Category: Music

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New dad Joshua Burnell plays Rise at Bluebird Bakery with full band as he revisits debut album Lend An Ear for book version

York musician Joshua Burnell in the woods. Picture: Frances Sladen

JOSHUA Burnell makes retro folk-pop-rock for the modern world.

Next up for the York keyboard player, guitarist, singer and songwriter – and teacher and cafe pianist to boot – is a sold-out gig with his full band at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, on Saturday night.

Joining Joshua (piano, Hammond organ, guitar and vocals) in the bakery will be Nathan Greaves (electric guitar), Ed Simpson (drums), Olly Whitehouse (bass), Kat Hurdley (violin) and, hopefully, Frances Sladen (vocals). 

Expect hooky melodies drenched in warm, retro-synth textures, reverbing guitars, lush harmonies and words that make you think. Imagine The War On Drugs meets Peter Gabriel-era Genesis as 1970s’ glam makes peace with psychedelia.

Through his intricately crafted lyrics, Joshua creates a multiverse of settings, from apocalyptic love songs to re-imagined fairy tales, and introduces otherworldly characters, such as the Glass Knight, resurrected from an old English folk tale to reflect the foibles of today.

“This one’s for fans of Stranger Things, Seventies’ art rock and everything in between,” says Joshua as he answers CharlesHutchPress’s questions ahead of Friday’s gig.

What form will the Rise gig take, Joshua? 

“Full band! 🤘 It’s sold out so should be a great night. We sold out over a year ago so I want to give a huge shout-out to everyone who bought a ticket.”

What is the story behind your decision to revisit your debut album Lend An Ear with an upcoming new audio and book edition?

“In 2013, I recorded an album in a student bedroom with a broken MacBook and a guitar I barely knew how to tune. The songs were strong; the execution wasn’t. I’ve been gradually correcting my mistakes ever since.

“This new album is the story of finishing unfinished business. Of doing something again for the sake of doing it properly. The album contains completely re-arranged and re-imagined versions of the songs, to the standard I’d always intended, now re-recorded partly at Young Thugs Studios [at South Bank Social Club, Ovington Terrace, York] and partly in a cottage in rural Wales.

“At one point last year, everything just got a bit too much and I found myself unable to focus properly. I always loved the mythology of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page hiding away in a cottage in Wales to write Led Zeppelin III, so I decided I should do the same. It was exactly what I needed and most of the album took shape during that time. 

“In a quiet rebellion against streaming platforms who have successfully managed to devalue music, I’m releasing this one exclusively on CD. It’ll be heard by fewer people, but if it makes it sustainable, that’s enough for me.

“To make it extra special for those people who do choose to support the project and buy a copy, it will come as a hardback book with the full story behind the album and songs.”

What have you been up to in 2025? 

“One of the highlights of my life: my daughter Lyra was born! I’ve become a dad, which is the most beautiful thing but also makes you ask yourself some pretty serious questions.

“I knew I couldn’t sustain teaching and music and be a dad, so I’ve taken a year away from teaching to have a go at supporting my family with music. It’s difficult, but I feel very supported by my friends, family and fans.

“This is also part of the reasoning behind ditching streaming platforms – it seems reckless to release music that way when the stakes are so high.”

Have you ever snuck one of your own songs into your piano playing at Bettys cafe?!

“I actually wrote a song about Bettys – or, rather, a love story that takes place there – so I play that one every time! It’s called The Snow On St Helen’s Square. Lucy and 59 occasionally sneak in there too.” 

The long hair has gone… why?!

“I wish there was a more profound explanation… it was for a music video! The song is called 59 and is about the last second in a minute; the last minute in an hour; the moment before something new begins.

“It was released just before Lyra was born and was part of that excitement in the unknown. I wanted it to look quite sharp and Eighties-inspired, and I think the short hair suited it well. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMsziLvQ_BI .

“I’m growing it long again now. I’m an elf at heart.”

How has your songwriting changed down the years?

“I would like to think I’ve started to consider why I am writing a song more: what problem will my songs solve or who will they serve? I’ve also learned to arrange my songs better, which is a difficult skill.

“Because I write in the studio a lot of the time, the arrangement can happen simultaneously. It’s about having the foresight to hear what the finished song will sound like, and making choices accordingly. There was a time I used to throw in everything and the kitchen sink – now I only use the kitchen sink if there needs to be a kitchen sink.”

How is the Road to the Royal Albert Hall campaign progressing, as highlighted on your website?

“It’s always been my dream to perform a headline show there, so shall we try to make it happen? We’ll need at least 4,000 people to sign up, and we’ll have to prove we mean business at the venues we play along the way.

“There are 2,534 more subscribers to go. If people want to come along, they just have to sign up at https://www.joshuaburnell.co.uk/roadtotheroyalalberthall.

“I’ll keep updating on our progress. Emails will go out on the first day of each month. Be sure to check your junk folder!”

Joshua Burnell with full band, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, October 11, doors, 7.30pm. SOLD OUT. Also playing Howden Live gig at Shire Hall, Howden, with full band, October 18, 8pm. Tickets still available at howden-live.com.

The album cover artwork for Joshua Burnell’s Lend An Ear

Lend An Ear revisited: the back story

“THIS album will only be heard by a finite group of people,” says Joshua. “I’m starting a small, musical rebellion: the album will not be released on streaming platforms. Instead, this album will be limited to a small number of physical copies, beautifully packaged in a hard-back book because I believe the context and stories are as important as the songs themselves. 

“To keep the music coming, this needs to be sustainable. A small number of people will own and hear this music. It will be special for them and more than rewarding enough for me. 

