing. 

Curated by researcher and musician Lucy Wright, this website highlights the folk arts of marginalised groups. The various projects included on the site begin to demonstrate the scope and breadth of folk culture in the United Kingdom.

Folk You is an umbrella organisation for youth-led folk arts organisations in Sweden. Active in its current form since 2017, they train and support young people to be able to register as non-profit organisations and run their own events. They are regularly consulted on youth issues by other organisations in the Swedish folk scene and offer funding and bursaries for youth-led activities.

Originally a print publication, Folkworks is an online source with an international orientation. They provide access to articles, columns, interviews, CD reviews and events that focus on the folk and traditional arts of culturally diverse populations. They also support live and virtual events.

Based in Somerset, Halsway Manor is the National Centre for Folk Arts. It offers year-round residential courses and workshops that focus on a variety of traditional art forms, including song and music. Their Halsway Young Folk music programme caters specifically for youth of a range of ages and experience levels. 

This Yorkshire-based festival is organised by the folk band, The Magpies. In addition to celebrating the locality where the band first formed, the organisers work to champion gender equality in their lineups and staffings. The festival website provides an example of what organising with specific social priorities can look like.

Based in London and offering an annual programme of events throughout the UK, the Nest Collective's Singing With Nightingales, Nature Pilgrimages, and Fire Choir provide examples of different contexts for folk singing and participation.

Rosslyn Court is a music venue and Bed and Breakfast based in the small seaside town of Margate, England. The owner organise music and culture events with the aim of engaging the usual folk music crowd while also developing a programme of activities that is attractive and accessible to a wide section of their local community. 

Shtetl Berlin is a festival for Yiddish culture in Berlin. Growing out of the long-running Neukölln Klezmer Sessions, they want to educate more (including non-Jewish) people about Yiddish culture through taking part in engaging workshops and culture events. They are a volunteer-led organisation and have recently organised themselves as a German not-for-profit to be able to develop their festival further.

Soundpost is a Sheffield-based artist-led organisation that coordinates a range of participatory events, exploring folk traditions through practical workshops, performances, debate and discussion. The organisation was co-founded by Fay Hield and its role in this partnership is to try out different approaches to engage new people. 

This is a podcast series produced by Lucy Ward and Lisa Ward about all things folk and feminist. It won’t provide you with a how-to list for your own project, but it may provide some useful insights into how different segments of your audience experience folk singing.

This is an example of a project that combines history, folk song, and theatre, to raise awareness of a variety of socioeconomic and colonial legacy issues that influence present day inequalities. 

This is a podcast series produced by Lucy Ward and Lisa Ward about all things folk and feminist. It won’t provide you with a how-to list for your own project, but it may provide some useful insights into how different segments of your audience experience folk singing.

Wren Music is a community music organisation based in Okehampton, Devon. Since 1983 they have been drawing on local music traditions in their projects. They have a strong focus on inclusion and social justice and have been involved in many projects for people with special educational needs, health issues or from economically deprived backgrounds.