Welcome to the 2024 Swaledale Festival!

Festival dates: Saturday 25 May to Saturday 8 June
Full programme available in January
Friends two-week priority booking period opens 09:00 Monday 26 February
General booking opens 09:00 Monday 11 March

Swaledale Festival returns in 2024 with a broad selection of the finest musicians and artists from Yorkshire, elsewhere in the country and around the world. There will be a large number of hands-on events such as workshops, walks and craft demonstrations, with a focus on participation, landscape and climate change.

Our ‘Wandering Minstrels’ programme of work with young and disadvantaged people continues to grow. In addition to our concerts and projects in schools and care homes, we are taking eleven world-class musicians into a prison for the first time, to inspire and improve the lives of prisoners and staff. 

Some young Wandering Minstrels are going international for the first time too: around 45 Richmond School students will travel to Germany to give a joint concert with pupils at Bammental School, whose orchestra has performed in previous Festivals. This is an exciting cultural exchange which we are keen to build.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce our first ever Festival Patrons: Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason and Ronnie Archer-Morgan, our 2022 and 2023 Reeth Lecturers, who made such a fine impression on everyone who heard them. It’s an honour to welcome them both to our team.

We look forward to seeing you at the Festival!

Malcolm Creese - Artistic Director

The film was made by Howell Film and features music from a track called Bling Bling from the album Plum Lane by The Matt Wates Sextet. The piece was written and arranged by Matt Wates. 

News

Swaledale Festival Appoints Patrons

23 November 2023

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We are honoured to announce the appointment of the Festival's first Patrons. Writer, lecturer and arts advocate Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason and antiques expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan have accepted the...

Young musician steps in to save...

13 June 2023

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Swaledale Festival finished with a dramatic finale on Saturday 10 June after fifteen days of music, arts and walking in the Yorkshire Dales. 

Electrifying animation and...

29 May 2023

News

Swaledale Festival begins with a bang!