“The album contains the re-recorded versions followed by the original versions. I hope you enjoy the depth and lived experience in the music and sense of adventure hidden in each layer of every song.”

Lend An Ear (Revisited) contains:

*Re-recorded version of Joshua Burnell’s debut  album

*All tracks from the original 2013 release

*Hardback book(lette!) of extensive sleeve notes and stories behind the songs

*7x ‘deep dive’ posters, breaking down the tracks 

*The warm feeling that you supported an independent artist to continue making music!

Lend An Ear can be pre-ordered at https://www.joshuaburnell.co.uk/product-page/lend-an-ear-revisited-cd-book.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 44, from Gazette & Herald

Griffonage Theatre: Theatre at the intersection of the madcap and the macabre

IRISH village tales, love’s vicissitudes, folk and ceilidh nights and ghost & goblin storytelling bring autumn cheer to Charles Hutchinson. 

Time to discover: Griffonage Theatre in FourTold, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK devotees of the madcap, the macabre and making the familiar strange and the strange familiar, Griffonage Theatre transport audiences to the quirky rural town of Baile Aighneas – The Town of Dispute – for FourTold, a quartet of comedies by early 20th century Irish playwright Lady Augusta Gregory, never presented together in the UK until now under Northern Irish director Katie Leckey.

Encounter the bustling market and all its gossip in Spreading The News; the restaurant where newspaper editors wine, dine and mix up their Coats; the post office, where the splendid Hyacinth Halvey has sent word he is coming to town, and the bus stop where strangers such as The Bogie Men can quickly become friends! Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Joe Layton and Hannah Sinclair Robinson in Frantic Assembly’s Lost Atoms at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Scott Graham

Relationship drama of the week: Frantic Assembly in Lost Atoms, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

FRANTIC Assembly follow up York Theatre Royal visits of Othello and Metamorphosis with their 30th anniversary production, a two-hander memory play by Anna Jordan, directed by physical theatre specialist Scott Graham.

Joe Layton and Hannah Sinclair Robinson play Robbie and Jess, whose chance meeting, disastrous dates and extraordinary transformative love is the stuff of fairy tales. Or is it? Lost Atoms is a wild ride through a life-changing relationship, or Robbie and Jess’s clashing recollections as they relive the beats of connection, the moments of loss, but  are their stories the same and can their memories be trusted? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie: Pure entertainment at York Barbican

Oh, lucky you gig of the week: Lightning Seeds, Tomorrow’s Here Today, 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour, York Barbican, tomorrow, 8pm

NOW in his 36th year of leading Liverpool’s Lightning Seeds, Ian Broudie heads to York on his extended Tomorrow’s Here Today tour. Cue Pure, The Life Of Riley, Change, Lucky You, Sense, All I Want, Sugar Coated Iceberg, You Showed Me, Emily Smiles, Three Lions et al. Casino support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jack Fry’s Quasimodo and Ayana Beatrice Poblete’s Esmerelda in Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

Musical of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 10, 11 and 14 to 18, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

BLACK Sheep Theatre Productions bring a cast of five leads, seven ensemble actors and a 23-strong choir to the York company’s larger-than-life staging of Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz’s musical rooted in Disney’s 1996 musical film and Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel.

Combining powerful themes of love, acceptance and the nature of good and evil with a sweeping score, Matthew Peter Clare’s show will be “like nothing you’ve seen before”. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Alex Mitchell: Headlining the Funny Fridays comedy bill at Patch at Bonding Warehouse, York

Comedy gig of the week: Funny Fridays, Patch at Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, Friday,  7.30pm

BRITAIN’S Got Talent star Alex Mitchell headlines October’s Funny Fridays bill at Patch, hosted by promoter and comedy turn Katie Lingo. On the bill too will be Pheebs Stephenson, Jacob Kohn, Lorna Green and Jimmy Johnson.

 “As this year’s event falls on World Mental Health Day, we’re raising money for Samaritans with bucket collections, ticket proceeds and a raffle. I’m a volunteer at the York branch and see first-hand the incredible work they do.” Tickets: eventbrite.co.uk or on the door.

Suthering’s Julu Irvine and and Heg Brignall: Playing Helmsley Arts Centre

Folk gig of the week: Suthering, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

ADVOCATES for the LGBTQ+ community and for the rights of women and other marginalised people, Tavistock folk duo Suthering’s Julu Irvine and and Heg Brignall weave harmonies through their original songs, paired with gentle guitar and emotive piano arrangements.

Known for their chemistry, storytelling and humour on stage, they intertwine their messages about the state of our climate, social conscience, the importance of community and connecting with nature, while  championing female characters, creating new narratives for women and unearthing the female heroines of the folk tradition, as heard on their second album, 2024’s Leave A Light On. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Ceilidh of the week: Jackhare Ceilidh Band, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 7.30pm

RYEDALE Dog Rescue presents the Jackhare Ceilidh Band in an evening of traditional English dance music this weekend. Doors open at 7pm and the Studio Bar will be open. Tickets must be pre-booked by emailing fundraising@ryedaledogrescue.org.uk, phoning 01653 697548, texting 07843 971973 or messaging on the Ryedale Dog Rescue Facebook page.

Robin Simpson: Storyteller and York Theatre Royal pantomime dame

Spooky entertainment of the week: Robin Simpson’s Magic, Monsters And Mayhem!, Rise at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, October 12, doors 4pm

YORK Theatre Royal pantomime dame Robin Simpson – soon to give his Nurse Nellie in Sleeping Beauty this winter – celebrates witches, wizards, ghosts and goblins in his storytelling show.

