Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: First blast of brass in the NCEM’s autumn season on October 1
THE National Centre for Early Music autumn season will open next Wednesday with Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer and bandleader Jean Toussaint’s 7.20pm concert at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
Born on the Dutch Antilles island of Aruba, Toussaint grew up in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
He moved to London in 1987, since when he has used the capital as his base. For his return to York with his latest project, JT5, he will share the stage with emerging British jazz talent, performing material from his latest album, JT5 Live At The Vortex 10/08/2024, recorded at the London jazz club last summer.
Supported by Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Trust, York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on the NCEM stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm.
Trumpet player Byron Wallen: Raising the Black Flag at the NCEM on October 24
“Our autumn season welcomes a host of artists from across the world, bringing the highest-quality music-making to the city and continuing to share opportunities for the young, and the not so young, to get involved,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin.
Pianist Jonny Best will be joined by violinist Susannah Simmons, cellist Liz Hanks and percussionist Trevor Bartlett for Frame Ensemble’s live accompaniment of Northern Silents’ presentation of Julien Duvivier’s 1929 French silent film The Divine Voyage on October 6.
As with Northern Silents’ sold-out performance of South in 2023, Frame Ensemble’s improvised score will capture the atmosphere of Duvivier’s lushly photographed tale of faith and hope about rapacious businessman Claude Ferjac sending his ship, La Cordillere, on a long trading journey, knowing it has been repaired poorly and is likely to sink. An entire village of sailors, desperate to support their families, has no choice but to set sail.
Virtuoso guitarists Gordon Giltrap & John Etheridge team up for 2 Parts Guitar on October 14; Damien O’Kane’s Irish tenor banjo and Ron Block’s five-string bluegrass banjo link up the following night to showcase their third joyously innovative album in seven years, Banjovial, the sequel to the ground-breaking Banjophony and Banjophonics.
Heidi Talbot: Previewing November 21 album Grace Untold at NCEM on October 23
On October 23, Irish singer-songwriter Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM ahead of the November 21 release of her new album, Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women, performed in York with Toby Shaer on fiddle and flute and Innes White on guitar.
Byron Wallen, London-born composer, traveller, educator and trumpet and flugelhorn player, heads back to the NCEM on November 24 with a very personal project: an exploration of childhood memories and the emotional strains between a mother and her son, separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
Performed with pianist and keyboard player Nick Ramm, Black Flag is in part a response to the photographic work of Annabel Elgar, whose images will be shared on screen. Emotional, searing, poignant and tough, this will be an evening to reflect and explore the shifting balance of power between the urban and the rural, together with the toxicity of colonialism, but with a glimpse of light before the sun.
“As our 25th year draws to a close, we are particularly pleased to welcome trumpeter and composer Byron Wallen as he shares his very personal exploration of childhood in Black Flag,” says Delma. “Likewise to invite you to enjoy an extraordinarily upbeat show of rhythms in the company of N’Faly Kouyaté and to share the haunting tapestry of sounds from Armenia and Iran with duduk player Arsen Petrosyan.”
N’Faly Kouyaté : Showcasing new album Finishing on November 12
Booked in for November 12, Songlines Music Awards winner N’Faly Kouyaté and Afro Celt Sound System leader N’Faly Kouyaté is a living bridge between ancestral heritage and future sounds, inviting you to a musical odyssey of songs that stir the soul, inspire reflection, elicit smiles and set bodies moving.
Playing balafon, kora, n’gonin, djeli doundoun, djeli tamamba and the toumba (congas), Guinean musician Kouyaté will be showcasing music from his September 12 album Finishing, with his wife Muriel Kouyaté, on djembe and Roland HandSonic, and Jay Chitula on electronic drums and Roland HandSonic.
On November 17, Arsen Petroysan will be joined by Mehdi Rostami, on setar, and Adib Rostami, on kamancheh, to perform haunting melodies and intricate improvisations in a meditative and emotional journey through the ancient Armenian and Iranian cultures.
On November 16, at 6.30pm, wry Kent folk musician Chris Wood – a six-time BBC Folk Award winner and key member of The Imagined Village alongside North Yorkshire’s Martin and Eliza Carthy – offers reflections on minor league football, empty nest syndrome, learning to swim, Cook-in-Sauce and the Gecko as a metaphor for contemporary society in celebration of “the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life”.
