Tenterden Folk Festival takes place from Friday 6^th to Sunday 8^th October 2000 with over 40 events during the weekend.

Tenterden Folk Day Trust is pleased to announce that Tenterden Folk Festival 2000 will open with a very special Millennium Concert featuring Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. We are able to stage this concert as a result of generous funding from Ashford Borough Council's Millennium Award Scheme. The Millennium Concert will take place at Homewood School and Sixth Form College on Friday 6^th October and will be the opening event of the eighth Tenterden Folk Festival.

Martin is one of the giants of contemporary English music. He is regarded as one of the finest singers and interpreters of traditional music of the British Isles as well as a highly influential, innovative, intelligent and much imitated guitar player. At times, he has almost single-handedly championed English folk song.

Martin has been a part of many of the top folk line-ups in the last forty years including playing with Dave Swarbrick, Steeleye Span, The Albion Country Band, John Kirkpatrick, Brass Monkey, with his wife Norma in The Watersons and currently with Norma and their daughter Eliza in Waterson-Carthy.

Martin played to a full house when he appeared at the sixth Tenterden Folk Festival in 1998 shortly after having been awarded the MBE for services to English folk music. Martin's first solo album for ten years, Sign's of Life, was released by Topic Records also in 1998.

John is "in a class of his own for the life he instils into whatever issues from his squeeze boxes" says Folk Roots Magazine. From the late 1960's he has been at the very forefront of innovative folk in England. He has played, amongst others, with the Albion Band, The Albion Country Band, Steeleye Span, the Richard Thompson Band, Brass Monkey and Band of Hope, often with Martin Carthy.

Whatever the musical context, John has gained wide acclaim not only for his virtuosity and musicianship, but also for the essentially English quality of the sound that characterises all his work.

John appeared at the 2^nd Tenterden Folk Day in 1994 and besides some excellent concert sets, presented what was one of the most popular workshops seen at the festival.