“The audience is in charge in this interactive performance, ideal for fans of spooky stories and silly songs,” says Robin. “The show is perfect for Years 5 and upwards, but smaller siblings and their grown-ups are very welcome too.” Tickets: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

Beverley Knight: Stories and songs at York Barbican. Picture: Lewis Shaw

Concert announcement of the week: Beverly Knight, Born To Perform, York Barbican, June 20 2026

QUEEN of British soul Beverley Knight will share stories from her life on stage, as well as performing her biggest hits, musical theatre favourites and cherished songs that have inspired her.

“I’m excited to get back on the road but with a different kind of show that folk are used to with me,” says Wolverhampton-born Beverley, 52. “Born To Perform is me taking you on a journey through my life on both music and theatre stages, using my memories and of course my songs. I’m stripping back my sound so the audience can lean in a little closer and really hear my soul.” Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/beverley-knight-2026.

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Concert announcement of the week: Beverley Knight, Born To Perform, York Barbican, June 20 2026. Also Sheffield City Hall, June 4. Tickets on sale from Friday

Beverley Knight: June 2026 shows at York Barbican and Sheffield City Hall

QUEEN of British soul Beverley Knight will share stories from her life on stage, as well as performing her biggest hits, musical theatre favourites and cherished songs that have inspired her on next year’s 20-date UK tour.

“I’m excited to get back on the road but with a different kind of show that folk are used to with me,” says Wolverhampton-born Beverly, 52.

“Born To Perform is me taking you on a journey through my life on both music and theatre stages, using my memories and of course my songs. I’m stripping back my sound so the audience can lean in a little closer and really hear my soul.”

Knight’s live performances have gained her a legion of famous fans, from David Bowie to Stevie Wonder, and she has collaborated on stage and on record with Prince, Marvin Gaye, Andrea Bocelli, Jamiroquai, Take That and Joss Stone.

Knight has forged a formidable parallel career in theatre. Already a much revered leading lady of West End musicals, now she has been nominated for Best Female Lead Actor at the Black British Theatre Awards for her performance as the trailblazing “Godmother of Rock’n’Roll”, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, in Maria & Rosetta, her first professional role in a play.

The production will transfer to the West End next year, playing Soho Place Theatre from February 28 to April 11.

Her portrayal of Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia at The Old Vic won Knight her first Oliver Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2023. She has starred too in The Bodyguard, Sister Act and Memphis The Musical and played Grizabella in Cats, at the request of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the formidable manager of soul group The Drifters in The Drifters Girl. In the Olivier awards, that show was nominated for Best New Musical and Knight for Best Actress.

In 2023, she marked her 50th birthday with the sold-out 50 Tour and her first studio album in seven years, The Fifth Chapter.

Knight has notched hit singles with Made It Black, Greatest Day, Get Up, Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Gold, Come As You Are, Keep This Fire Burning and Piece Of My Heart.

She has sold more than a million albums in the UK, including four gold certificates. Who I Am reached number seven in 2002; Affirmation, number 11, 2004; Music City Soul, number eight, 2007; 100%, number 17, 2009; Soul UK, number 13, 2011; Soulsville, number nine, 2016, and The Fifth Chapter, number 39, 2023. The Voice – The Best Of Beverley Knight peaked at number nine in 2006.

In 2007, Knight was awarded an MBE for services to British music and charity. She has won three MOBO Awards and been nominated for Best Female at the BRIT Awards three times, Best Actress at the Olivier Awards twice and Best Album at the Mercury Music Prize.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/beverley-knight-2026. Knight will play a second Yorkshire concert at Sheffield City Hall on June 4 2026. Box office: sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.

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Miles & The Chain Gang mark the changing season with Acoustic Autumn EP on Friday

Miles & The Chain Gang’s artwork for the Acoustic Autumn EP

YORK band Miles and The Chain Gang are releasing the Acoustic Autumn EP on digital platforms on Friday (10/10/2025).

Five acoustic-tinged songs will be accompanied by one track not released previously. Among the tracks will be A Way Of Being Free, first released in 2007 and now resurfacing in a version recorded in London in 2018.

“When I wrote that song I was aiming for a kind of Dylan-esque universal reflection on the human condition,” says songwriter and band leader Miles Salter. “I’m not sure I succeeded, but I’ve always liked the song and the way it reflects a variety of human experience. As John Lennon said, ‘whatever gets you through the night’…”  

On the EP too is Raining Cats And Dogs. “This novelty song from years ago just won’t go away,” says Miles. “A music PR person said it was the best song in our catalogue, although I sort of feel it’s like David Bowie and The Laughing Gnome.”

Further tracks will be Syd Egan’s love song Wildcats And Koalas, the cheeky Love Like A Freight Train and Hold Me Down. “If you like Bob Dylan or acoustic rock’n’roll stuff, you’ll enjoy the EP,” says Miles.

Miles and The Chain Gang’s tracks continue to travel around the world on Spotify. “We’ve been played in 25 countries from Canada to Brazil to Mexico, Argentina and New Zealand, and plays have now topped 35,000,” says Miles.  

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Roderick Williams and Carducci Quartet, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, October 1

Baritone Roderick Williams

THE evening belonged to Schubert, but not altogether as you might have expected him.

With his irrepressible desire to push boundaries, baritone Roderick Williams – who is also a composer in his own right – has rewritten the piano accompaniment to Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, for string quartet. It was an audacious move, which opened up new angles on this much-loved song-cycle.

There is no denying that there were minuses as well as pluses in this approach. Right from the start the piano’s percussiveness was absent. The mill-wheels barely rattled, the stones did not resound and the stream was at times barely a ripple compared to Schubert’s full-blown mill race: the piano does water better than strings.

