Emily and Hazel Askew are a young duo making waves on the folk scene with their energetic brand of English folk music. Using fiddle and melodeon, they play and sing with an infectious enjoyment and love for the music, winning them fans wherever they go. From rhythmic foot stomping tunes to powerful interpretations of songs and ballads, their playing always guarantees to engage and inspire those who hear.

Probably Britain’s leading exponents of cumbia, featuring charismatic Colombian vocalist Antonio Porras who has played with some of Bogotá’s leading bands, Atlantico present musica tropical at its very steamiest and most contagious. You just won't be able to sit still when this band is playing. Whether they are locked into the insistent back-beat of a cumbia with its Afro/European roots, galloping through the loping rhythm of a porro from the cattle-ranching grasslands, or throwing in some mambo, merengue and Colombia’s own style of salsa for good measure, you will have to get up and move to the joyful rhythm.

An earthy, modern blues band in which the funkiest musicians from the parallel worlds of blues, jazz and rock return to their roots. "This band is guaranteed to get you rocking in the aisles and reach the parts that others just can’t reach … so go see!"

A Winchester based singer songwriter with an accomplished range of songs and strong delivery.

The Hampshire based Bursledon Village Band are known throughout the UK and the world for the danceability of their music played in a relaxed southern style. Specialising mainly in southern English tunes they have been one of the UK's favourite barn dance or ceilidh bands for over thirty years.

A solo turn for Pressgang frontman Damian Clarke. Accompanying himself on hurdy-gurdy or hammer dulcimer he presents sparkling and refreshing 'wandering-minstrel' takes on traditional songs, English, Breton, Plat Deutsch - all sung in the original language - interspersed with tunes.

A multi-instrumental band that plays real Irish and Celtic music plus a smattering of Breton and Eastern European. Heard regularly at the Black Boy, their Friday night MAYfest session at the Eclipse has proved unmissable.

Contraband have been playing bluegrass since the early eighties, evolving from a straight "hardcore" bluegrass via a number of other influences (country, blues and acoustic folk) to its current rootsy approach to the music. An acoustic mixture of ballads and upbeat songs feature some amazing banjo and mandolin solos. The music 'moves', as they say!

Craig; Morgan; Robson bring a new dimension to the art of a-capella singing. They weave beguiling harmonies around material from the British tradition and beyond with "an effortless range and variety unheard in folk music for many years" (Folk London). Timeless songs of love and longing rub shoulders with compelling contemporary songs, and passionate, dramatic ballads take their place alongside a lilting Shetland melody or a stirring hymn from the Ozark mountains. The occasional solo song only adds to the variety of their overall performance. Here is a trio in which three distinctively different voices melt into one another to create a sound which is all their own. "True tradition bearers" (Living Tradition).

Acoustic swing - two acoustic guitars, a double bass and a clarinet doubling saxophone. plays a lively yet sophisticated selection of swing music with more than a hint of the gypsy jazz sound of Django Rheinhardt.

Hector is blessed with a wonderful voice and a way of carrying a song so that it touches the listener. The choice of material is wide and varies from very modern singer songwriter to Scottish traditional but it all makes good listening.

Hooper & Henry started life as a duo in 2002, featuring two voices, two guitars, mandolin and Appalachian dulcimer (not all at once). With some solo material from each of them as well, they promise a varied programme of entertainment and amusement and are understood to be Quite Good.

Enjoying the recent revival of interest in hot club jazz and gypsy swing, a style brought to the fore by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in the bars and cafes of Paris in the 1930s, Louche Manouche combine guitars, clarinet, double bass and vocals in an upbeat ensemble that will get you dancing and make you smile.

How do you pronounce your name? George, of course! Its been almost seven years since George Papavgeris songwriting career began, and five since his first album saw the light of day. But the road has in fact been much longer than that. From falling in love with early music, swapping his tonsils for his first guitar at 14 and singing protest songs in botes in Thessaloniki, Greece at the time of the colonels junta, via discovering folk (and my better third, he insists) in Oxford in the early 70s and singing in byzantine and other choirs, to almost 200 songs, a dozen covers and seven albums.

What is Pure Acoustica? Simply it's a collection of artists who perform totally acoustically without the use of microphones, amplifiers or PAs. Musicians, singers, poets and comedians are all part of the Pure Acoustica experience. Acoustic music gives the musician and performer freedom and control. There is no distortion of the sound from a PA system and no worry that the balance will be wrong. The music and voice is pure and free and the audience’s reaction is amazing, loving the intimacy of the pure acoustic sound. It's a wonderful experience and how music should be, raw and untouched. Imagine sitting round a bonfire on the beach, listening to people singing and playing - this is Pure Acoustica!

The Southampton Ukulele Jam have been meeting in Southampton since summer 2008 to share their love of playing the ukulele. They play everything from folk to punk - literally!

Authentic piano accordion entertainment featuring Parisian tangos, pasadobles, sambas and lambadas, Bulgarian dances and some familiar Latin favourites.

Vicki and Jonny have been playing music together well over 10 years, meeting whilst playing for their local county youth orchestra. Vicki’s unique style of playing the Scottish Smallpipes that is at once spell-bindingly beautiful and haunting is perfectly complimented by Jonny’s driving guitar playing. Strong believers in letting music live and breathe, Vicki and Jonny allow the melody to sing without any constraints. Constantly seeking new harmonic pathways they help to keep pipe music alive and growing.

A perennial favourite with the children, Gary Nunn once again brings his Ticklish Allsorts show to Mayfest. Natural joker, puppeteer, storyteller, spoof magic, silly songs with guitar, action songs, games and general mayhem. On Cathedral Green during the day - check the board on the day for show times.

Playing a mix of thirties country blues, murder ballads and a few dodgy cowboy songs and covering the likes of Leadbelly, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave and Tom Waits, along with originals penned by Brian Hayward.

Winchester Community Choir is an open access choir for the people of Winchester. Formed in late 2005, the choir now has almost 100 members who meet weekly to sing for fun and give regular performances in the community and to raise money for local causes. Led by conductor Sarah Morgan, the choir sings a wide range of unaccompanied harmony songs.

Polly is more than your avarage singer-songwriter and Steve is certainly more than your average guitarist. They first 'became friends' on MySpace in November 2007 and within a month were supporting some top local bands. Since last year the two have been working solidly on building up a repetoire of Polly's original songs which Steve lends his truly phenomenal fingerstyle guitar skills to. World domination is imminent...

An exciting new group founded by the young flamenco guitarist Jero Férec mixing gypsy flamenco guitar and dance. Both guitarist and dancer are steeped in the authentic art of flamenco and have studied with the experts in Spain.