Given the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Pigs Ear Folk Ale is cancelled. We anticipate that Folk Ale will bounce back full of love and life in 2021. It survived sickness and death in the founding family, and it will survive this. We urge all our loyal Piggies to look after themselves and each other, and to stay safe. We want to see all of you on the other side.

In the meantime, this is going to be a grim year for professional musicians, pubs, venues, festivals and a host of others who make their living out of gathering people together. If you are able to spare the money you spent on your Folk Ale ticket (or just the price of a beer), we will put it into a fund to pay the artists booked to appear at this year’s festival as much of their fee as feasible.

Sing together. Grieve together. Help each other out. We are so much more than just individuals, and if time spent in “social isolation” could teach us how to come together we could do so much.

So although the present is tough and the future looks daunting, I’ll end with a quote from John Jones and Ian Telfer of the Oyster Band – "let’s work like we’re living in the early days of a better nation."

Full song lyrics here. Worth reading. http://www.oysterband.co.uk/lyrics/songs/The_early_days_of_a_better_nation.html

Peace, love and solidarity,

Sue, James and John and the Folk Ale Team.