And yet. There is no decay in string sound. So whenever Schubert put a separate melody alongside the singer’s line, the two voices were generally better balanced. There is also more physical drama in watching four string players in action than one pianist can deliver: the Carduccis certainly let you know when they need to be heard. The tone quality from each instrument is more variegated and thus at times easier to discern.

A few samples must suffice to demonstrate the subtlety of Williams’s orchestration. Where the piano repeats the music for each verse, Williams often writes something different. Thus in ‘Morning Greeting’ we had a touch of tremolo illustrating the little flowers shrinking from the sun, this a song in which voice and strings combined especially well. He had largely omitted the first violin at the start of ‘Thanksgiving to the Brook’, giving a darker texture.

In ‘Curiosity’ (No 6), the pauses between phrases were telling. The word ‘Ja’ here was forceful, but led into a prayerful final verse, where the sustaining power of the strings made the mood altogether more wistful.

Carducci Quartet

The following song, ‘Impatience’ benefited from very light strings, Mendelssohn-style, but the tempo was too fast to allow quite enough breadth on ‘Dein ist mein Herz’.

In the central verses of ‘Shower Of Tears’ (No 10), the legato lines of both voice and strings intermingled delightfully. At the end of ‘Mine!’, Williams stood for effect, where otherwise he remained seated on a piano stool; the quartet had lent urgency to the song.

Staccato strings heightened the vocal anger behind ‘The Huntsman’ (No 14) and, with resentment building, the dark atmosphere of ‘The Good Colour’ made it quite clear that the game was up for our lovelorn lad.

So Williams ended ‘The Wicked Colour’ boldly as the lad said farewell, after which viola and cello pizzicato alone opened ‘Dry Flowers’, typifying the empty moment. Yet that song finished in a blaze, each of the repetitions of the last stanza more intense. The dialogue between lad and (seductive) brook ended with a lovely postlude, before the touching final ‘goodnight’.

It was a treat to hear this version, not least for the way it uncovered new vistas. It was sung in German and, of course, in lower keys than the original tenor. But Williams was immensely alive to Schubert’s nuances – and the Carduccis, to their credit, were with him every step of the way.

They had opened the evening with Schubert’s Tenth Quartet, D.87 in E flat, dating from November 1813, with pronounced shading, especially in the fast outer movements. Some of the accompaniment figures from the 16-year-old composer were a touch rudimentary, but his melodic gift was already blossoming here.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on York Chamber Music Festival, various venues, September 19 to 21

Pianist Katya Apekisheva

SIX distinguished string players – pairs of violinists, violists and cellists – were joined by the equally eminent pianist Katya Apekisheva in five concerts packed into three days. The highlights of the last four are covered here.

At the National Centre for Early Music (September 19), the vigorous outer movements of Haydn’s Op 76 No 5 in D sandwiched a Largo notable for its delicate shading and a minuet whose trio was eerily mysterious.

The cracking pace of the finale was typical of the sheer enjoyment that these players brought to their task, led by Jonathan Stone.

He exchanged the leader’s chair with Charlotte Scott for Shostakovich’s Eighth, Op 110 in C minor, which erupted into a fiery motor-rhythm after its studied start. There were telling little cadenzas from her and the viola player Gary Pomeroy, but there was no disguising the underlying anger, tinged with sorrow, in this supremely biographical testament.

The original, intimate sextet version of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, vibrantly led by Scott, was notable for the balance between the voices and the transparency of its textures. Richard Dehmel’s poem, on which it is based, speaks of transformation. Here one constantly sensed the ensemble straining at the harmonic leash, reflecting the composer’s enthusiasm for change. There was also special warmth in the quartet of lower voices and a lovely delicacy at the close.

Lunchtime on the Saturday (September 20) in the Unitarian Chapel brought together the viola of Hélène Clément with the piano of Katya Apekisheva. Clément’s usual instrument, once belonging to Frank Bridge, was in for repairs, so she shelved her announced Bridge pieces and Apekisheva inserted Tchaikovsky’s October between the Rebecca Clarke and Shostakovich sonatas instead.

After a forthright opening, Clément made a useful contrast between the themes of Clarke’s first movement, the second decidedly wistful. The twinkling scherzo had a satanic streak. There might have been more restraint at the start of the finale, so as to offer more contrast with the passionate material that follows, but the crescendo on an extended tremolo boiled neatly into a brilliant coda. The duo was thoroughly alive to Clarke’s freewheeling approach.

The Shostakovich sonata is his last, an initially tortured work completed barely a month before he died in August 1975. At its centre we had a catchy scherzo, but with a dark, hypnotic core. The concluding Adagio was a wonderfully calm approach to impending death, framed by very personal cadenzas and helped by the piano’s reminiscence of the ‘Moonlight’ sonata. Apekisheva’s elegiac treatment of October had paved the way ideally.

That evening, at the Lyons Concert Hall, all seven players were on duty. It opened with a beautifully balanced account of Schubert’s Notturno, D.897, written in his final year. It offered a huge contrast between its quiet frame and the dotted rhythms at its centre. Apekisheva’s arpeggios were velvety.

With Jonathan Stone still in the leader’s chair for Schumann’s Piano Quartet, also in E flat, we were swept into an infectiously joyful milieu, reflecting the composer’s recent marriage in 1842. The opening movement’s crisp rhythms, with real drama in its development section, preceded a scherzo that was almost too forceful. Yet the slow movement was milked for every drop of sentimentality (but with an ending without vibrato), until the players let their hair down in a fun-filled finale.

