FINAL preparations are in full swing for the inaugural Fisherman’s Friends Festival, making its debut over the late May Bank Holiday weekend – Friday, May 22 to Sunday, May 24 – at Stithians Showground.

Organisers have just announced the last batch of acts, completing a rich and rousing line-up for this celebration of live music, shared voices, good humour and Cornish hospitality, hosted in the heart of the Duchy by everyone’s favourite shanty band.

Weekend tickets sold out just weeks after the festival was announced last summer. A limited number of Sunday day tickets have been released via the official festival website.

The Fisherman’s Friends will open and close the bill across the weekend. They are joined on the big top style Main Stage by fellow headliners Jools Holland and his 20-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, with special guests Roachford and Ruby Turner.

The line-up is full of folk and roots-music heavyweights including Dartmoor’s Seth Lakeman, Kate Rusby, Scottish band Skipinnish and Irish superstar Sharon Shannon, alongside Peat & Diesel, The Longest Johns, Porthleven Town Band, The Oggymen, Splann Ceilidh Band, Kernow King and Johnny Cowling.

Newly confirmed for the outdoor Bandstand stage are Devon singer‑songwriting duo Sound of the Sirens with their beautifully blended harmonies; Scottish accordion wizard and vocalist RuMac, whose genre‑defying, anarchic performances range from traditional Gaelic music to rock and beyond; Cornish bluegrass outfit Flats & Sharps, and the much‑loved Stithians Ukulele Group.

They join Company B, Port Isaac Gulls, True Foxes, Karenza Lily-May, The Jaywalkers, Banjovial, Marcus Bonfanti and the Bandstand Folk Sessions hosted by Geoff Lakeman.

Beyond the musical menu there’s an eclectic line-up of family-friendly theatre, circus, comedy, dance, shadow puppetry and crafts, including the chance to collaborate with Cornish artists to make a giant fish lantern for a celebration parade.

Full details and remaining ticket availability can be found at fishermansfriendsfestival.co.uk.