The folk focus next falls on The Jeremiahs, the Irish band of Joe Gibney, vocals, Matt Mancuso, fiddle and vocals, Conor Crimmins, flute, and James Ryan, guitar, in their NCEM debut on December 3.
Chris Wood: Celebrating “the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life” on November 16
The NCEM teams up with Explore York library service and Mayfield Valley Arts Trust for Baroque Around The Books on December 8 and 9, when Dowland’s Foundry, with tenor Daniel Thompson and lutenist Sam Brown, presents Facets Of Time in various York libraries to explore the meaning of time through music and poetry. Full details can be found at ncem.co.uk/baroque-around–the-books.
York Early Music Christmas Festival 2025 will run from December 5 to 14, featuring Fieri Consort& Camerta Oresund, Consone & Chiaroscuo Quartets, Marian Consort & ECSE, Apollo’s Cabinet, Helen Charlston, Joglaresa and Apollo5. A full preview will follow in The York Press soon.
Festive folk fixtures Green Matthews – modern-day balladeers Chris Green and Sophie Green – will see out the old year at the NCEM with their Midwinter Revels concert of Christmas carols and winter folk songs on ancient and modern instruments on December 16.
“Our autumn season is creative, engaging and will be hugely rewarding,” says Delma. “We look forward to welcoming you.”
Concerts start at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Edward Leigh’s Gunther in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, next week. Picture: Pamela Raith
FRIENDS! The Musical Parody is the one with new songs and iconic moments – pivot points – from 236 television episodes squeezed into two hours on stage.
After New York and Las Vegas hit runs for satirical duo Bob and Tobly McSmith’s show, now the Hairspray musical producers and The Full Monty stage director are taking the escapades of “the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings” on the UK road. Next coffee stop, Grand Opera House, York, from September 30 to October 4.
Join not only Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City, but also such supporting staples as Central Perk coffee shop worker Gunther, played by Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, in this nostalgic musical comedy replete with an original musical score and favourite lines aplenty.
“Everyone seems to know Friends but didn’t know there was a musical – and not did I,” admits Edward, as he settles into a multi-role-playing role that calls on him to be the warm-up master of ceremonies for the show-opening re-creation of the live taping of a Friends TV episode and to launch Act Two with a Friends quiz.
“We started rehearsals in London, then did a six-week run at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester over the summer, before coming back for a couple of weeks’ rehearsals for the tour. We opened at Nottingham Theatre Royal last Wednesday and got a very strong response. Really lovely. The cast got a little teary!”
What does putting Friends on stage bring to stories of a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor or never quite quitting the day job? “Because it’s live, it’s on stage and it’s theatrical, it’s heightened, though the TV show has many moments above reality,” says Edward.
Edward Leigh’s Gunther craves to “Part Of Their Gang” in his song in Friends! The Musical Parody. Picture: Pamela Raith
“But because our show is a parody and we’re playing in a live setting, it allows us to be as big in our performances as we want to be.
“Part of the challenge is taking iconic moments from the ten TV seasons and then converting them into a coherent two-hour musical, with some of those moments being turned into original songs, such as for Ross’s ‘pivot’ and Gunther’s aria of unrequited love for Rachel.”
Before landing the role of Gunther, Edward had “watched Friends but never avidly”. “Then I did watch it for professional reasons and I found I knew a lot more of it than I realised,” he says.
Friends! The Musical Parodyis set in Joey’s apartment, Monica’s apartment and Central Perk. “We also have the opening credits on a sofa by the fountain,” says Edward.”We’re cramming in as much as we can on stage in a musical.
“The songs are all original with a slight homage to the Friends theme tune too, so the core of the show is the songs that we learnt from day one in the rehearsal room.”
The inclusion of ‘Parody’ in the show title is significant. “It’s a fair assumption that it’s a comedy show! But that’s not the whole show,” says Edward. “There are definitely satirical songs but genuinely heartfelt moments too, but we do lean into the parody element, particularly for my song Part Of Their Gang, lamenting how Gunther is never part of the group.
Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
“Maybe other than in the first episode, it was a running gag that Gunther was pretty much in every episode, becoming a fan favourite and consistently part of the show. In our show, I play Gunther and a variety of iconic characters, with Gunther always being on the periphery, but still very much in love with Rachel. For that song there’ll be familiar faces that appear without being expected.”