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor brought together violinist Charlotte Scott with cellist Reinoud Ford and the redoubtable, ever-present Apekisheva. Ford had stepped nobly into the shoes of Tim Lowe, the festival director, who was enjoying an introduction to fatherhood.

Essentially in two movements, the trio is an extended elegy for the pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, written in 1882 a year after his death. As one might expect, it demands considerable virtuosity from the pianist. Apekisheva was more than equal to the task, if – rarely for her – a little too forceful in the insistent second theme (although, in her defence, it is marked fortissimo pesante).

The opening movement’s broad sweep was balanced by a theme and variations of extreme subtlety, based on a folk melody. Most memorable were the Chopin-like mazurka and skittish scherzo of the second and third variations.

We also had a touch of sugar-plum fairy and a flippant waltz, both demanding versatility from the ensemble. But mostly it was the bold, busy piano textures that quite properly dominated, with a respectful diminuendo into the final funeral march.

The six strings provided the festival’s afternoon finale, given at St Olave’s Church (September 21). Mozart’s String Quintet, K.515 in C preceded Brahms’s Second String Quintet, Op 111 in G. There was a strong contrast between the two works.

With Charlotte Scott leading and Reinoud Ford seated centrally as cellist, the Mozart was almost free of vibrato, no doubt in an attempt to deliver a ‘period’ sound. But none of the group is much known for early music and the effect was tight and restrained, as if the players felt shackled.

Nevertheless, the quintet’s emotional power was not obscured. The ‘Mannheim skyrocket’ of the opening, a high-rising arpeggio alternating between violin and cello, had its usual uplifting effect. The minuet was less telling and the slow movement can only be described as squeaky. But the final rondo, taken at a splendid clip, offered ample compensation, not least because it highlighted Charlotte Scott’s virtuosity.

For the Brahms, Jonathan Stone took over as leader and Jonathan Aasgaard was in the cello seat, with the admirable Hélène Clément and Gary Pomeroy continuing as violas. There was an immediate sense of abandon as a reasonable modicum of vibrato returned, with plenty of electricity and strong accents. Incidentally, the cello was now on the right-hand edge, reflecting its less pivotal role here.

The minor-key march had an intimate core, before Pomeroy’s viola took off in the pleasing cadenza-like ending. After the easy-going lilt of the scherzo and trio, the finale’s burst of exuberance made the perfect ending, with percussive accents at its centre and accelerating cross-rhythms in its coda.

This was a beautifully constructed festival and never less than stimulating.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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More Things To Do in York & beyond when the air turns blue and the skies glower. Hutch’s List No. 44, from The York Press

Roy Chubby Brown: No offence, but it’s simply comedy, reckons Britain’s stalwart potty-mouthed joker at York Barbican

FROM sacre bleu comedy to a French silent  film,  Graham Nash and Al Stewart  on vintage form to Grayson Perry on good and evil,  love’s vicissitudes to the Hunchback musical, October is brewing up a storm of culture, reports Charles Hutchinson. 

Blue humour of the week: Roy Chubby Brown, It’s Simply Comedy, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm

GRANGETOWN gag veteran Roy Chubby Brown, now 80, forewarns: “Not meant to offend, it’s simply a comedy tour”. After more than 50 years of spicy one-liners and putdowns, he continues to tackle the subjects of sex, celebrities, politics and British culture with a high profanity count and contempt for political correctness. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Gemma Curry in Hoglets Theatre’s The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale at York Theatre Royal Studio

Children’s show of the week: Hoglets Theatre in The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 11am and 2pm

FRESH from an award-winning Edinburgh Fringe run, York company Hoglets Theatre invite primary-age children and families to an exciting adventure packed with beautiful handmade puppets, sea creatures, original songs and audience interaction aplenty.

Performed, crafted and directed by Gemma Curry, The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale celebrates friendship, difference and the beauty of being yourself in Andy Curry’s tale of Whale singing his heart out into the deep blue sea, but nobody singing back until…a mysterious voice echoes through the waves, whereupon Whale embarks on an unforgettable adventure. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Graham Nash: Sixty years of song at York Barbican. Picture: Ralf Louis

Vintage gigs of the week: Graham Nash, An Evening Of Songs And Stories, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm; Al Stewart, The Farewell Tour, York Barbican, October 7, 7.45pm

GRAHAM Nash, 83-year-old two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy award winner, performs songs spanning his 60-year career fromThe Hollies to Crosby, Stills andNash, CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) to his solo career, joined by Todd Caldwell (keyboards and vocals), Adam Minkoff(bass, drums, guitars and vocals) and Zach Djanikian (guitars, mandolin, drums and vocals). Long-time friend Peter Asher supports.

The poster for Al Stewart’s farewell tour, visiting York Barbican on Tuesday

Glasgow-born folk-rock singer-songwriter Al Stewart marks his 80th birthday (born 5/9/1945) with his UK farewell tour. After relocating to Chandler Arizona from Los Angeles, his home for the past 45 years, he is winding down his touring schedule with his long-running time band The Empty Pockets. Time for the last Year Of The Cat. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jonny Best: Leading Frame Ensemble’s improvised score for The Divine Voyager at the NCEM. Picture: Chris Payne

Film event of the week: Northern Silents presents The Divine Voyager with Frame Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, Monday, 7.30pm

FRAME Ensemble’s spontaneous musicians Jonny Best (piano), Susannah Simmons (violin), Liz Hanks (cello) and Trevor Bartlett (percussion) accompany Julien Duvivier’s lushly photographed, beautifully poetic 1929 French silent film The Divine Voyage with an improvised live score.

