We have confirmed that we will be holding a conference on the 10th October 2026 at Leeds Central Library. We will be issuing a call for papers shortly, but if you have an idea for a talk on Folk Song in the North of England please get in touch.
Frank Kidson (1855-1926) was a key player in the explosion of interest in traditional song and music in late Victorian and Edwardian England, and his pioneering book Traditional Tunes (1891) was one of the three founding works of what became the first Folk Song Revival. As well as collecting songs in the field, he amassed a huge collection of printed and manuscript material and his knowledge of the history of traditional and popular tunes was unrivalled, and always available to others through the Folk-Song Society and other organisations. He was one of the few researchers who concentrated on the northern counties, and was particularly associated with his home-town of Leeds, so it is most fitting that this meeting which commemorates the centenary of his death, and celebrates his legacy, is organised jointly by the Traditional Song Forum and Leeds Libraries.