Why is Friends is still so popular 31 years since its first American broadcast? “I can make an informed guess, but if I knew the answer, I would make my own TV series!” says Edward. “But it offers comfort: you watch it with friends, just as you first did at seven o’clock each episode.
“We’ve noticed the love of fans of the TV show, who bring their family, maybe those who discovered Friends through streaming, and they love how our show has a warmth, a silly warmth, to it. It’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously and nor do we. That’s what people are enjoying about it.”
The central focus may be on Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe, but the likes of Gunther have a chance to shine too. “That’s part of why Friends is such a brilliant TV series. Everyone has a moment in our show to show good they are, so it’s an ensemble piece despite the titular leads.”
Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york. Warning: May cause spontaneous PIVOT-ing!
Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, who has appeared previously at the Grand Opera House in A Boiling Frog, Shrek The Musical and We Will Rock You
Edward Leigh: the back story
EDWARD’S family moved to Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, when he was three. After attending King James’s School, when he performed at the Frazer Theatre, he moved away to study theatre at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts from 2011 to 2014.
On graduating, he worked abroad for two years, performing on cruise ships and appearing in an Italian tour of The Blues Bothers that took in Sicily and Sardinia. “Unbeknown to me, The Blues Brothers is really big in Italy!” he says.
Having re-settled in Knaresborough, he married in 2019. “We met at school. It’s a real Knaresborough love story,” he says.
He has appeared in such shows as A Boiling Frog, at the Grand Opera House, York, in his “am-dram” days; Shrek The Musical with Mark Goucher Productions, playing Papa Bear and Shrek cover. “It was a fun role with a lot of prosthetics,” he recalls. “It would take an hour to put them on and 45 minutes to take them off after each show.”
He toured in We Will Rock You on either side of the Covid lockdowns, first as Ensemble and cover Brit, then Ensemble and Brit, playing the Grand Opera House in February 2022.
“It’ll be like coming home to appear there in Friends!,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
He will be on tour in Friends! The Musical Parody until May 2 2026.
Joanne Shaw Taylor: Promoting new album Black & Gold at York Barbican
FROM blues guitar to saxophone solos, culinary festivities to Friends on song, Charles Hutchinson finds the ones to entertain you.
Blues guitarist of the week: Joanne Shaw Taylor, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm
DISCOVERED by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at 16, and now 39, West Midlands blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor showcases her tenth studio album, Black & Gold, on her return to York Barbican.
Known for her blazing guitar work and soulful voice, Shaw Taylor fuses blues, rock, soul and pop into her live set of new songs such as Hell Of A Good Time, fan favourites from past albums and nods to blues greats. Support comes from Ferris & Sylvester. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival
Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28
HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.
Further events will be two taste trails; Bedern Hall Pork Pie Competition; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; Chocolate Bar Challenge; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.
Katie Spencer: Introducing new album What Love Is at Kirk Theatre, Pickering. Picture: Tom Arran
Folk gig of the week: Friday Folk Night presents Katie Spencer, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, September 26, 7.30pm
RAISED in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, Katie Spencer’s music is influenced by the landscapes that shaped her. Her songwriting and guitar playing reflect a sense of space and movement, drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Michael Chapman.
New album What Love Is will be released on October 3. Produced by Matt Ingram, known for his work with Laura Marling, its ten compositions explore themes of love, introspection and personal growth. Her live performances are peppered with humour and storytelling. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Tom Little: Headlining Hilarity Bites Comedy Club bill at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Alexis Dubus
Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club presents Tom Little, Seeta Wrightson and Kieran Lawless, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
TOM Little, 2015 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year winner and BBC Radio New Comedy Award finalist, plays the well-read fool, taking on diverse facts but refusing to deal with them conventionally.
Bradford-born Seeta Wrightson, 2025 Female Pilot Club winner, spins engaging stories with wit, drawing on her dual Asian and British heritage. From humble beginnings, she has wandered through life wondering exactly where she fits, having adventures aplenty figuring it out. Nothin’ Butt Funny Comedy award winner Kieran Lawless is an Irish comedian based in Manchester. Doors and bar open at 7pm.Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Snake Davis: Sax to the max at Helmsley Arts Centre
Saxophonist of the week: Snake Davis Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
STILL highly in demand as a session player, cheering up records by Olly Murs and Shania Twain lately, and playing to crowds of up to 70,000 with Japanese rock god Eikichi Yazawa, saxophonist Snake Davis gains most joy from performing warm, friendly venues such as Helmsley Arts Centre.
