It’s the first of 2018’s music festivals and now in its 11th year. But Shepley Spring Festival, taking place during the weekend of May 18 and 19, is a smaller, more intimate affair this year.

Instead of multiple gigs, family events, Morris dancing and a campsite, as in previous years, the focus is on just two major folk concerts for what is being hailed as Shepley Spring Minifest.

For festival director Nikki Hampson, this year’s event will be the first without her husband and fellow organiser James McKinlay, who died in November last year. Despite her sad loss, Nikki continued with plans for the festival, helped by a small committee, family and friends.

Estbel, performing at Shepley Spring Minifest

“I’m keeping it going with a small, but perfectly-formed event,” she said. “I had neither the time nor the inclination to do a full blown festival, but we’ve got some great performers.”

The evening concerts, in the village hall of St Paul’s Church, feature both local and professional talent. Friday will see performances by Don’t Feed the Peacocks, a six piece band from around West Yorkshire and Lancashire, playing contemporary arrangements of Scottish and English folk tunes; the Shepley Singers, a mixed voice community choir formed for the first spring festival; Jack Rutter, the BBC award-winning musician from Shepley; and Blackbeard’s Tea Party, music festival regulars who play traditional songs and tunes with a heavy rock edge.

Jack Rutter, performing at Shepley Spring Minifest

Saturday sees a line-up including Estbel, a European band with members from Estonia and Belgium; Klonk!, an eight-piece outfit specialising in traditional Eastern European dance tunes, infused with hip-hop, funk and rock riffs; accordion and fiddle duo Nicola Beazley and Alex Cumming; and TradMad, a group of young Huddersfield folk musicians led by Nikki’s daughter-in-law Bryony Griffith.

Estbel, performing at Shepley Spring Minifest

Tickets can be booked through the festival website, shepleyspringfestival.co.uk Prices range from £18 for a single concert to £32 for both. Children under 11 go free.