ONE of the joys of a music festival is stumbling upon great artists.

This August Bank Holiday offers the perfect opportunity for new discoveries at the Purbeck Folk Festival.

Festival-goers will get the chance to see main stage star Emily Barker also showcasing her side project, Vena Portae in the intimate Duck Shed venue.

Taking their name from a short vein that carries blood into the liver, Vena Portae is a three-piece Anglo-Swedish-Alt-Folk-Retro-Pop collaboration between Emily, storyteller/composer/performer Dom Coyote and actor/musician Ruben Engzell. They recorded their debut album in the depths of a Swedish winter and decided to wait until summer to release it, along with a single, Summer Kills, tellingly remixed by Peter Morén, of Peter Bjorn and John fame.

“The Sunday at Purbeck should be quite a day for fans of Emily’s band,” says festival director Paul Burke.

“We loved an album released a few months ago by her multi-instrumental band member, Gill Sandell. After Emily’s late afternoon concert on the High Barn, Gill performs on the Fire Stage in the evening. It was icing on the cake when Emily’s manager contacted us to offer Vena Portae as well.

“Emily Barker is one of the most inspiring and perceptive songwriters we have come across.

“She played our very first Purbeck Folk Festival at Steeple Leaze in 2009. At the time she was unknown but, with her four-piece band, she performed an outstanding set and we’ve wanted to welcome her back ever since.”

Emily Barker is a BAFTA and Ivor Novello award-winning singer-songwriter whose fourth studio album with the Red Clay Halo, Dear River, was released last summer to widespread acclaim. Blending classical, rock, country and folk influences to stunning effect, Emily has also written the award-winning themes to hit BBC dramas Wallander and The Shadow Line and performed at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony with Frank Turner, who guests on their wicked murder ballad Fields of June.

Now in its sixth year, Purbeck Folk Festival’s inclusive booking policy ensures an eclectic mix of outstanding original new folk, as well as established roots, traditional and world music in a fun, family-friendly environment.

This year the headline acts include Eddi Reader, Lloyd Cole, Sally Barker from The Voice, The South, Idlewild Acoustic, Turin Brakes, Nizlopi and Chris Wood.

The four stages are contained in the farm’s covered barns with a marquee venue that hosts open mic sessions.

But there’s much more than music on offer with a host of additional entertainment that includes an on-site cinema programme, art interventions and workshops, a fancy dress parade, bushcraft skills, pig roast, a poetry slam, kids’ activity pen and a beer festival with more than 70 local real ales and ciders.

It takes place at Wilkswood Farm near Langton Matravers. For more information please call 023 8071 1818 or purbeckfolk.co.uk