The Apex in Bury St Edmunds is staging an informal folk festival next week with three folk-inspired concerts in just six days.

Folk music luminaries, Barbara Dickson, Dervish & Karine Polwart will play The Apex as part of a themed series of concerts.

Barbara Dickson and Nick Holland will perform on Tuesday October 12, while Dervish, long-established as one of the biggest names in Irish music, take the stage the day after (Wednesday October 13) before Karine Polwart, winner of seven BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, ends the folk-themed week at The Apex on Sunday October 17.

From the Scottish folk scene of the 1960s through to mainstream chart success with hits including 'Caravan', ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’, ‘January, February’ and the million-selling number one single, ‘I Know Him So Well’, Barbara Dickson has long been one of the UK’s best-loved performers.

She and Nick Holland are promising to let the words and melodies take ‘centre stage’ during this latest show as they perform a range of material drawing on Barbara’s folk roots, contemporary greats, and some of her classic hits.

With Barbara on guitar and piano and Nick on keyboards – and adding harmonies to Barbara's vocals – they have developed an intimate rapport with each other and the audience. Barbara says, “It’s a different experience to working with the bigger band but just as enjoyable and gives the music breathing space.”

Meanwhile on Wednesday October 13 Irish band Dervish take to the stage at The Apex. Fronted by Cathy Jordan, one of the country’s best-known singers, the band includes some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians. They marry technical brilliance with a sensibility born of an understanding of the music and their many years of playing together

Renowned for their live performances, which match dazzling sets of tunes with stunning interpretations of traditional songs, they were the first Irish band to play the world’s biggest music festival, Rock in Rio.

Then on Sunday Karine Polwart finishes the run of folk shows by putting a contemporary spin on traditional music. The three-times winner of Best Original Song in the BBC Folk Awards, Karine draws from folk music’s long tradition while keeping pace with the changing times.

Her talent for crafting unique, enduring melodies, her gift for saying just enough without overstating her case, the range and dynamism of her arrangements, all come together in songs of powerful contemporary relevance.

She says, “For me, music is one of the most powerful ways of making sense of the world. It’s for celebrating, grieving, sharing, wondering. Nothing inspires me more than the realisation that any one of my songs means something to someone else”.

All shows start at 7.30pm, book online or ring 01284 758000.