Northgate Folk Festival, the North West’s leading experimental and contemporary folk all-dayer, makes its eagerly anticipated return to Alexander’s Live in Chester on Saturday 23rd August 2025.

Presented by Choir of Outsiders, the festival champions boundary-pushing artists redefining traditional music for discerning modern audiences.

Nestled within the city’s ancient Roman walls, past lineups have included Stick In The Wheel, Shovel Dance Collective, The Gentle Good, Milkweed, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Nick Hart, Goblin Band and more, and the third edition will once again showcase a new wave of acts who embody the genre’s ever-evolving nature, featuring:

Sam Amidon ✶ Jim Ghedi ✶ Lucy & Hazel ✶ Toria Wooff ✶ Spitzer Space Telescope

Wire Worms ✶ Tealeaf ✶ Satnam ✶ Joshua Arnold & Therine

Plus, Dance & Sessions from Queer As Folk ✶ Common Folk ft. Mersey Morris ✶ Mockbeggar Morris

Inimitable singer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Amidon headlines the 2025 edition. Fresh from the release of his critically acclaimed album Salt River, the Vermont-born trailblazer brings his adventurous reworkings of American ballads, hymns and work songs, “transform(ing) all of the songs, changing their colours and loading them with trapdoors” (New York Times).

Joining him are torchbearers of a new wave of experimental folk and politically charged voices: Sheffield’s Jim Ghedi and Lucy & Hazel. MOJO described Ghedi’s recent boldly brooding record Wasteland, as “melodically sublime… although Ghedi’s music is infused with tradition, it’s very much experiencing the present.” Attendees can expect an equally powerful performance from Lucy & Hazel, who, with inspirations spanning from punk to stories of resistance, present self-penned folk laced with bewitching humour, harmonies and heartache.

They will be joined by “potent gothic-folk” (Clash Music) songwriter Toria Wooff, the charismatic iconoclast Spitzer Space Telescope, DIY neo-folk cadre Wire Worms, British Asian singer-songwriter and progressive folk artist Satnam Galsian and many more.

Festivalgoers can also expect Morris dancing, mummers plays and folk sessions from Queer As Folk, Common Folk, Mersey Morris and Mockbeggar Morris.

Thanks to Common Folk CIC, this year’s poster draws deeply from Cheshire folklore and folk customs. Bard of the seasons, The Quiet Orchard has brilliantly conceived the artwork, featuring Jenny Greenteeth and soul-sucking Nightjars in all their gnarled glory.

Ticket link: https://alexanderslive.seetickets.com/event/northgate-folk-festival-2025/alexander-s-live/3428318

12pm – 10pm ✶ £24 advance ticket ✶ £20 student ticket ✶ Alexander’s Live, Rufus Court, CH1 2JW, Cheste