Monty Lynds

Monty Lynds, born in 1949, grew up in Stony Stratford and was surrounded by the crowd that would eventually create Folk on the Green (FOTG). He’d known many of the early organisers since childhood — people like Bob Shakeshaft, Dave Whetstone and Silk Martin — all part of a tight-knit group who’d grown up together, played instruments, and drifted naturally into the local folk scene. Around 1971 they formed a band, several of them on guitar, which drew Monty into the musical and social heart of what became the festival.

He recalls the early days of FOTG as highly informal: small, local, rough around the edges, and run by friends who were very good at improvising solutions on the day. But the atmosphere was magical — families, blankets, beer, sunshine, and a sense that everyone knew everyone. Monty describes the event’s growth from a modest gathering with makeshift equipment into a larger, slicker, community institution. Even so, he emphasises that the soul of it has stayed the same: friendly, welcoming, relaxed, and deeply rooted in the town’s identity.

He talks about how FOTG helped pull people into Stony who might never otherwise have set foot there, boosting the local economy and giving the town a cultural anchor. Over the years, the week running up to the festival also became part of the tradition, with events building towards the Sunday finale, even if technically they weren’t “officially” part of FOTG.

Monty remembers the sheer camaraderie of the organising crew — laughing, panicking, bodging solutions, and somehow making it all work. For him, Folk on the Green isn’t just a festival but a shared history: friends, music, community pride, and the feeling that Stony Stratford is exactly the kind of town where something like this should thrive.