In Collaboration with Ely Folk Festival
Jon Boden
plus support

‘Alone, Boden still has the energy of a twelve-piece band’ EDS Magazine

Jon Boden is best known for his performance in the Hollywood movie About Time – his Youtube audio of the track has over 9m views and over 22m plays on Spotify – and as the lead singer and main arranger of the progressive folk juggernaut Bellowhead who have sold over a quarter of a million albums, had seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and have sold out hundreds of venues throughout the land and beyond, including notably the Royal Albert Hall.

Bellowhead also perform the theme tunes of The Archers on Radio 4, the new BBC 1 TV series Beyond Paradise and Jon provides the theme song for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show. 

Since 2016 Jon has been performing his solo show, launched as part of his role as Cambridge Folk Festival’s first guest artistic programmer. His recorded solo career goes back to 2006 with the release of his album Painted Lady followed by the critically lauded Songs From The Floodplain which led to him being named Folk Singer of The Year at the 2009 BBC Folk. In 2019 he was also made Honorary Doctor of Music by both the Open University and by Durham University.

His solo show incorporates elements from the wide creative span of his career to date – from the funked-up power-pop arrangements of folk songs that characterise Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden, to his post-Apocalyptic trilogy of albums - Songs From The Floodplain, Afterglow and Last Mile Home - to unaccompanied ballads as featured on his mammoth A Folk Song A Day project in which he recorded and released 365 folk songs in one year.

Widely respected as an interpreter of traditional song, the solo shows also showcase Jon’s instrumental talents on fiddle, guitar and concertina, as well as his trademark ‘stomp box’ which he and John Spiers introduced into to the world of traditional music in 2001.  Through his solo work and his work with Bellowhead and Spiers & Boden Jon has won a total of eleven BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – more than any other artist. 

‘Jon Boden is destined to become a national treasure’ Nightshift

We’re delighted that Jon Boden is part of Ely Arts Festival, bringing a career that spans duo folk clubs, world-class big band folk, theatrical composition, ambitious concept albums and ongoing innovation in communal music-making. Don’t miss this rare chance to witness a towering figure in folk history.

Image credit: David Angel

Support Acts:

Cliff  n Prue: Cliff and Prue are a brother-and-sister folk duo from Ely, Cambridgeshire, whose musical partnership has been shaped by a lifetime of shared songs, stages, and stories. See more: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577547088902

Lizzy Hardingham: Folk infused singer songwriter Lizzy Hardingham sings songs that drive straight to the heart, giving audiences a chance for genuine connection and empathy. Hardingham is paving her way as a powerhouse performer with beautifully delivered songs, her wonderful voice grabbing the listener from the very first note and holding on until the last. Think Christine Collister, Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny and KT Tunstall all wrapped into one. See more: https://www.lizzyhardingham.com/

Ely Folk Festival are celebrating 40 years of Ely Folk Festival with three days of great music this July at one of the UK’s top weekend folk events. With on-site camping facilities, a real ale bar, lots of kids activities, morris dancing displays, ceilidhs, workshops and music sessions, whether you visit for a day or the whole weekend, Ely Folk Festival will delight festival lovers of all ages.

Cliff n Prue Lizzy Hardingham