In a tale of faith and hope, rapacious businessman Claude Ferjac sends his ship, La Cordillere, on a long trading journey, knowing it is likely to sink after poor repairs. An entire village of sailors, desperate to support their families, has no choice but to set sail. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

James Lee, left, Helen Clarke, front, Wilf Tomlinson, back, and Katie Leckey rehearsing for Griffonage Theatre’s FourTold. Picture: John Stead

Time to discover: Griffonage Theatre in FourTold, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK devotees of the madcap, the macabre and making the familiar strange and the strange familiar, Griffonage Theatre transport audiences to the quirky rural town of Baile Aighneas – The Town of Dispute – for FourTold, a quartet of comedies by early 20th century Irish playwright Lady Augusta Gregory, never presented together in the UK until now under Northern Irish director Katie Leckey.

Encounter the bustling market and all its gossip in Spreading The News; the restaurant where newspaper editors wine, dine and mix up their Coats; the post office, where the splendid Hyacinth Halvey has sent word he is coming to town, and the bus stop where strangers such as The Bogie Men can quickly become friends! Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Hannah Sinclair Robinson’s Jess and Joe Layton’s Robbie in Frantic Assembly’s Lost Atoms, on tour at York Theatre Royal next week. Picture: Tristram Kenton

Relationship drama of the week: Frantic Assembly in Lost Atoms, York Theatre Royal, October 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

FRANTIC Assembly follow up York Theatre Royal visits of Othello and Metamorphosis with their 30th anniversary production, a two-hander memory play by Anna Jordan, directed by physical theatre specialist Scott Graham.

Joe Layton and Hannah Sinclair Robinson play Robbie and Jess, whose chance meeting, disastrous dates and extraordinary transformative love is the stuff of fairy tales. Or is it? Lost Atoms is a wild ride through a life-changing relationship, or Robbie and Jess’s clashing recollections as they relive the beats of connection, the moments of loss, but  are their stories the same and can their memories be trusted? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Grayson Perry: “Finding out if you really are thoroughly good or maybe quite evil, but in a fun way” at the Grand Opera House

Question of the week: Grayson Perry: Are You Good?, Grand Opera House, October 7, 7.30pm

AFTER A Show For Normal People And A Show All About You, artist, iconoclast, television presenter and Knight Bachelor Grayson Perry asks Are You Good? A question that he thinks is “fundamental to our humanity”.

“In this show I will be helping you, the audience, find out if you really are thoroughly good or maybe quite evil, but in a fun way,” says Sir Grayson. “I always start out with the assumption that people are born good and then life happens. So, let’s pull back the curtain and see where your morals truly lie.” Add audience participation and silly songs, and expect to come out with core values completely in tatters. “Is it more important to be good or to be right? It’s time to update what is a virtue and what is a sin. No biggie.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie: Pure entertainment at York Barbican on Thursday

Oh, lucky you gig of the week: Lightning Seeds, Tomorrow’s Here Today, 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour, York Barbican, October 9, 8pm

NOW in his 36th year of leading Liverpool’s Lightning Seeds, Ian Broudie heads to York on his extended Tomorrow’s Here Today tour. Cue Pure, The Life Of Riley, Change, Lucky You, Sense, All I Want, Sugar Coated Iceberg, You Showed Me, Emily Smiles, Three Lions et al. Casino support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jack Fry’s Quasimodo and Ayana Beatrice Poblete at Black Sheep Theatre Productions’s Selby Abbey photoshoot for The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, opening next week at the JoRo

Musical of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 10, 11 and 14 to 18, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

BLACK Sheep Theatre Productions bring a cast of five leads, seven ensemble actors and a 23-strong choir to the York company’s larger-than-life staging of Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz’s musical rooted in Disney’s 1996 musical film and Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel.

Combining powerful themes of love, acceptance and the nature of good and evil with a sweeping score, Matthew Peter Clare’s show will be “like nothing you’ve seen before”. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

In Focus: Prima Choral Artists in Prima XV, Selby Abbey, October 11, 7.30pm

Eva Lorian, artistic director of Prima Choral Artists

ARTISTIC director and producer Eve Lorian is marking 15 years as the visionary force behind Prima Choral Artists, the forward-thinking mixed voice choir that sets standards for diversity and innovation in the choral scene across York and beyond.

Even during the challenges of the pandemic years, Eve has crafted multiple bespoke programmes annually, both in Yorkshire and internationally.

Each concert reflects her distinctive musician’s insight, anticipating trends, celebrating diversity, honouring renowned choral names and championing the work of contemporary composers.

“It’s little wonder that such a portfolio can scarcely be captured in one individual concert, and so Prima have dedicated the entirety of 2025 to recognise these 15 years of musical creativity,” says Eve.

In this autumn’s pinnacle of those celebrations, Eve and Prima Choral Artists will return to Selby Abbey on October 11, where they will be joined once again by Greg Birch on piano.

The guest performers, the New World String Quartet, have a long history of high-level professional engagements across the region and their collaborations with Eve and Prima stretch back almost ten years.

“It’s impossible to express in words what this choir represents and what it has meant to people over these past 15 years,” Eve explains. “In much the same way, it’s nearly impossible to express our entire musical landscape in one single concert – the varied and diverse styles, the collaborations and the opportunity to embrace the new music of living composers.

“Our celebrations at Selby Abbey will, we hope, offer a glimpse of the multitude of genres and techniques that the choir has mastered over this time.”

Such musical diversity demands expertise. As an accomplished instrumentalist, vocal coach and performance mentor, Eve brings a wealth of experience, with her list of qualifications ensuring a steady and skilled hand to guide the singers through the ambitious programme planned for Selby Abbey.

