After their triumph at Fairport Convention's 2009 Cropredy Festival and their 'Best Live Act' win in this year's Talkawhile Hancock Awards, this band is set to be one of the biggest highlights of the Godiva Festival. Gerry Colvin has worked in Nashville with Alison Moyet, compèred at Glastonbury and performed Big Band swing with Charlie Cheese. Brummy Nick Quarmby regularly plays bass and guitar for the Phil Beer Band while drummer Martin Fitzgibbon appeared in the original Rocky Horror Show. The icing on the cake is recent recruits; Meet On the Ledge's fiddle and guitar aces, Marion Fleetwood and Allen Maslen. This should be one superb finale.

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Warwickshire duo, Mick Bisiker and Al Romanov dazzled audiences across the UK in the early 1990s with their superb blend of guitar, bouzouki and gypsy fiddle-playing. Their Fellside label recording won the Music Retailers Association award for best folk album 1989. They took off on different musical paths fifteen years ago but 2008 saw them playing a charity gig to a sell-out audience with the brilliant Jadie Carey on string bass. It proved a formidable combination of talent and it's good to see them back on the circuit with their powerful blend of folk, jazz and gypsy music.

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After they rocked the 2008 Godiva Folk concert, we're delighted to welcome back these amazing young musicians and their exciting mixture of traditional and original numbers, ranging from acoustic songs to Klezmer influenced folk-rock. The QP are Matt Crum (melodeon, sax, keys), Joe Crum (drums), Will Pound (harmonica), Laurel McIntosh (flute), Dan Bones (guitar), Susie Bones (vocals, whistle) and Tim Yates (bass). With their recent album, Intro, winning the Spiral Earth Awards 2010 'best debut' category this is definitely a must-see, must-hear band. Forget the 'X-Factor' - try the 'QP-Factor'.

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19-year-old Midlands singer and guitarist, Lucy has performed alongside the biggest and the best in English folk music but she still appears regularly at the smaller venues that helped establish her as the future voice of folk music. As finalist in last year's BBC Young Folk Musician Awards she sang in front of 900 people in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and is now supporting many big names in concerts and festivals. Lucy certainly has ability to thrill an audience with the purity of her voice and her amazing interpretations of songs, from classic folk to self-penned numbers.

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Describing their music as 'acoustic Anglo-Americana', BorderLine Crossing comprises former Las Vegas resident Chele Willow on vocals, her English husband Pete Willow on guitars and vocals and Dave Cook on lead and slide guitars. Singer-songwriter Pete has worked with Dave on the Coventry and Warwickshire folk circuit for several years and it was a gig at the Belgrade Theatre that launched the extended trio line-up featuring Chele's powerful and sultry singing. Now much in demand at clubs and festivals across the region, they also run their own popular monthly music venue at The Boat Inn, Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby.

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Recent years have seen this powerful group of Celtic folk-rockers from Coventry and Warwickshire going down a storm at festivals, concerts and ceilidhs across the land. Who better to launch this year's Godiva Folk event than the line-up of singer and bodhran-meister Steve Bentley, Andrew Wigglesworth on melodeons, Margaret Burleigh on sax and clarinet, viola-player Beth Gifford, guitarist Eddie Bentley, bass man Phil "Teddy" Rashleigh, Tori Rushton on cello plus The QP's Laurel McIntosh on vocals, flute and clogs, making the first of two appearances this afternoon!

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The ever-genial Martin will be hosting this afternoon's all-star folk concert. Known for his audience rapport as an MC, musician, singer and raconteur, Martin is one of the driving forces behind the popular Warwick Folk Club, which meets every Monday is the town's Warwick Arms Hotel.

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