The Cambridge Folk Festival

This year's coverage will include backstage interviews with popular Scottish duo The Proclaimers, singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, folk rock legend Roy Harper and Billy Bragg, who is celebrating Woody Guthrie's centenary with a set dedicated to the folk icon.

Other live performances will come from headline act Clannad, multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winners June Tabor & Oysterband, Texan folkabilly star Nanci Griffith, Irish favourites Four Men and a Dog, and Dublin songwriter James Vincent McMorrow.

Mike will also catch up with the influential English folk guitarist and singer Nic Jones, who spent many years off the scene after an accident made it impossible for him to perform. Nic is playing a handful of festivals this year, of which Cambridge is one.

Over more than 40 years, Cambridge has earned its place as one of Europe's major folk festivals, hosting the world's biggest and best names from celtic, country, roots, reggae, zydeco, rock music and beyond.

The festival, run by Cambridge City Council in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, places great importance on being family- friendly and its inclusive atmosphere and array of events have helped it to sell out year after year.

Mike Harding presents musical highlights and interviews from the Cambridge Folk Festival.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Broadcasting live from the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, Mark will introduce performances from some of folk and roots music's biggest and best-loved acts, including The Waterboys, Bellowhead, Steeleye Span, Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick, The Staves and LAPD (Liam O'Flynn, Andy Irvine, Paddy Glackin and Donal Lunny). Mark will also shine a light on some of the lesser-known artists performing at the 49th Cambridge Folk Festival.

The festival was founded by Cambridge City Council in 1964 and it's very first bill featured a relatively unknown Paul Simon. Since then the event has become widely celebrated for its relaxed atmosphere and diverse, high quality acts.

Radio 2 has been broadcasting live music and highlights from Cambridge for many years. This year's coverage includes a three-hour programme hosted by Dermot O'Leary on Saturday 27 July and this two-hour special presented by Radio 2's Folk Show host, Mark Radcliffe.

The headline acts in 2013 are The Mavericks, The Waterboys and Bellowhead. Mighty, many-headed folk phenomenon Bellowhead were formed nearly 10 years ago by acclaimed duo Spiers & Boden. Following in the footsteps of acts like Brass Monkey, Bellowhead combined folk music with a bombastic brass section, inspired arrangements and a theatrical live show that makes the most of the drama inherent in traditional songs.

The Waterboys were formed in by Mike Scott in 1983, and despite working in a number of musical fields, have consistently had a celtic vein running through their enduring brand of acoustic rock. During the 1980s and 90s they released a number of top-ten singles and albums including The Whole of The Moon and Fisherman's Blues. They split in 1993 but reformed in 2000, and their latest album, An Appointment With Mr Yeats, focuses successfully on arranging the poetry of WB Yeats.

Mark Radcliffe presents live music, highlights and chat from the prestigious summer event.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Cambridge Folk Festival, now in it's 51st year, attracts a wide range of top quality acts from around the world. This year, Mark's guests will include The Proclaimers and Olivia Chaney, and live music comes from Nick Mulvey, Altan and more.

Mark Radcliffe presents live music and interviews from one of Europe's top folk festivals.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Richard Thompson, Laura Marling, Kate Rusby, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Raul Malo will be amongst those talking to Mike and Mark, and there will be live performances from them and many more artists appearing at the festival over the weekend (28-31 July).

Robert Cray, Rumer, Newton Faulkner, Pentangle, live favourites Bellowhead and BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer Of The Year Chris Wood are also on the bill.

Richard Thompson has been responsible for some of the most memorable sets in the festival's history and he returns to Cambridge this year. Thompson, a founder member of folk-rock legends Fairport Convention, has been ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time. His many and varied contributions to British music - both as a musician and as a songwriter - earned him an OBE earlier this year.

Hampshire singer-songwriter Laura Marling was named Best Female Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards, and both of her two albums have received Mercury Prize nominations. She made her Cambridge Folk Festival debut on Stage 2 in 2008; just three years later, she headlines the event.

Five-time Grammy Award-winning country star Mary Chapin Carpenter released her twelth studio album, The Age of Miracles, in 2011. Over more than 25 years, the New Jersey born singer-songwriter has sold more than 13 million records.

South Yorkshire singer Kate Rusby has been one of the brightest lights in English folk music for nearly fifteen years. Steeped in the tradition but with a gift for making the old songs sound fresh and contemporary, her albums have earned her a Mercury Prize nomination and a legion of loyal fans.

Raul Malo is best known as the former lead singer of Miami country band The Mavericks, whose 1998 radio hit Dance the Night Away is well-known to UK audiences. He plays Stage 1 on the Saturday.

