Folk and world music in London: Cecil Sharp House, ceilidhs and more

What this guide covers

Kindrd's guides to live music by room size and to free and cheap music already cover general ticketing, booking fees and free concerts across London, including the Barbican's ticket fees and Young Barbican scheme. This guide does not repeat them. It looks at folk and world music specifically: the building that anchors English folk in London, how a ceilidh works if you have never been to one, and which other rooms regularly book folk and world artists.

Every date, address and access detail below comes from a page we fetched on 14 October 2026, usually the venue's own site, with history from Wikipedia. Several venue sites refused our requests that day: the Southbank Centre, Kings Place and the Islington Folk Club. Where that happened we say so and give no hours, prices or dates for them.

Cecil Sharp House: the history

According to Wikipedia, Cecil Sharp House opened on 7 June 1930 on Regent's Park Road in Camden. It was designed in a neo-Georgian style by Henry Martineau Fletcher. The building was bombed in 1940; the basement and library largely survived, but the entrance, stairs and main hall were damaged. It was restored by John Eastwick-Field and reopened in 1951. The musicians' gallery was not put back, and a mural by Ivon Hitchens, unveiled in 1954, took its place. The building is Grade II listed and houses the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and Archive.

The building belongs to the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Wikipedia traces it to two older bodies: the Folk-Song Society, founded in London in 1898 to collect and publish folk songs, and the English Folk Dance Society, founded by Cecil Sharp in 1911. The two merged in 1932 to form the EFDSS, which became a registered charity in 1963. It is now a member-based charity and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, publishes the magazine English Dance and Song and the Folk Music Journal, and runs The Full English, a free online archive of folk music and dance.

What Cecil Sharp House programmes

The EFDSS listings we read on 14 October 2026 mix dancing, gigs, classes and talks. For dancing there was English Country Dancing on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm (15 and 22 October), Friday Feet at 7.30pm on 16 October, the Knees Up Cecil Sharp Ceilidh at 8pm the same night, Balkanplus for Beginners at 7pm on Saturday 14 November followed by the London Barndance Company at 8pm, and a Family Barn Dance with a caller and live music. A Morris dancing class was listed for Tuesday 20 October at 6.30pm.

The gig programme runs mostly at 7.30pm on weekday evenings. The EFDSS discount page lists Belinda O'Hooley and Jackie Oates on 22 October, The Furrow Collective on 28 October, Goblin Band on 31 October, a Trad Night with Macdara Yeates on 4 November, The Haar on 5 November, Ryan Young on 12 November, Satnam Galsian on 18 November and The Young'uns on 20 December. There was also a Winter Solstice BPOC and Global Majority Folk Club on 16 December at 7pm, and a Black British Folk Takeover, a day of song, music and storytelling, on Saturday 17 October from 2.15pm.

Ticket prices were not shown on the listing pages we read, so check each event's booking page. The EFDSS offers 20% off when you buy full-price tickets to three or more of its presented gigs in one transaction using the code SHARPER; it applies only to the gigs on that page and says availability is limited. The Hill Drawings, an exhibition by Melvyn Robinson, is free to visit until 11 January.

• Cecil Sharp HouseFolk arts centre

  Camden, NW1 7AY · Nearest: Camden Town

  Home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society: ceilidhs, country dancing, weekday folk gigs and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.

How a ceilidh works

Wikipedia describes a ceilidh as a traditional Scottish and Irish social gathering, from an Old Irish word meaning companion. Historically it could be an evening of stories, poems and songs without dancing; now dancing is usually the focus. Dances include couples' dances in a ring, sets of four to eight couples, and progressive dances where you change partner as you go.

The key figure is the caller, who teaches the steps before each dance starts, so beginners can join in without any prior knowledge. In England, Wikipedia notes, the caller also works with the band to pick tunes that suit the dance and the room, and English ceilidh is often played at a slower tempo with a melodeon. That structure is worth knowing for a date: you do not need to know the dances, you will be told what to do, and progressive dances mean you will dance with other people as well as each other.

Getting to and around Cecil Sharp House

The EFDSS travel page puts Camden Town Underground station about 700 metres away, roughly a ten-minute walk, with Chalk Farm about 950 metres and Camden Road rail station about a kilometre. The 274 bus runs along Regent's Park Road past the building and the 88 stops on Parkway nearby.

Its access page says there is step-free access to all floors by lift, reached from the car park on the Gloucester Avenue gate side, but no level entrance into or out of the building, so contact the venue in advance if you might need help evacuating. There are two wheelchair-accessible toilets with baby changing on the ground floor and one in the basement, but no Changing Places toilet. Kennedy Hall and Trefusis Hall have hearing loops, as does reception. Disabled ticket-holders can reserve a free ticket for a personal assistant, assistance animals are welcome, and the venue describes itself as a chilled venue where people who cannot always sit still or stay silent are welcome. Most events are seated; for standing events, a space by the stage can be arranged on request. Doors usually open about 30 minutes before a performance. The access line is 020 7485 2206.

