Shrewsbury Folk Festival bosses predicting best ever event

Organisers are predicting the biggest and best ever Shrewsbury Folk Festival – as the clock starts to countdown to the event's first day.

The festival - which runs from August 24-27, will welcome 7,000 visitors on each day at the Shropshire Showground, in Shrewsbury, including overseas visitors from Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Australia, Germany, France and Spain.

It will generate more than £3 million for the local economy and tickets for this year's event sold out more than three months in advance. Jo Cunningham, spokeswoman for the festival, said: "We're really looking forward to an exceptional event."

This year's event will feature an all-star line-up with headline sets from KT Tunstall, Richard Thompson, Kate Rusby and Show Of Hands.

There will also be sets from folk favourites like Treacherous Orchestra, Dervish, Anxo Lorenzo, Blowzabella, Plainsong, Vin Garbutt, Vamm and Jonathan Byrd. Other acts programmed to appear include Old Man Luedecke, Karine Polwart, Faustus, Lau, Jim Moray, Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings and Rosie Hood.

There will also be morris dancing, music workshops, local food and family entertainment throughout the four-day event.

Mrs Cunningham added a unique event at this year would be the silent ceilidh.

She said: "People have probably heard of a silent disco but Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2012 is bringing a silent ceilidh. People can take part in this 'new to SFF' dance event in the Dance Tent on the Saturday from 11pm. It will be, DJ'edd by Jim Moray.

"All the dancers wear radio headphones and the DJ produces a simultaneous programme of two alternative types of music.

"People can pick which music they want to dance to and the caller is heard over the top of both types of music on the headphones."