Leading his four-piece band, featuring guitar, bass guitar and drums, Davis plays “the floaty to the danceable”, from soul to jazz, Northern Soul to pop and world, original material to classic sax pieces such as Baker Street and Night Train. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Actors, Audiences And Ayckbourn, It’s All Relative, The McCarthy, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday, 7pm
AN evening of Sir Alan Ayckbourn in two halves opens with Ayckbourn archivist Simon Murgatroyd exploring the creation of Relatively Speaking on its 60th anniversary. The second half is a chance to hear stories from a group of actors with years of experience of working with the former SJT artistic director and prolific playwright. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Dame Imogen Cooper: Piano concert at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg
Classical concert of the week: Dame Imogen Cooper, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
AFTER playing St Peter’s Church, Norton, at July’s Ryedale Festival, pianist Dame Imogen Cooper returns to Ryedale this weekend to play Bach’s Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G’mein, arranged by Kempff; Bach’s chorale-prelude Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland, arranged by Busoni and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90). Post-interval, her programme continues with Beethoven’s Seven Bagatelles (OP. 33) and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 935 (Op. posth. 142). Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Apollo Theatre Company’s merry crew in Round The Horne
Nostalgia of the week: Apollo Theatre Company inRound The Horne, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 29, 7.45pm; September 30, 1.30pm and 7.45pm
FROM 1965 to 1968, no show on British radio was bigger than the ground-breaking Round The Horne. Classic comedy fans will be in their element as Apollo Theatre Company transports the audience back to the anarchic, boisterous atmosphere of the BBC’s Paris Theatre during the recordings, complete with a live band and sound effects.
Combining infamous movie spoofs with regular characters such as Julian & Sandy, Rambling Syd Rumpo and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, Round The Horne’s merry crew drew up to 15 million listeners per week and made stars of Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden. Now take a step back in time to experience this vintage comedy live. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
The one where they sing: Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
NEW York and Las Vegas hit Friends The Musical Parody is a musical comedy packed with iconic moments from all ten seasons of the beloved television series, complemented by an original musical score. Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings, as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City.
“Whether you’re in a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor, or just can’t quit your day job, you’ll be laughing, crying, and quoting your favourite lines all night long,” the show promises. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Sue Ryding, left, recalling her 40-year comedy partnership with the late Maggie Fox (inset) in LipService in Funny Stuff at Pocklington Arts Centre
Reflections on grief: LipService in Funny Stuff, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 2, 7.30pm
SUE Ryding is one half of legendary satirical duo LipService. In March 2022, her comedy partner, York actress and writer Maggie Fox, died and Sue was left with a shipping container full of 40 years of stage props, costumes, wigs, hats, shoes, sheep, you name it.
This show looks at all the “stuff” we accumulate, hoard and hate to let go in her humorous and creative response to grief, wherein Sue struggles to part with a life-sized stuffed sheep, a badger onesie, some ruby slippers, a sinking bog, Charlotte Bronte’s knickers and a host of soft toys. Touring anecdotes are combined with archive footage from LipService shows. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Conductor Alan George and the Academy of St Olave’s at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York
A MUSICAL heart attack announced the Allegro giocoso opening of Carmen’s prelude to Act I.
The stately march – a striking Spanish-style fanfare – was splendidly led by the trumpets. Really fine flute and clarinet decorations added to the festive atmosphere. The violins – a tad fewer than usual – relished the main ‘toreador’ rhythmic drive.
The transition to the slower, darker Andante moderato was pretty seamless. Here the standout performer was Alexandra Nightingale(oboe), who clearly relished the famous ‘fate’ solo.
The clarinet, bassoon, and low strings contributed prominent supporting figures, giving the oboe’s solo a rich, smoky atmosphere. Talking of seamless, I didn’t realise I was listening to the Strauss Kaiser-Waltzer until my foot started tapping – silently, obviously.
Standouts: a lovely cello solo (Rachel Brown) gently echoed by Mark Sykes on horn, briefly joined by Becky Jobling on flute, creating a chamber-music intimacy.
