Meet Chris Parkinson at Squeezebox Marketplace – Whitby Folk Week 2026

A Weekend of Accordions, Melodeons and Music with Chris Parkinson at the Squeezebox Marketplace Pop-Up Shop

If you're coming to Whitby Folk Week 2026 and you're interested in accordions or melodeons, we've got another very good reason for you to come and find Squeezebox Marketplace on the opening weekend.

The one and only Chris Parkinson will be joining us on the stand on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August.

And when it comes to finding somebody who knows a thing or two about squeezing a box, we haven't done too badly!

A Lifetime Behind the Bellows

Chris Parkinson has been making music since childhood and over a remarkable career has become one of the most respected accordion and melodeon players on the British folk scene.

He was a founder member of the much-travelled and highly acclaimed The House Band, playing melodeon, piano accordion, harmonica and keyboards. The band toured extensively around the world and became known for a sound in which Chris's accordion and melodeon playing played a central part.

Chris has also worked with a formidable list of musicians from the folk world and beyond, including Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Ralph McTell, Mike Harding, Steve Tilston, Martin Simpson, Richard Grainger and Roger Wilson, amongst many others. His recording career includes two solo albums as well as a huge amount of session and collaborative work.

Squeezebox enthusiasts may particularly know Chris through The Sultans of Squeeze, his partnership with another giant of the English squeezebox world, John Kirkpatrick. Their musical adventures embraced melodeons, accordions and concertinas and earned them a nomination for Duo of the Year at the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Chris, John and a Few Festivals Along the Way

There's a personal side to Chris joining us at Whitby too.

Chris and John Turner, owner of Squeezebox Marketplace, go back a long way, including working together at Sidmouth Folk Festival back in the day.

A few years — and quite a few accordions — have passed since then, so it seems rather fitting that the two of them should find themselves working a festival together again, this time in Chris's home town of Whitby.

Anyone who knows John will also appreciate that giving him another experienced accordion player to talk boxes with for a weekend is unlikely to make the stand any quieter.

Come and Try, Listen, Compare – and Pick the Brains of the Maestro

Chris won't just be dropping by for a photograph.

He'll be helping us on the Squeezebox Marketplace stand, demonstrating accordions and melodeons, playing instruments, talking to customers and offering the benefit of a lifetime's experience as a professional musician.

That's particularly useful because choosing an accordion or melodeon isn't just about reading a specification sheet.

How does it actually feel?

How does it respond?

What suits a particular style of playing?

What's practical for sessions, dance, performance or simply playing at home?

Sometimes ten minutes with somebody who has spent decades actually playing these instruments tells you rather more than ten pages of specifications.

So, should you wish to pick the brains of the maestro, you know where to find us.

Whether you're an experienced player considering your next instrument, a beginner who doesn't quite know where to start, or you simply fancy trying something different, come along and have a play.

There is absolutely no requirement to arrive knowing precisely what you want. That's rather the point of having a large selection of instruments and knowledgeable players together in the same place.

Find Squeezebox Marketplace at Dock End – Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd August

You'll find the Squeezebox Marketplace stand at:

Dock End, Whitby – beside the Endeavour Ship Replica and the War Memorial.

We are trading for the opening weekend only — Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August 2026 — so make sure you catch us while we're there.

We'll have a wide selection of piano accordions, melodeons and other squeezeboxes available to see, hear and try.

Chris is also a regular performer at Whitby Folk Week, so check the official Folk Week programme for details of where you can catch him performing during the festival.

But if you want to find Chris with us, talk accordions, try instruments and perhaps pick his brains, it's Saturday and Sunday at Dock End.

Squeezebox Marketplace at Whitby Folk Week 2026
Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd August only
Dock End – beside the Endeavour Ship Replica and War Memorial

Come and find us. Have a tune. Try something you've never played before.

And if Chris is on the stand, you may as well pick the brains of the maestro while you're there.