These key figures responsible for setting up and founding the Cambridge Folk festival are named as Paul Rayment, Philip Abrams and George Scurfield.

The role of Paul Rayment (1933–2013) is particularly relevant in the origins and establishment of the Cambridge folk festival (in the context of left wing 1960s political developments).

[clarification needed] The setting up took about nine months[2] and was developed by Paul Rayment, Philip Abrams and George Scurfield before Ken Woollard was asked to run the festival.

In the 1960s the Rayments, Sharkeys, Scurfields and Woollards were all associated with Cambridge Labour Party and the folk club to greater or lesser extents.

Jack Sharkey also had the idea to hold the festival at Cherry Hinton Hall, and his engagement with folk music was instrumental to the original initiative.

Major figures from the folk world have appeared at the festival, including Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, Peggy Seeger and John Tams.

Across a wider range of genres have been performances from Judy Collins, Graham Nash, Chumbawamba, Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros and Levellers.

In celebration of the 50th festival Delphonic Music released a digital audio album featuring tracks from 50 different artists, including Joan Baez, The Proclaimers, Fairport Convention and Loudon Wainwright III.

[citation needed] In 2018, it was announced that Cambridge-born singer Nick Mulvey would be a guest curator for the 2019 festival, selecting five artists for the line-up.

It includes quotes from some of the musicians featured in its pages such as Richard Hawley, Julie Fowlis, Sharon Shannon, and Cara Dillon as well as BBC radio presenters Mark Radcliffe and Mike Harding.