The second half belonged to Sibelius and his magnificent Symphony No. 7 in C major. Despite the sectional outline in the programme notes: Adagio – Vivacissimo – Adagio – Allegro molto etc., this is a continuous single-movement work with no breaks.
It is the challenge of the conductor to ensure a sense of organic growth rather than a patchwork of varied tempo changes, and Alan George did just that.
The opening Adagio sets the tone with the cellos and violas beginning the long, slowly ascending scale that generates the symphony’s opening sustained sonority.
They were joined by the violins, which brightened the musical atmosphere: this gradual unfolding set the symphony’s sense of organic growth. To be sure, greater string numbers would have given more body to the sound— the string section is the continuous living fabric of the symphony— but the playing was nevertheless very good and effective.
There were lovely lyrical flute, oboe and clarinet (Lesley Schatzberger) contributions, as well as prominent calls, responses and climactic fanfares from Mark Sykes (horn) and Tom Taylor (trumpet). But it was the three trombone solos that could be said to form the backbone of the work— each appearance more majestic than the last— and James Stockwell’s performance was very good indeed.
Carl Nielsen’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1926), like the Sibelius Symphony, is a single continuous movement lasting approximately 20 minutes. However, the Concerto falls naturally into two large sections separated by a brief pause.
A short, gentle string opening gives way to the flute’s first cadenza-like entrance: lyrical but with sudden leaps and quirky turns. The rapid staccato and brilliant arpeggio passages gave flautist Becky Jobling a chance to display her obvious technical prowess, while the plaintive, cantabile melody in the central poco adagio section was played beautifully.
I don’t usually associate humour with the music of Carl Nielsen, but the ‘military’ side drum exchanges eliciting playful trills and unexpected pauses were indeed quite witty.
But this is a flute concerto, and in the closing faster section we had the necessary virtuoso fireworks – fast tonguing passages, huge leaps, duets – more like duels – with both brass and percussion. The closing sign-off, featuring a solo cadenza and a muted, poetic “that’s all for now, folks,” was priceless.
What really struck me when listening to this splendid performance was the spectre of Igor Stravinsky and Petruska in particular. Nielsen’s concerto isn’t (obviously) imitation, but it shares Stravinsky’s love of rhythmic asymmetry, lean chamber-style orchestration and sudden colour changes, giving the Flute Concerto a modern, unsentimental brilliance.
The Coal Porters at All Saints Church, Pocklington. Picture: Paul Rhodes
THE evening after the night before, plus a bad head cold. On the face of it, the signs weren’t encouraging for The Coal Porters’ Pocklington show, (hardly) fresh from Sid Griffin’s 70th birthday concert bash at The Water Rats, in King’s Cross, London – a show Griffin himself put in his top three.
We need not have worried, thanks to the power of bluegrass and Griffin’s ‘the-show-must- go-on’ attitude. A double whisky whisked in and down at the interval certainly helped as well.
Griffin assembled The Coal Porters, billed as alt. bluegrass, primarily to entertain. There is something life affirming about the way banjo and fiddle sound together, with double bass and mandolin floating over the top on a round of harmonies.
Griffin is a musician and writer, one of the founding fathers of today’s alt. country genre with The Long Ryders. Like his hero Gene Clark (who featured later in Looking For Lewis And Clark), he is critically acclaimed but has never troubled the hit parade despite lifting roofs off venues all over.
Alongside him were three extroverts, Kerenza Peacock on exuberant fiddle and vocals, Andrew Stafford on bass and Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals, going strong after two decades. In the more reflective camp, but out front anyway, was Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and vocals.
The band’s red jackets and black over-long trousers gave them the appearance of trad bluegrass, but the set list blew such notions away. Griffin’s jacket would end up hung over the church pulpit.
Across 23 songs and some 100 minutes the band threw themselves into a wide range of music. From the traditional bluegrass of Bill Monroe to ‘Porterised’ punk and rock songs reborn as country.
Heroes, by David Bowie, too ubiquitous, can rarely have sounded better, while Another Girl, Another Planet, by The Only Ones, confirmed that the best tunes can work in any genre if handled with care and again topped the original.
Griffin’s own songs could also make the journey back to punk rock. The Day The Last Ramone Died worked best (although Pocklington scored low for Ramones T-shirts in the audience).