Over more than 40 years the Cambridge Folk Festival has earned its place as one of Europe's major folk festivals, hosting the world's biggest and best names from celtic, country, roots, reggae, zydeco, rock music and beyond.

The festival, run by Cambridge City Council in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, places great importance on being family friendly and its inclusive atmosphere and array of events have helped it to sell out year after year.

Three hours of musical highlights and interviews from the 2011 Cambridge Folk Festival.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

This year's line-up features Sinead O'Connor, Richard Thompson, Pokey LaFarge, Eddi Reader, Fisherman's Friends and many more.

Includes Sinead O'Connor, Richard Thompson, Pokey LaFarge, Fisherman's Friends and more.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

The Zutons, Booker T, Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds and Martin Simpson are among the performers at this year's Co-operative Cambridge Folk Festival, one of the highlights of the summer for fans of live music.

Another 'cool as folk' line-up, featuring the best in contemporary roots music, the festival bill this year also includes rare performances by legendary performers such as The Waterson Family and Buffy Sainte-Marie, as well as some of the trailblazers of the current folk revival including Bellowhead, Cara Dillon and Jim Moray.

Extensive online coverage of the festival can be found at bbc.co.uk/radio2.

Mark Radcliffe presents highlights from the 2009 Cambridge Folk Festival.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

California-born, Norway-based 'song and dance man' Seasick Steve has won the hearts of British music fans since breaking through in 2003/4. His captivating brand of fiery blues and the backstory of his itinerant youth make him an unmissable proposition.

Co-headliner Natalie Merchant rose to fame as the singer in eighties alt. rock band 10,000 Maniacs before pursuing an acclaimed solo career from 1993 and focusing on folk material in the early 2000s. Her latest album, Leave Your Sleep, is an expansive double LP of classic children's poetry set to music, including celtic and American old-timey influences.

Cornish shanty choir Fisherman's Friends have had a remarkable year, having signed a major label record deal and stormed the album charts at number 9 - making Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends the highest charting album of traditional music ever. Most of the 10 members retain day jobs with the H M Coast Guard and the RNLI.

Dublin rockabilly singer Imelda May was the surprise sensation of last year's festival and is hoping to repeat the feat in the company of County Clare melodeon star Sharon Shannon.

The Unthanks - formerly known as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - have won critical acclaim and the adoration of music fans around the country for their raw and atmospheric versions of traditional songs, mostly drawn from their Northumbrian heritage. A Nationwide Mercury Music Prize nomination in 2008 was a boost to both their and the wider British folk scene's mainstream profile.

Over more than 40 years the Cambridge Folk Festival has earned its place as one of Europe's major folk festivals, hosting the world's biggest and best names from celtic, country, roots, reggae, zydeco, rock music and beyond.

Three hours of musical highlights and interviews from the 2010 Cambridge Folk Festival.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival

Mark Radcliffe, Stuart Maconie and Mike Harding present three hours of musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from the 2010 Cambridge Folk Festival. Seasick Steve, Natalie Merchant, Imelda May, Fisherman's Friends, The Unthanks and Kris Kristofferson will be amongst the guests and there will be live performances from them, and many more artists appearing at the festival, over the weekend (29 July to 1 August).

California-born, Norway-based song and dance man Seasick Steve has won the hearts of British music fans since breaking through in 2003/4. His captivating brand of fiery blues and the backstory of his itinerant youth make him an unmissable proposition.

Co-headliner Natalie Merchant rose to fame as the singer in eighties alt. rock band 10,000 Maniacs before pursuing an acclaimed solo career from 1993 and focusing on folk material in the early 2000s. Her latest album, Leave Your Sleep, is an expansive double LP of classic children's poetry set to music, including celtic and American old-timey influences.

Cornish shanty choir Fisherman's Friends have had a remarkable year, having signed a major label record deal and stormed the album charts at number 9 - making Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends the highest charting album of traditional music ever. Most of the 10 members retain day jobs with the H M Coast Guard and the RNLI.

Dublin rockabilly singer Imelda May was the surprise sensation of last year's festival and is hoping to repeat the feat in the company of County Clare melodeon star Sharon Shannon.

The Unthanks - formerly known as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - have won critical acclaim and the adoration of music fans around the country for their raw and atmospheric versions of traditional songs, mostly drawn from their Northumbrian heritage. A Nationwide Mercury Music Prize nomination in 2008 was a boost to both their and the wider British folk scene's mainstream profile.

Over more than 40 years the Cambridge Folk Festival has earned its place as one of Europe's major folk festivals, hosting the world's biggest and best names from celtic, country, roots, reggae, zydeco, rock music and beyond.

Three hours of musical highlights and interviews from the 2010 Cambridge Folk Festival.

Musical highlights, interviews and backstage shenanigans from folk's leading festival