Folk singers and musicians Joanie Bones and Oliver Cross discuss some of the themes that emerged from the Access Folk research project about participation and inclusion in folk singing in England. Drawing on findings from the research report Accessing Folk Singing in England they interview singers, musicians and educators as well as drawing on their own lived experience to discuss issues around disability, gender, ethnicity and much more.

This report presents views and experiences gathered through the first phase of Access Folk through a process we call the consulting group. The purpose of the consulting group was to gather current issues faced by different sectors of society when accessing folk singing in England in order to inform our future research. We began by identifying six areas where itseemed that access to folk singing might be problematic. Informed by the protected characteristics categories from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (2010), and Arts Council England (2021), our six chosen themes are – Belief, Politics & Religion; Disability; Gender & Sexuality; Race & Ethnicity; Age; and Class & Socio-Economic Background. 

This resource introduces Participatory Research between music organisations and Higher Education institutions. It is a short guide to anyone who wants to work together on a research project and highlights common pitfalls and opportunities for a successful collaboration. It was co-written by five music organisations and academics from the University of Sheffield in 2022.