Ulverston International Music Festival proves it is more than classical

Ulverston may be famous as the birthplace of Stan Laurel, but for more than two decades it has also been home to a music festival with a genuinely international outlook.

Ulverston International Music Festival has been running since 2004. Alongside its main summer festival, it presents an autumn and winter series of concerts and an education programme, keeping live music in the town throughout the year.

The 2025 festival ran from 30 May to 8 June under the motto "more than classical". As the Lancashire Evening Post reported, it was a celebration of live music in a wide variety of styles, from classical and folk to jazz and tango.

The launch evening set the tone, with pianist Peter Donohoe, a winner of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, giving a solo recital at Ulverston Parish Church. Other highlights included the impressionist and comic Alistair McGowan, who has turned his hand to piano recitals, and cellist Maja Bogdanovic, who returned with a recital of famous cello sonatas.

Bandoneonist Marcelo Nisinman appeared in a tango show, bringing the sound of Buenos Aires to south Cumbria. The festival also added food-themed experiences, including a cruise on Coniston Water with violinist Daniel Rowland and Maja Bogdanovic, combining music with some of the area's loveliest scenery.

Festival Insights noted in early 2025 that the festival was broadening its reach, a sign of ambition from an event rooted in a small market town.

That blend of world-class performers, heritage venues and relaxed local hospitality is what makes Ulverston's festival worth seeking out, whether you are a seasoned concertgoer or simply curious.

The festival's year-round work matters too. Its education programme helps introduce young people to live music, while the autumn and winter series means residents do not have to wait for summer to hear first-rate performers close to home. For a town of Ulverston's size, that is a cultural offer to be proud of, built up patiently over more than twenty years of concerts.

Programme details and tickets for the next festival and the autumn series are available on the festival's official website, ulverstonmusicfestival.co.uk.