Scroll through this gallery to see what 2024's festival was all about (a picture tells 1,000 words...) though words and more are down below - plus another gallery of photos from the last few years.
ABOUT GTSF
For specifics and terms and conditions click here.
This isn’t just a festival. It’s four days each year when the ordinary world can wait outside the gates. GTSF is "quite possibly the best small folk and roots festival in the UK" — not because we say so, but because our audience does, and you return year after year to prove it. If you come too, then from the moment you arrive — by festival bus or pitching up with your car by your tent — you step straight into the heartbeat of the festival. Nine performance areas including three main stages of genre-busting music. 60+ acts, with many playing multiple stages, and more to participate in than you could ever imagine over 4 celebratory days: the laughter, late-night sessions, pints of great beers and ciders, wonderful street theatre and kids' entertainment, and the sense that you’ve stepped into something rare and real. From 2nd to 5th July 2026, our 19th festival returns to its beautiful lakeside home near Southwell, Nottinghamshire. And what you carry away won’t fit in your bag: songs, laughter, and a little magic.
And GTSF is a not-for-profit organisation, run by enthusiastic and experienced volunteers, and we love putting on this festival. Any surplus income goes straight back into future events.
In 2021 we moved to a fantastic new setting in lakeside parkland at Kirklington, 3 miles the other side of town from our previous site at Southwell Racecourse. Southwell is a beautiful Nottinghamshire market town (see the about Southwell page) approximately 13 miles from Nottingham and 8 miles from the A1 and Newark. See how to get to us here. It really is a great venue for a festival - see some pictures at the foot of the page.
There's plenty of space to camp, right on the festival site by the lakes. You can bring your vehicle onto the campsite (park your car by your tent) so there's no need to lug tents and equipment about. For those not camping there's a free day car-park right next to the entrance. Or for a bit of extra luxury, why not try glamping? (The campsite has chemical waste disposal points.)
You'll find over 60 artists performing over 4 days on 3 main stages plus a children's stage and a workshop tent, and further occasional performances in the main bar and by the boathouse bar. The Lake Stage (our biggest) is a large open arena with an audience cover which was new in 2024. The Folk Stage has a folkier feel to the music and it's in a marquee. The Frontier Stage is our smaller third stage with a more lively feel to lots of the music. This is an open stage, though we are exploring use of a cover for 2026. You can bring chairs or mats to all the stages.
Well behaved dogs are welcome to the campsite and into the festival arena, though not into the Folk Stage marquee or Steeples (the workshop tent). They are allowed under the Lake Stage audience cover and into the indoor market.
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Dogs Welcome!
Dance remains a popular part of the festival with an emphasis on variety and entertainment. Ceilidhs or other social folk dances normally take place each day on site. We also programme time for sessions in the bar and by the campfire.
Southwell is a family friendly and fun festival with plenty of entertainment for the kids and youths alike. Many children’s activities are aimed to be educative as well as fun with our own instrument workshops, and various other hands-on opportunities. Family entertainment always includes a liberal dose of street theatre and ‘walkabouts’ as well as storytellers and musicians. The children's programme is mostlly on Saturday and Sunday.
We are a member of the Association of Independent Festivals (previously AFO), the UK's predominant organisation for independent festivals, where we share best practice and benefit from technical advice and experience. This was particularly valuable during the pandemic.