The Coal Porters’ sincerely sung love of the material was clear, and also for one another. With their leader ailing and singing with teacup in hand (would one more song of souls in restless agony see him off?), the others took a number of turns. Peacock received the biggest hand for her instrumental Chopping The Garlic while Fitzgerald showed us his love of Chuck Berry.
Talking to charleshutchpress.co.uk earlier in the week, Griffin, a man who knows a thing or two about a good line, memorably said: “It’s what I do, it’s what we do, as Robbie Robertson said of The Band. Good times, bad times, I make music. I don’t have riches or fame. I’m just happy.”
All Saints Church is a venue that brings the best out of performers, with clear sightlines and lovely sound. It inspired Griffin to set aside his solo album in favour of a rousing version of I Am A Pilgrim (a stand-out single from The Byrds’ Sweetheart Of The Rodeo).
Played for the love of the music and despite illness, Griffin and his friends gave us a wonderful night of feelgood music.
Review by Paul Rhodes
Coming up at All Saints Church, Pocklington are Chris Smither on October 29, 7.30pm, and The Unthanks At 20 – already sold out – on November 22, 7.30pm. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/pocklington/all-saints-church/chris-smither/e-moryao.
York oboe player Desmond Clarke: Performing on Navigators Art’s YO Underground #5 bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
FOOD for thought for heading out and about as York Food & Drink Festival opens and Inspector Morse is on the case in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations.
Navigators Art presents YO Underground #5, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK arts collective Navigators Art’s regular fulcrum of left-field new music, words and performance returns this weekend with a focus on ethnic instruments, acoustic-electronic improvisation, words and guitar-based fusion, plus passionate new songwriting.
Expect bold, beautiful and adventurous sounds from flautist Carmen Troncoso, York oboe player Desmond Clarke and Osc~, No Spinoza and a new York ‘supergroup’, the NSC Sound Union, combining members of Soma Crew and Namke Communications. Admission is £6 at www.ticketsource.co.uk/navigators-art-performance) or £10 on the door.
Sam Blythe: Taking on a multitude of roles in George Orwell’s Animal Farm at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Solo show of the week: Sam Blythe in Animal Farm, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm
CELEBRATING 70 years of its publication on August 17 1945 and 30 since the first performance of Guy Masterson’s solo adaptation of George’s Orwell’s satirical allegorical dystopian novella, Sam Blythe takes up Masterson’s mantle on stage.
Bringing all of Orwell’s multiple characters to vivid life, Blythe transforms into Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, Boxer, Clover, Mollie, Benjamin, Muriel, the Sheep, Dogs, Cows, Hens and the Cat in a performance designed to shock, enchant, bewitch and bewilder, ringing out Orwell’s prescient warning that politicians through the ages, and of all creeds and colours, will often let power corrupt them. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Rebecca Vaughan’s Lady Susan in Dyad Productions’ Austen’s Women: Lady Susan. Picture: Seamus Flanagan
Magnificently crafted tale of manipulation and manners of the week:Dyad Productions in Austen’s Women: Lady Susan, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm
DYAD Productions return with a new solo comedy show, Jane Austen’s 1794 tale of manipulation and manners. Directed by Andrew Margerison, company regular Rebecca Vaughan plays devil-may-care widow Lady Susan, oppressed, rebellious daughter Frederica, long-suffering sister-in-law Catherine, family matriarch Mrs De Courcy and insouciant best friend Alicia.
At the vanguard of Vaughan’s wickedly humorous adaptation is the charming, scheming and witty Lady Susan, taking on society and making it her own, but has this coquette met her match? Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival
Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28
HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.
Further events will be two taste trails; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; the Pork Pie competition in Bedern Hall; Curry & Comedy at the NCEM; Yahala Mataam’s refugee pop-up restaurant night and cookery school; Tang’s festival debut; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.
One of Simon Baxter’s photographs from All The Wood’s A Stage, his joint exhibition with Joe Cornish at Nunnington Hall. Picture: Simon Baxter
Ryedale exhibition launch of the week: All The Wood’s A Stage, Nunnington Hall, near York, from today to March 29 2026
ALL The Wood’s A Stage will continue the 2022 showcase Woodland Sanctuary, exhibited originally at the Moors Centre in Danby. This latest chapter features predominantly new photographs that celebrate the beauty and vital significance of trees, woodlands and forests across the UK.
