Pub gigs, sing-a-rounds and morris dancing take over east Kent’s coast for the Deal Maritime Folk Festival.

Running from Thursday, September 15, to Sunday, September 18, the music ranges from traditional groups to the energetic nu-folk of bands on the town’s Smugglers Records label.

Kicking off proceedings will be a folk-punk hoedown dance from Cut A’Shine supported by Deal’s own Cocos Lovers at the Astor Theatre. Admission £5.

Returning to the town on Friday, September 16 is Nuru Kane, the Senegalese singer-songwriter. The master of the guimbri, a three-stringed Moroccan bass, was a highlight of last year’s event with his sell-out concert. It takes place at the Astor, admission £10.

Worth keeping an eye out for at Deal town hall is Bob Kenward and Deal’s own Sue Watson on Saturday, September 17. They will be hosting a concert on Kent’s songs, packed with a sense of place and the flavours of orchards, hop gardens and the lives of people who worked there. Admission £4.

The festival plays host to one of the largest gatherings of morris and other dancers in Kent on Saturday. More than 100 confirmed dancers will come to the Offcumduns day of dance, including Minster Mayhems, Bishop Gundulf’s Morris, Cinque Ports, Penny Royal and Wantsum Morris. There is even an all-women group, Loose Women, named after the village near Maidstone.

On Sunday, September 18, vocal group the Ladies of the Lake have a lunchtime walking harmony workshop between Deal Pier and Walmer Castle. It is one of five master classes on different instruments taking place during the festival at the Astor and town hall. These include the fiddle with Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll, blues guitar with Billy Ebeling, harmonica with Brendan Power and dulcimar with Bill Howarth.

Box office 01304 370220. Details at www.dealmaritimefolkfestival.org.