Union Chapel, Islington

Union Chapel at 19b Compton Terrace, N1, is a working church that also runs as a venue. Wikipedia records that it was designed by James Cubitt and built between 1874 and 1877, with a tower completed in 1889. The chapel is Grade I listed and its organ, built by Henry Willis in 1877, still has an original hydraulic blowing system. Wikipedia says the venue hosts about 250 events a year.

Its what's-on page on 14 October 2026 included several folk and world bookings: Eddi Reader on 15 October, Tom Rush on 1 November, Radie Peat on 3 November, Bongeziwe Mabandla on 19 November, the Ukrainian group DakhaBrakha on Monday 23 November, Cara Dillon on 18 December, The Unthanks on 19 December and Kate Rusby on 22 December. The DakhaBrakha page gives doors at 7pm, a 10.30pm curfew, seated only with unreserved seats allocated first come, first served, and under-16s accompanied by an adult. Prices were not shown on the summary pages we read.

The chapel's access page says the main entrance has three stone steps, with a ramp available from door staff and a ground-level rear entrance recommended for electric wheelchair users, who should contact the venue first. The bar is reached by an alley with about 12 steps or a platform lift. The venue is fully seated, there is an induction loop in the chapel, and accessible tickets are sold in pairs at half price, so an essential companion goes free; you need an active Nimbus card to set up its access pass. Highbury and Islington station is about 200 metres away.

• Union ChapelChurch and seated venue

  Islington, N1 2UN · Nearest: Highbury & Islington

  Victorian Grade I listed chapel that books folk, world and acoustic artists into a fully seated room.

Rich Mix, Shoreditch

Rich Mix is an independent arts centre at 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1. Wikipedia says the building was a leather factory until the 2000s and now spans five floors with a three-screen cinema and flexible performance spaces. Its charitable objects include educating the public about the history and culture of migrant communities, which shapes a music programme with a strong diaspora focus.

Its listings on 14 October 2026 included a K-Music Festival show on Saturday 17 October, ticketed through Dice, and a twentieth-anniversary season called London, From the Margins, across five weekends and four genres. Prices were not shown on the home page.

Rich Mix's access page lists a ramp at the main entrance, lifts to all gallery, performance and cinema spaces, four accessible toilets with RADAR locks, and hearing loops in the box office, Stage and Studio. It accepts the CEA card, so a carer comes free. Access tickets cannot be bought online: call the box office on 020 7613 7498.

• Rich MixArts centre and cinema

  Shoreditch, E1 6LA

  Independent arts centre with a music programme drawn from London's migrant and diaspora communities.

Barbican, Southbank Centre and Kings Place

The Barbican's contemporary music listing on 14 October 2026 did not label anything as folk or world music, but it included Darbar: Yogabliss to Live Music with Kanwal Ahluwalia across 31 October and 1 November, and Hannah Peel and Beibei Wang on 24 October. Its Ryman in Rhythm series runs from 18 November 2026 to 26 February 2027. Prices were on individual event pages, not the listing.

Kings Place, at 90 York Way by King's Cross, opened in 2008, according to Wikipedia. Its main concert hall, Hall One, has 415 seats and Hall Two seats 200 or holds 330 standing. Its own site refused our request, so we cannot give its current folk or world programme, prices or access details.

The Southbank Centre's gig listing also refused our request, so we give nothing for it here. The Islington Folk Club's site did the same, so we cannot confirm where or when it currently meets. Check both directly before planning around them.

• Kings PlaceConcert venue

  King's Cross, N1 · Nearest: King's Cross St Pancras

  Two concert halls beside the canal at King's Cross; Hall One seats 415.

Before you go

• Prices were missing from most of the listing pages we read, so open each event's booking page before you commit.
• At a ceilidh the caller teaches every dance first; flat shoes help, and progressive dances mean swapping partners.
• Union Chapel seats are unreserved and first come, first served, so arrive early if you want to sit together.
• If you need an access ticket at Rich Mix, phone the box office, since access bookings are not sold online.
• Cecil Sharp House has lift access to every floor but no level entrance, so call ahead if that matters to you.

Questions people ask

Do I need to know how to dance to go to a ceilidh?

No. The caller teaches the steps before each dance, so beginners can join in. Cecil Sharp House also listed Balkanplus for Beginners before a barn dance on 14 November 2026.

Where is Cecil Sharp House and how do I get there?

It is at 2 Regent's Park Road, NW1 7AY. The EFDSS says Camden Town station is about a ten-minute walk, and the 274 bus passes the building.

Is there a discount on folk gigs at Cecil Sharp House?

Yes. Buying full-price tickets for three or more EFDSS gigs in one transaction with the code SHARPER gives 20% off all of them, on the gigs listed on its discount page.

Is Union Chapel accessible?

Partly. The main entrance has three steps with a ramp on request and a ground-level rear entrance. It is fully seated, has an induction loop, and accessible tickets come in pairs at half price.