A bit about our festival

We always fancied the idea of creating a midsummer music festival for our village.  The visit of a band of lederhosen-clad musicians from Bavaria in 2014 gave us the chance and the Rockhampton Folk Festival was born.  In 2019 we're celebrating our sixth festival - it's been quite an adventure.

We nurtured the festival from small beginnings to what you see today, but we have no desire to create a massive commercial event. People tell us they love the friendly relaxed atmosphere, the top-quality music and the local feel.  These are the things that make the Rockhampton Folk Festival special and that we don't plan to change.

It's really important to us that our festival contributes to the community we live in.  We have donated thousands of pounds to local charity, we support local sustainable businesses where we can and our outreach programme brings live music to young, old and disadvantaged groups. 
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​Do come and join the fun in June ! 

Chris & Nicki

Nicki Barnes

Nicki studied joint flute and piano at the Royal College of Music.  She went on to perform at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Rooms and on Classic FM and with the London Philharmonic and Bournemouth Symphony orchestras. Nicki has a keen interest in folk music, has toured with a folk orchestra in South America, played Flamenco with Juan Martin and been a member of Irish band ‘Penradin’.  She is the artistic inspiration behind the Rockhampton Folk Festival. 

Chris White-Horne

The Rockhampton Folk Festival began in 2014 when Chris brought his Bavarian band on tour to the UK.  He is the "Let's Play Trombone" tutor with Thornbury Area Youth Music and has played bass trombone with big bands, orchestras and wind bands while living in Germany, USA and closer to home.  He is now musical director of the Thornbury Swing Band and started the Cotswold Edge Brass Festival.