40 pictures as thousands attend scorching Cambridge Folk Festival 2018

First Aid Kit, Rosanne Cash, John Prine and Kate Rusby among those entertaining crowds at sun-baked Cherry Hinton Hall

Thousands of music lovers have turned out for the annual Cambridge Folk Festival at Cherry Hinton Hall.

The four-day event, which began on Thursday (August 2), has featured artists including Rosanne Cash, Patti Smith, First Aid Kit and this year’s festival curator Rhiannon Giddens.

Singer-poet Smith paid her tribute to folk music on Saturday by performing Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.

Popular Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit, and four-time Grammy Award winner Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny, performed on Friday.

On Sunday night, it’s the turn of two-time Grammy-winner, singer-songwriter John Prine and Cambridge favourite Kate Rusby.

This year the festival continued and extended its emphasis on being green.

Festival-goers were told by organisers Cambridge Live: “As the festival comes to an end please remember to #leavenotrace and use the recycling and waste points!”

Straws, stirrers and other single use plastics had already been banned last year and the festival has been plastic-bag free for a decade.

Those attending this year were encouraged to bring their own water bottles or buy one of the stainless steel ones on sale. Next year the festival intends to go plastic free.

A free bus service was on offer from train and bus stations to reduce the numbers using their cars.

:: Look out for our verdict on the 2018 Cambridge Folk Festival in this week’s Cambridge Independent.

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