Welcome to the Ludlow English Song Weekend – one of the world’s most compact music festivals, and definitely, we like to think, the friendliest. I believe that in Ludlow we have found the dream location for a few days of top class music.
Concerts lie at the heart of what we do, but we have film, discussions and a masterclass too. This is a weekend of ideas. Some of our audience like total immersion in the whole weekend, while others pick and mix, happy to sit with a coffee between concerts and admire the view. Or you can go for something stronger after a long day’s listening, chatting to the performers in one of Ludlow’s historic pubs. So whatever your tipple, and whatever your musical enthusiasms, please come and join us. The warmest of welcomes is waiting for you in Shropshire.
Have a great Weekend,
Iain Burnside
Artistic Director
What’s On 2025
Friday 11th April 2025
Baritone Andrew Hamilton opens the festival with ‘Heart’s Haven’, an Italian-flavoured recital, with Iain Burnside at the piano. Plus lute songs from the courts of James VI and I.
Saturday 12th April 2025
Follow the course of true love in ‘A Lovers’ Tiff’, and hear from father and daughter Brett Dean & Lotte Betts-Dean in ‘Buzz’. Plus Dame Janet Baker joins us, and more.
Sunday 13th April 2025
The festival closes with a unique portrait of the poet A.E. Housman, in songs and letters, with actor Alex Jennings. Plus a Masterclass with Dame Ann Murray, and more.
Buy Tickets
Friends of Ludlow Song Passes
Friends of Ludlow Song Passes guarantee entry to the whole festival programme, including all our exclusive passholder events, and include an extra donation to support the future of LESW. Plus join us for wine and supper at our Welcome Reception.
Individual Pass: £310
Joint Pass for 2 people: £570
Festival Passes
Festival passes guarantee entry to the whole festival programme, including all our exclusive passholder events. Plus join us for wine and supper at our Welcome Reception.
Individual Pass: £270
Joint Pass for 2 people: £495
Single Event Tickets
Individual tickets for our main festival events are now on sale.
From £15 – £35
Under 21s: all tickets £10
Visit Ludlow
Ludlow is a beautiful historic market town in South Shropshire. It sits near the middle of the border between England and Wales, on the edge of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding National Beauty.
If you’re joining us for the weekend, why not explore some of the town’s other highlights?