Curated carefully to appeal to all tastes, Eve’s hand-picked selection will provide a glimpse into the breadth and versatility of her choir. The evening will feature the very best of choral music from across the decades, balancing timeless works by Handel and operatic master Verdi with contemporary highlights from Karl Jenkins, John Rutter and the genre-defying Christopher Tin.

In true Prima style, the choir also will celebrate linguistic diversity through its repertoire, performing in Italian, English, Hebrew and Xhosa, alongside the evocative, phonetic pseudo-language of Karl Jenkins.

This rich tapestry of vocal traditions reflects Eve’s long-standing commitment to global music expression, honouring voices and cultures from around the world and inviting audiences to connect through the shared experience of song.

Bridging the gap between classical masters and mid-century Broadway, Leonard Bernstein provides a natural link in the programme, with Stephen Sondheim bringing this genre firmly into the modern era.

The eclectic nature of the evening is enhanced further with music by female choral composers and arrangements of well-known songs by popular artists. Even a touch of “Girl Power” will be given a unique choral treatment.

Eve is in no doubt that this evening is for everyone: “Selby Abbey is a very special place for me and the choir and I am delighted to share this celebration of the choral world in all its wonderful variety, together with familiar and new faces at this most stunning location,” she says.

Prima’s year of anniversary celebrations will continues with two Family Christmas Concerts in St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, on December 13 and 20 at 4pm.

Tickets for Prima XV are selling fast at https://www.primachoral.com/ or in person from the Selby Abbey Gift Shop, open daily 10am to 4pm. Alternatively, buy on the door from 7pm. A bar will be available on the night. For more information on concerts and all things Prima, visit www.primachoral.com.

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Cheers! The Choir Of Man to set up pub on Grand Opera House stage from June 30 to July 4 2026. When do tickets go on sale?

The tour poster for The Choir Of Man, heading for Grand Opera House, York, next summer

RAISE your glasses. The Choir Of Man, the Olivier award-nominated international hit musical with the pub setting, will play the Grand Opera House, York, from June 30 to July 4 2026 on its inaugural UK tour.

Tickets go on sale general on sale tomorrow (3/10/2025) at 10am at https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-choir-of-man/grand-opera-house-york/.

After “thrilling audiences night after night in London’s West End”, the producers will be sending a cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys on the road with their combination of beautiful harmonies, foot-stomping singalongs and instrumental flourishes, topped off with tap dancing and soulful storytelling.

Featuring Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry hits to name but a few, this uplifting celebration of community and friendship offers something for everyone – including free beer!

Creator and director Nic Doodson says: “It’s a huge moment for us to launch The Choir Of Man’s very first UK national tour. It’s incredible to see how far the show has come from our start at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017…it feels incredibly special to finally be taking the show on the road at home. Bringing our pub to audiences across the UK has always been a dream.”

The Choir Of Man stage will include a fully functional bar with taps, well-stocked shelves and signage, designed to give the feel of a genuine working pub. Expect vintage fixtures and pub memorabilia to evoke a traditional pub ambience. 

The Choir Of Man has sold out three seasons at the Sydney Opera House and multiple American and European tours. The show will embark on its fourth North American tour from December to March 2026, playing 68 shows in 45 cities, including two residencies in West Palm Beach, Florida, and returning to Cleveland.

The Choir Of Man’s West End residency at the Arts Theatre began in 2021, since when it has enjoyed more than 1,000 performances with many sold-out shows and an Olivier award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.

The UK tour is produced by HH Productions, Nic Doodson, Andrew Kay, Global Creative and Kenny Wax. The show carries an age guidance of ten plus.

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Black Sheep Theatre Productions go larger than life for The Hunchback Of Notre Dame musical at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ Jack Fry as Quasimodo, left, and Dan Poppitt as the Voice of Quasimodo in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, pictured at Selby Abbey

BLACK Sheep Theatre Productions will stage their biggest show yet when presenting The Hunchback Of Notre Dame from October 10 to 18.

Matthew Peter Clare’s “larger-than-life” production marks the York company’s return to the Joseph Rowntree Theatre for the first time since mounting the UK amateur premiere of William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos in August 2023.

Combining the forces of Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Peter Parnell and Victor Hugo, ‘Hunchback’ features songs from Walt Disney’s 1996 animated gothic film with special arrangement from Music Theatre International. “We’re presenting the score in its entirety, as seen on Broadway,” says Matthew, whose cast comprises five leads, an ensemble of seven and a choir of 23.

“We have the songs from the film, such as Hellfire and Out There. However, Menken and Schwartz, have expanded on that on a quite incredible scale, usually bringing a darker tone that they really wanted to go for in the film and maybe were not allowed to. They’ve expanded on that theme incredibly well, making it a much more mature piece than the film.”

Jack Fry’s Quasimodo at Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ photoshoot at Selby Abbey

‘Hunchback’ addresses themes of love, acceptance and the nature of good and evil.  “Our production revolves around the question of what makes a man and what makes a monster,” says Matthew. “That’s the framing device we’re using to ask both the audience and ourselves.”

In a cast where Matthew has his actors presenting the story, within which they then take on roles, Black Sheep regular Dan Poppitt will play the Voice of Quasimodo in tandem with Jack James Fry’s physical embodiment of the bell-ringer of Notre Dame cathedral in 15th century Paris. 

“There are parts we’ve taken from Victor Hugo’s 1831 book, such as whereas the Disney film has them all accepting Quasimodo, the implication in the book is that Quasimodo falls very deeply down a pit of despair,” he says.

