Barnes Music Festival (BMF) is set to travel back in time. This year, the usual wide-ranging programme is inspired by the theme of Musical Roots: an exploration of where music comes from – historically, emotionally and socially.
Indeed, the origins of music as a communal activity – something lived, shared, and shaped by those who gather to listen and play – are among the most distinctive elements of the 2026 festival theme. And nowhere more so than at Alehouse Sessions (Mar 11) with innovative ensemble Barokksolistene, directed by Norwegian violinist Bjarte Eike.
Audiences are transported to the lively world of 17th-century taverns, where music by Purcell and Playford mingles with folk tunes, dances, sea shanties, and improvised storytelling. Breaking away from the formal concert model, musicians perform from memory, moving freely through the space and interacting directly with the audience. Each evening unfolds differently, closer in spirit to a folk session or jazz gig than a traditional recital.
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“Historically, this music belonged to shared spaces,” explains Eike. “There was direct communication between musicians and audience, with stories unfolding alongside what was happening in the room.
“Early music was never meant to be museum music. In Purcell’s time, it was experimental, theatrical and popular – closer to folk or pop. Our aim is to bring back that sense of joy, surprise and connection.”
Barokksolistene’s approach has won devoted audiences worldwide, with sold-out performances across Europe and the USA. The informal, immersive atmosphere invites listeners into the humour, spontaneity and energy of the fabulous fare: a lively and deeply human introduction to early music.
BMF Artistic Director James Day sees Alehouse Sessions as the embodiment of the festival theme. “It reminds us that the roots of music are truly social,” he says. “It captures the spirit of the art form as something shared – spontaneous, joyful and slightly unpredictable – inviting audiences to experience it in a completely new way.”
Alehouse Sessions, St Mary’s Barnes, Mar 11 (8.30 pm). Tickets and further info: barnesmusicfestival.com.
Victoria Mørck Madsen Copenhagen Opera Festival
Festival highlights
- Barnes Music Festival takes place across venues in Barnes from March 7–22
- Full programme details and tickets are available at barnesmusicfestival.com
Drawing on everything from Renaissance Italy to Restoration London and Barnes’s own musical heritage, Barnes Music Festival features world-class artists, storytelling and community participation. It aims to offer something for everyone – and this year, as ever, the programme is perfectly pitched. Have a listen...
- Britten’s Noye’s Fludde provides a joyful opening, and there are subsequent performances by Roderick Williams, Benjamin Grosvenor, Tenebrae Associate Artists, Aurora Orchestra Principals and Garsington Opera.
- Gyles Brandreth returns to the festival, whilst Alan Titchmarsh presents an evening of music and gardening at St Mary’s Barnes, where he married in 1975.
- Trio Bohémo performs Schubert, Smetana and Dvořák, and trio Za Górami offers a unique fusion of folk and jazz.
- Lunchtime concerts include recitals by organist Darius Battiwalla and pianist Benjamin Markovic, while renowned harpsichordist Katarzyna Kowalik performs a programme pairing Handel and Scarlatti at the London Wetland Centre.
- There’s large-scale choral music with Brahms’s A German Requiem, while the renowned Tiffin Choirs will record Choral Evensong for BBC Radio 3.
- For families, there’s Singalong Disney, Toddlers Concert and Come & Sing: Bach’s St John Passion.
- Barnes honours its own with a Final Gala Concert of works by past and present residents and a separate tribute to Royal Ballet founder Dame Ninette de Valois.
The gala concert includes movements from Holst’s The Planets, Vaughan Williams’s much-loved Lark Ascending and works by current star composers Howard Goodall and Roxanna Panufnik. It will also feature a performance by this year’s Barnes Young Musician of the Year.
