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Cambridge Folk Festival to be held for extra day

Aimee DexterCambridgeshire
News imageIan Olsson Suzanne Vega on stage holding an acoustic guitar and smiling. She wears a black top hat and leather jacket over a dress. She has bright red lipstick and white face make-up.Ian Olsson
Suzanne Vega headlined at Cherry Hinton as the festival returned for two days in 2026

Cambridge Folk Festival will be extended to three days next year, having previously been scaled back due to big financial losses.

Early bird tickets are due to go on sale this Friday for the 2027 event, which will run from Friday, 30 July to Sunday, 1 August.

The annual festival used to run over four days, but a £320,000 loss in 2024 led to it being cancelled in 2025 on its 60th anniversary year, before it returned last month for a two-day run.

Mike Todd-Jones, Labour cabinet member for communities at Cambridge City Council, said: "We've listened closely to our audiences, and the message was clear – they loved the festival and the weekend in Cherry Hinton, and want the Friday evening back."

News imageIan Olsson A long-shot of Frank Turner on stage at the Cambridge Folk Festival. He is performing solo with an acoustic guitar. He is bathed in red and yellow lights. The audience is relatively dark and a lot of them are wearing hats.Ian Olsson
Frank Turner also appeared, in solo mode, at the 2026 event

He added the extra day would "give us the opportunity to build" on the success of 2026, while the "Cambridge Folk Festival Presents programme will continue to bring fantastic folk and roots music to venues across the city throughout the year".

The folk festival began life in 1965 and in the past has hosted performances from international stars such as Van Morrison, Billy Bragg and Sinead O'Connor.

Among the line-up at this year's event was American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, punk and folk guitarist Frank Turner and veteran songwriter Richard Thompson.

News imageIan Olsson An aerial shot of the Cambridge Folk Festival. A large white performance tent is at the top of the picture. The audience spreads out on the grass and there are a couple of smaller white tents, trade stalls and a backstage area with large house in it. Fields outside the festival site extend to the horizon. There are a lot of mature trees around the edge of the festival site.Ian Olsson
The festival used to run for four days (pictured in 2024), but was cut to two days for its 2026 return

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