As a singer, dancer and instrumentalist, John Kirkpatrick has been one of the most prominent figures on the English Folk Scene for many years. He has performed and recorded extensively both as a soloist and as a member of duos, groups and bands, presenting a repertoire of music, songs and dances firmly rooted in traditional English practice. He is also regarded as a particularly fine exponent of the button accordion, the anglo concertina and the melodeon, and is frequently called upon as a mainstream session musician in fields of music quite outside the folk idiom.

On radio, he has hosted several programmes himself and been a frequent contributor to others, particularly in the specialist folk music slots, but also in the broader arts programmes such as Kaleidoscope, Night Waves and Reading Music.