Now in its third glorious year, Beardy Folk Festival returns 17th-20th September 2020.

Our Festivals For All Reviews were blessed to attend the first two Beardy festivals and thought it universally excellent.  Read the FFA Beardy Folk Festival 2019 Review for just a flavour of what this wonderful Shropshire weekend typically offers.

Rearranged from their usual early summer date, the 2020 festival still offers a cracking line-up including Sam Kelly and The Lost Boys, Calan, Sheenanagig, Gigspanner Big Band, Luke Jackson, Track Dogs, The Shackleton Trio, Winter Wilson, Harbottle & Jonas, The Goat Roper Rodeo Band, Cardboard Fox, Charlie Dore Trio, India Electric Co, and The Lost Notes.

They have now sold out of tickets to Beardy Folk Festival 2020. Due to the current guidelines they are operating at a maximum 20% of licence capacity. This is so they can create a comfortable and safe environment with social distancing in place.

Join their waiting list HERE as some tickets may become available in the run up to the event.

In these very troubled times, the festival organisers have further enhanced what was already and excellently organised and spotless event, to account for current social distancing measures; here’s just a few of the stringent measures they have put in place:

“We're working incredibly hard to make sure Beardy Folk Festival 2020 will be a weekend where we can be socially safe together whilst maintaining our familiar festival feel.

After rescheduling from our normal Midsummer June weekend to September, we set about planning for an event that will be as normal as possible, albeit with some important measures in place.

Many of the following changes were due to take place anyway, plus there's some measures that, we hope, will only be in place this year to enable us to go ahead in the most comfortable and safest way.

These measures are of course only applicable as of today. If guidelines change then we'll update if necessary. The following information has been highlighted from our risk assessment that forms part of our extensive event management plan.

MORE SPACE - We're an outdoor event with no indoor public spaces. We now have a large outside arena as well as the walled garden space. There is a new wide marquee main entrance off the campsite/day parking which will house the box office, medics and onsite security. We'll check all visitors wristbands etc at this point. Please remember, your own alcohol is not permitted anywhere inside the arena or walled garden. Our bars offer lovely drinks at brilliant prices.

CONCERT STYLE EXPERIENCE - Bring your chair or picnic blanket! We need you to help us keep everyone socially safe. Bring along your folding camping chairs/blankets and take your space inside or outside the walled garden. We'll have friendly stewards available to help everyone stay 2m apart or 1m plus. Don't forget, currently up to 6 people can be together from the same household or social bubble. For this year only, there'll be no mass gathering in front of the stage. Feel free to enjoy your weekend from your own seated space.

LESS VISITORS. Due to the current situation we're restricting the visitor attendance this year to a 20% capacity.

WALKWAYS. There'll be an IN/OUT walkway at the main entrance and the walled garden entrance, plus marked walkways inside the walled garden for everyone's comfort.

NEW OUTSIDE ARENA. We're excited to announce the smaller marquee stage is now outside the walled garden along with a brand-new Airstream mobile bar, a small trade village and a circus top for children's activities. There are no covered areas for visitors inside or outside the walled garden this year. You can now sit outside the wall, watching/listening to live music and enjoying a beer!

CLEANING. We pride ourselves on being a clean, green festival with the best visitors in the world! There'll be more single toilets, free showers, handwashing areas, a campsite sink for washing crocks etc, plus electronic hand sanitizer units throughout the festival site. We'll also have professional cleaners onsite to keep surfaces clean all weekend. Showers will be cleaned after every use.

MEDICS. As per usual our brilliant team of professional first aiders - STS MEDICS - will be onsite at the main entrance 24 hours a day. They'll be monitoring the usual health and safety of all visitors plus taking temperature checks where needed.

WRISTBANDS AND PASSES SENT OUT IN ADVANCE. As usual, visitors will receive their wristbands, camping passes and programmes in advance through the post. This means there's no human contact on arrival. Just put your wristbands on before arriving and display your camping pitch pass in the windscreen.

LARGER CAMPING PITCHES. Pitches will be marked out in the general and family area. We now have a third camping field available which means a huge amount of space in the quiet camping zone. You'll be able to change your zone on arrival if desired.

FOOD AND DRINK. As always, we'll have a fantastic range of food and drink all weekend. The food court will be inside the walled garden serving traditional fish and chips, Mexican burritos and tacos, stone-baked pizzas, Polish inspired stews, schnitzel and Pierogi pasties, vegan curries, pakora and salads, sweet and savoury crepes plus fresh tea, coffee and sweet treats. The main bar is inside the walled plus our new Airstream mobile bar outside the walled garden. Both stocked with Hobsons ales, cider and stout plus lager, wine and spirits. We will be offering our incredible drinks card deal (buy 5 get one free!), plus we'll have 2 and 4 pint holders to help you to make less visits to the bar. “

Sounds Good?  It will be!

Article by Barrie Dimond