Simon Armitage and LYR on Cuckoo Day in Marsden

Folk on Foot

Jun 12, 2025•44 min•Season 6Ep. 179

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Episode description

The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and his band LYR perform poems and music inspired by the stories told by the people of the West Yorkshire Village of Marsden, where Simon grew up. It’s all part of the annual “Cuckoo Day” festival in the village, celebrating the myth that local people thought they could keep the spring going all year round if they could only capture a cuckoo. Amongst the poetry there are outbreaks of morris dancing, organ playing and the emotional story of a mangle.

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Find out more about LYR https://www.lyrband.com/

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