Welsh festival returns with a line-up of folk favourites

There are just eight weeks to go until the best of Welsh folk acts take the stage at a festival celebrating the “rich legacy of Welsh music, culture and folk arts”.

Fishguard Folk Festival will take place from 22 to 25 May 2026 at venues across the town, with tickets selling fast for its double bill headliners, Mari Mathias Band and Gitân.

Mari Mathias, hailing from the west Wales coast and currently living in Cardiff, creates mystical music inspired by her Celtic roots. Alongside her six-piece band, she combines the energy of folk with traditional melodies and poetic lyrics.  

Duo Stacey Blythe and Rajesh David make up Gitân, bringing two worlds together with their combination of Welsh folk and Indian vocal styles, complemented by the Indian harmonium and Celtic lever harp.

The Mari Mathias Band and Gitân will play the festival for one night only at St Mary’s Church on 22 May. Tickets are available online now. 

Other headliners include Owen Shiers, who will put forgotten Ceredigion folk songs centre stage at St Mary’s Church on 23 May, followed up by Flook, a quartet of Celtic folk masters. 

On 24 May at Theatr Gwaun there will be performances from Angeline Morrison, and Loïc Bleijan and Tad Sargent.

 

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Though headline events are ticketed, the festival also hosts several free-to-see acts including Taith, Rhiannon O’Connor, Elin a Carys, and Eilio.

There are also workshops, ceilidhs, sessions, guided walks, singarounds, dance groups, talks and art exhibitions due to be announced over the coming weeks.

In previous years, the family-friendly ‘Pirates and Smugglers Walk’ has taken visitors back in time to meet Barti Ddu, the Welsh pirate captain, as well as the French invaders who came under fire off the local coast.

All attendees are also welcome to get involved in sessions and workshops. Festival organisers suggest the ‘Slow and Easy’ sessions based on the free Tuneworks tunebook for beginners, and the Royal Oak sessions for those more at home playing in groups. 

​There are also opportunities for visitors to set up and busk around Fishguard, with dedicated busking spots at the festival for the first time. 

The festival is funded through a combination of sponsorship and donations, with collection buckets at almost all events, as well as fundraising events and advertising revenue. 

For more information about the Fishguard Folk Festival and places to stay, visit their site here.