At Swaledale Festival we regularly commission music and art from leading creators as well as lesser known ones.

The Festival is sad to learn of the death of Dr. Duncan Bythell, a long-term resident of Swaledale and a fine musician.

Over 6,200 tickets were sold for 50 music, arts and walking events across 18 venues, from Handel’s Messiah filling the heights of Ripon Cathedral, to brass, strings, woodwind, piano, percussion and vocals resounding in the chapels and churches of the Dales, to a folk fest in a cowshed.

Swaledale Festival kicks off this month, with fifty events rippling across the Dales from 28 May to 11 June to mark the Festival’s special 50th anniversary. 

This year’s Swaledale Festival features 50 music, arts and walking events in celebration of its 50th anniversary. With seven weeks to go until the fields dance with buttercups and the merriment begins, you may be wondering where to start, so here are some gems that are sure to entertain and inspire.