“There’s a lyric in Someday that says, ‘some day life will be kinder, love will be blinder’, and that’s the key theme in a time when Quasimodo and her entire gypsy community were not accepted.”

Ayana Beatrice Poblete’s Esmerelda

Choreographer Charlie Clarke adds. “Unfortunately, it’s a timely motif for what’s going on now, where there is always this idea of being ‘other’ in this world.”

Quasimodo, the “hunchback” of the title, is best known for his deformity, but Black Sheep will be highlighting his other, arguably more significant impediment.

 “The key idea we’re exploring is the fact that in the text and every iteration of Quasimodo,  he has been at least partially deaf,” says Dan.

“Jack is a deaf actor who specialises in BSL (British Sign Language), so he performs Quasimodo’s dialogue through signs and I’m there as his interpreter, speaking his lines and singing his songs  – and the only person on stage who acknowledges my presence is Jack’s Quasimodo.

“And I will say that Jack, as the embodiment of Quasimodo, puts every emotion that he can into the dialogue and songs.”

Matthew Peter Clare: Black Sheep Theatre Productions founder and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame director

Matthew says: “We’re making more of Quasimodo’s deafness, rather than his deformity, because deafness makes it harder for him to communicate. His deformity doesn’t stop him communicating, though it doesn’t help, as far as society around him is concerned, but the thing that hurts him and affects him is that he can’t communicate.”

Charlie adds: “Jack is such an incredible dancer too, and it’s so beautiful to watch him incorporating dancing into his BSL signing. It’s not just the words. He throws his entire body into it, so it’s like watching a contemporary dancer.”

Filipino-born Ayana Beatrice Poblete will play the other ‘outsider’, the gypsy – or more correctly French Roma – girl Esmerelda, and she reckons the production could not be better timed, given the heated debate on immigration bubbling over in British politics.

“It’s a good reminder to bring it back to the point that there will always be a ‘separation’ because people are always on edge as they haven’t been exposed to it for a long time, so they think everything is dangerous, but hopefully it will be seen in our show as curiosity,” she says.

“I’m really blessed to get the chance to sing God Help The Outsiders, not only in representing that community, but also because they are outcasts in society and so they feel imposter syndrome, and this is Esmerelda’s response.”

Black Sheep Theatre Productions cast member Jack Hooper, pictured at Selby Abbey

Matthew adds: “This might sound bleak, but I would argue that Esmerelda is the only one in the show who starts out hopeful and remains hopeful despite what happens. It’s a show with twists, and storylines are developed, but her hopefulness is the through-line of the story.”

Ayana rejoins: I actually thought at first, maybe Esmerelda is too positive, when everything is so toxic, but that positivity is not meant for her, but for passing on to others.”

Charlie says: “Esmerelda is the only one that Frolo [the Catholic clergyman and antagonist of Hugo’s tale] sees as anything comparable to a god, and maybe that is why he’s fearful as he thinks of her as an ethereal being, comparing her to an angel. That’s what scares him, whereas Quasimodo and Phoebus see the love that radiates from within her.

“The other factor that marks her out is that not only is she Romani but she is a woman too.”

Black Sheep Theatre Productions n The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 9 to 18. Performances: 7.30pm, October 10, 11 and 14 to 18; 2.30pm, October 11 and 18. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

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Melbourne singer-songwriter Riley Catherall plays at Rise@Bluebird Bakery tonight. Jodie Nicholson next up

Australian singer-songwriter Riley Catherall. Picture: Riley Catherall website

MELBOURNE singer-songwriter Riley Catherall brings his poetic sincerity and alluring live show to Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, tonight at 7.30pm.

In mid-2024 he released his sophomore album, The Light, The Beautiful Liar, whose singles Bark At The Moon and Coming Down, Coming Over highlighted a collection of songs focused on the kind of love that desperately tries to endure the unwelcoming stark light of the morning.

This followed his 2021 debut When I Go, whose songs, such as the singles Mother Please, Vacant Lot and Leave Me Out To Dry, addressed themes of leaving, losing love and finding somewhere to settle down.

He has accompanied and collaborated with Kasey Chambers, Charm Of Finches, Alan Fletcher, Imogen Clark and Loretta Miller. Now he returns to the UK and Europe with band in tow to promote his newest collection of songs, From A Borrowed Room, featuring B-sides for The Light, The Beautiful Liar.

Jodie Nicholson: Songs of escapism, nostalgia, self-reflection and changes of heart at Rise on Saturday. Picture: Jodie Nicholson website

On Saturday, Under The Influence presents the “powerfully intimate, achingly human” songs of Hurworth-on-Tees musician and producer Jodie Nicholson. Doors open at 7.30pm for the 8.30pm gig.

Drawing inspiration from Daughter, Lucy Rose, Warpaint, The National and Laura Marling, Nicholson combines introspective lyricism, brooding piano, subtle electronics and delicate guitars to explore themes of escapism, nostalgia, self-reflection and changes of heart.

“I use brooding chamber-pop and synth-laden alt-pop to navigate many of the different relationships we have in our lives: friends, family, relationships with ourselves and, more personally, my changing relationship with music,” she says.

North Easterner Nicholson, who studied Printed Textile Design at Leeds Arts University, has performed at All Points East, Wilderness, Y Not, Liverpool Sound City, Cambridge Folk Festival, Focus Wales and Live at Leeds, as well as sharing stages with Emeli Sandé, Bernard Butler, Nerina Pallot, The Howl & The Hum, Luke Sital-Singh, Tom Rosenthal and Siv Jakobsen.

Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.