Music

Festival of the Peak is a weekend of folk, roots and acoustic music bringing top names from the international and national folk scene to Carsington Water, near Ashbourne, for a three-day music event on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 8, 9 and 10 June. 

It takes place in the huge arena marquee, next to the water, in the picturesque setting of Carsington Water on the edge of the Peak District.

The Festival starts with a welcome ceilidh on Friday evening with the Derbyshire Volunteers made up of the "who's who" from the local folk scene – a 15-strong band with a fiddle, brass and percussion section, three callers and guest spots by traditional dance teams.

During Saturday afternoon there will be fun and games for the kids with Dr. Sunshine and a session in the Courtyard hosted by The Hoi Polloi and Friends.

Two concerts on Saturday feature:

• Keith Kendrick and Sylvia Needham and their haunting English and Anglo concertinas and vocals;
• Criag Morgan Robson - an a'cappella harmony trio who weave beguiling harmonies around material from the British tradition;
• Bob Fox and Billy Mitchell – Bob Fox in one of the finest guitarists and has one of the finest voices to grace the folk circuit while Billy Mitchell, Lindisfarne's ex-front man, plays guitar wizardry witha  voice to match. This collaboration between Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox has been a long time coming. Both men learnt their musical trade around Tyneside and have been delighting audiences at home and away for many years. 
• Last Night's Fun - said to be one of the best four-piece bands playing Irish music on uillean pipes, concertina, guitar and bodhrans. 
• Headlining the Saturday evening concert is the legendary Celtic Band, The Tannahill Weavers, traditional music at its best. As tight and versatile as any band on the Celtic music scene, the Tannahills can summon intensity or haunting introspection. All five musicians are virtuosos on their instruments and their tight harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements have won them fans from all over the world. 

Sunday kicks off with a Sunday Sing "Voices in Harmony" with Lester Simpson and Craig Morgan Robson and a chance to join in with some great voices in the arena marquee.

The Sunday afternoon Concert features three major guests:

Flook

• Tim Van Eyken, melodeon and vocals - BBC Radio 2 Award Winner - with a passion for traditional English music who has recorded and toured the world with folk’s first family, Waterson : Carthy, for the past five years; 
• The Omega 3, (ex-Roaring Jelly) who were, in their heyday, one of the most popular bands on the Derbyshire folk scene.
• Anglo-Irish band Flook top the bill with Sarah Allen (flute), John Joe Kelly (bodhran), Ed Boyd (guitar) and Brian Finnegan (flute), make up this Award winning quartet, whose reputation has built them up into near iconic status in the music world. Voted Best Group in the BBC Folk Awards 2006 they never fail to produce incredible music at every performance.

There are two campsites close to Carsington Water suitable for festival-goers.