2010

where Moseley Folk really found its stride — a summer where local talent, bold bookings and a few gloriously chaotic moments came together to make something unforgettable.

We dug deeper than ever into submissions, championing more homegrown acts and giving the Midlands’ folk family their rightful place on our stages. And then there was festival favourite Donovan – the legend himself – arriving not with the gentle acoustic sets he’s known for today, but with a full rock ’n’ roll band in tow, delivering a headline moment that felt electric from the first note.

Neil Hannon headlined the Saturday with a memorable solo performance, The High Llamas made a rare live performance, and a young Johnny Flynn also featured on the bill this year.

Behind the scenes, the festival’s look continued to evolve, too. Suzy and Martin had parted ways, and we decided to bring the design in-house with Mission Print’s designer, Rik Cooper. Rik is a very accomplished designer – quick to interpret and untangle our more cryptic and contradictory suggestions. Picture the scene in The Apprentice, usually episode 8, where the teams have to instruct a long-suffering designer patiently holding back an eye-roll and a big sigh! Somehow, Rik always pulls it together and has gone on to design for Moseley Folk, Mostly Jazz and Lunar Festival ever since. That’s a huge body of work; Posters, Flyers, Programmes, Social Posts, Merch and the rest!

This was the year of the hay incident at the Prince of Wales (sorry Keith! sorry Dianne!) A beautifully shambolic moment that somehow turned into a short-lived tradition – until it inevitably got a bit too wild with people pulling hay out of their pints! But that’s part of the charm: every year has its stories, its characters, its mishaps that become memories.

Our after parties had grown alongside the festival, for our audience and also as a much-needed release for our crew. The Prince of Wales was for many years the long-suffering home for these parties, often with a live band crammed into that front bar and a very late session for all concerned, all with complementary cigars from Keith’s den!

Looking back, 2010 stands out as a year where everything clicked – the music, the community spirit, the experimentation, and the joyful unpredictability that keeps Moseley Folk what it is. A festival shaped by the people who play it, the people who attend it, and the moments we never quite see coming.