The Imagined Village is a folk music project founded by Simon Emmerson of Afro Celt Sound System.

[1] The project started in 2004, and led to the release of an eponymous album in 2007 by a collective of artists on Real World Records.

The 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards voted "Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night" as best traditional track.

The original lineup consisted of Billy Bragg, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, Sheila Chandra, Chris Wood and The Young Coppers, backed by a band featuring Simon Emmerson, Johnny Kalsi, Francis Hylton, Andy Gangadeen, Sheema Mukherjee and Barney Morse Brown.

A revised lineup was announced for their 2010 tour, coinciding with the release of Empire & Love: Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, and Chris Wood, backed by a band featuring Simon Emmerson, Johnny Kalsi, Ali Friend, Andy Gangadeen, Simon Richmond, Sheema Mukherjee and Barney Morse Brown.