{"id":234,"date":"2026-08-26T10:39:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/?page_id=234"},"modified":"2026-08-26T15:18:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T14:18:50","slug":"history-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/?page_id=234","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Pig's Ear Folk Ale History -->\n<style>\n\n.folkale-history,\n.folkale-history * {\n    box-sizing: border-box;\n}\n\n:root {\n    --green: #53662f;\n    --green-dark: #35441d;\n    --gold: #d4a93f;\n    --cream: #f5eedc;\n    --paper: #fffdf7;\n    --ink: #29271e;\n    --muted: #756c53;\n    --line: rgba(70,60,35,.15);\n}\n\n.folkale-history {\n    width: 100%;\n    margin: 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    color: var(--ink);\n    background: #3B3027 !important;\n    font-family: Inter, ui-sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,\n                 \"Segoe UI\", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;\n    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class=\"folkale-history\">\n<main class=\"page\">\n\n    <section class=\"hero\">\n        <p class=\"kicker\">Pig&#8217;s Ear Folk Ale<\/p>\n        <h1>Our History<\/h1>\n        <p>\n            From a family folk group and a Kentish community celebration\n            to the festival we know today.\n        <\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <figure class=\"feature logo-placeholder\">\n        <div style=\"padding: 35px 25px; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; background: #fffdf7;\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"logo-image\" src=\"https:\/\/photos.folkale.co.uk\/content\/0%20Unsorted%20Photos\/0011175571_10.jpg\" alt=\"Pig's Ear band logo\" loading=\"lazy\">\n        <\/div>\n        <figcaption><em>Pig&#8217;s Ear<\/em> \u00b7 the band that started it all<\/figcaption>\n    <\/figure>\n\n    <div class=\"timeline\">\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2003<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>Where it began<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    \u201cAle\u201d is a term used in past times by Kentish folk to\n                    describe a community celebration. That spirit is how\n                    Folk Ale started: a chance for musicians and fans of\n                    acoustic music to get together, sing, play and listen\n                    to great music against a backdrop of beautiful Kent\n                    countryside.\n                <\/p>\n                <p style=\"margin-top:14px\">\n                    The Pig&#8217;s Ear Folk Ale was founded in <strong>2003<\/strong>\n                    by family folk group Pig&#8217;s Ear: Grant, Keith, Sue and\n                    Lyndsey Rule. For many years it was run by the Rule\n                    family with a number of other loyal volunteers. From the\n                    outset, the idea was to bring musicians and music lovers\n                    together in a relaxed, friendly setting, with the emphasis\n                    firmly on enjoying the music and each other&#8217;s company.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n        <figure class=\"feature\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"feature-image\" src=\"https:\/\/photos.folkale.co.uk\/content\/0%20Unsorted%20Photos\/6278375526_46549459c2.jpg\" alt=\"Pig's Ear\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <figcaption>\n                <em>Pig&#8217;s Ear<\/em> \u00b7\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/pigsear.bandcamp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n                    listen on Bandcamp\n                <\/a>\n            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/figure>\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2020<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>A year away<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    Folk Ale took place every year on the weekend following\n                    the late Spring Bank Holiday, except for <strong>2020<\/strong>,\n                    when the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.\n                    It was the first interruption to the festival&#8217;s annual\n                    rhythm since it began, and an understandably difficult\n                    year for a festival built around bringing people together.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2021<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>Keeping the music going<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    After a successful <strong>online event in 2021<\/strong>,\n                    Folk Ale was ready to return in a new form. The online event\n                    kept the spirit of Folk Ale alive while people could not\n                    gather in the usual way, and it helped pave the way for\n                    the festival&#8217;s return the following year.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2022<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>A new chapter<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    The Pig&#8217;s Ear Folk Ale returned in <strong>2022<\/strong>\n                    at a brand new green field site near Sevenoaks, with a\n                    new management team and the spectacular\n                    <strong>Soundscape outdoor solar stage<\/strong>. It was a\n                    significant new chapter for the festival, giving Folk Ale\n                    a fresh home and a new team to take it forward.\n                <\/p>\n                <p style=\"margin-top:14px\">\n                    The new site brought a broad range of musical styles and\n                    flavours while staying true to the festival&#8217;s folk roots.\n                    It also allowed the festival to develop its atmosphere in\n                    a new setting, while retaining the welcoming spirit that\n                    had always been central to Folk Ale.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n        <figure class=\"feature\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"feature-image\" src=\"https:\/\/photos.folkale.co.uk\/2022-23%20Photos\/FB_IMG_1735926039572-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Soundscape Solar Stage\" loading=\"lazy\">\n            <figcaption><em>The Soundscape Solar Stage<\/em><\/figcaption>\n        <\/figure>\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2023<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>Growing<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    The second festival at the new site brought a welcome\n                    increase in visitor numbers and even more incredible\n                    musical acts. With another successful festival under its\n                    belt, the new site and the new shape of Folk Ale were\n                    beginning to feel established.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2024<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>A fallow year<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    Folk Ale took a <strong>fallow year<\/strong>. After the\n                    rapid changes of the preceding few years, the pause became\n                    part of the festival&#8217;s story before its return in 2025.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n        <article class=\"event\">\n            <div class=\"year\">2025<br>\u219226<\/div>\n            <div class=\"card\">\n                <h2>Back and growing<\/h2>\n                <p>\n                    Folk Ale returned for festivals in <strong>2025 and 2026<\/strong>,\n                    each bigger and better than the one before. The festival\n                    continues to grow while keeping the music, community and\n                    relaxed spirit that have been part of Folk Ale since 2003.\n                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/article>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n    <section class=\"closing\">\n        <div class=\"instrument\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n            <svg viewBox=\"0 0 64 64\">\n                <path d=\"M20 47c-4-4-4-9 0-13l17-17c4-4 9-4 13 0s4 9 0 13L33 47c-4 4-9 4-13 0Z\"><\/path>\n                <path d=\"M27 40 47 20M24 37l-7 7M31 44l-7 7\"><\/path>\n                <path d=\"M42 25c-4-3-8-3-11 0M39 29c-4-3-8-3-11 0\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg>\n        <\/div>\n        <h2>Welcome to Pig&#8217;s Ear Folk Ale&#8230;<\/h2>\n        <p>\n            Alongside the brilliant acts, the festival now has a cosy and\n            welcoming bar, a community-run food tent, a dedicated session\n            space, fun activities for kids, country walks and the Open Mic\n            session on the bar stage. These have all become part of the wider\n            Folk Ale experience, adding plenty to enjoy between the music.\n        <\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n<\/main>\n<\/div>\n\n<style>\n.folkale-history .feature figcaption {\n    text-align: right;\n}\n<\/style>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pig&#8217;s Ear Folk Ale Our History From a family folk group and a Kentish community celebration to the festival we know today. Pig&#8217;s Ear \u00b7 the band that started it all 2003 Where it began \u201cAle\u201d is a term used in past times by Kentish folk to describe a community celebration. That spirit is how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-234","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":364,"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/234\/revisions\/364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.folkale.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}