Photographers Joe Cornish and Simon Baxter depict trees as silent performers on nature’s stage, encouraging us to observe, listen and reflect. Trees provide joy, peace and inspiration, being lungs of the Earth, guardians of biodiversity and a crucial part of our mental and physical well-being. Through changing seasons, they symbolise life, death and renewal. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall.
The poster for The Return Of The Legends, featuring Strictly Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: The Return Of The Legends, starring Brendan, James, Pasha, Vincent and Ian, York Barbican, today, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite follow up 2024’s Legends Of The Dancefloor with new Latin, tango, rumba and ballroom routines and more Strictly stories in The Return Of The Legends. Joined by a supporting cast, they deliver a night of dancing, camaraderie, music and laughter. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Robert Took, Georgina Liley, Catherine Warnock and James McLean in Mikron Theatre’s Hush Hush!, on tour at Clements Hall, York
Touring play of the week: Mikron Theatre in Hush Hush!, Clements Hall, York, Sunday, 4pm
IN a daring theatrical mission, Marsden’s Mikron Theatre Company infiltrates the clandestine world of wartime code-breaking in Lucie Raine’s Hush Hush!, exposing the vital contributions of the unsung heroes of Bletchley Park’s Hut 3, whose ingenuity and unwavering resolve helped secure victory.
Peggy Valentine arrives at Bletchley in 1940, 18 years old, headstrong and gifted. Finding herself in a world of boffins, soldiers and debutantes, Peggy must shoulder the burden of high-pressure war work while navigating a new world of feuds, friendships and growing up in a frame of absolute secrecy. Mikron’s crack team of actor-musicians, Georgina Liley, Robert Took, Catherine Warnock and familiar face James McLean, blends original songs, live music and compelling storytelling. Box office for returns only: 01484843701 or email admin@mikron.org.uk.
Tom Chambers as Detective Chief Inspector Morse in the first Inspector Morse original stage play, House Of Ghosts, at Grand Opera House, York
Murder mystery of the week: Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, Grand Opera House, York, September 23 to 27, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
BIRMINGHAM Repertory Theatre and Simon Friend Entertainment are touring the Inspector Morse franchise’s debut original stage play, House Of Ghosts, penned by Alma Cullen, directed by Anthony Banks and starring Tom Chambers.
A chilling mystery unfolds when a young actress dies suddenly on stage during a performance, prompting Detective Chief Inspector Morse to embark on a gripping investigation. What begins as a suspicious death inquiry takes a darker turn when the legendary inspector, in tandem with Detective Sergeant Lewis, uncovers a connection to sinister events in his own past, 25 years earlier. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Kieran Hodgson: Voicing his thoughts on the USA
Comedy gig of the week: Kieran Hodgson: Voice Of America, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 26, 8pm
AMERICA. What happened, man? Ever since he was a little loser kid in a little loser country (yes, England), Holmfirth-born Kieran Hodgson has been putting on an American accent and dreaming a big American dream.
Nowadays, however, it’s not so simple. Didn’t America go completely bananas? Didn’t he get too old for dreaming? And when Hollywood comes calling, does Kieran actually sound American after all? Here he assesses how a scared world feels about the USA and impersonates a bunch of old prospectors and former Presidents. Box office for returns only: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The horror, the horror: Dead Northern returns to City Screen Picturehouse
Film event of the week: Dead Northern presents The Festival of Horror, City Screen Picturehouse, York, September 26 to 28
IN “the world’s most haunted city”, Dead Northern hosts three days of film and live events, taking in music, social activities, food, drink and merchandise. Friday Frights opens with a 10.30am showcase of student short films and videos, followed by UK premiere of Sun at noon with a Q&A.
The 2pm short film showcase focuses on Teeth, Claws, Tentacles and Clowns. At 4pm the Dead Talks talk reveals Dracula’s mysterious connection to York under the splendid title of Who Are You Calling A Count?! A mystery Dracula classic film re-surfaces at 5pm and the UK premiere of Hellhouse LLC: Lineage is booked in for 7.30pm. The night concludes with the Welcome Social & Quiz with the Independent Horror Society.
Saturday Screams kicks off with the Flesh & Bone short film showcase at 10.30am, followed by the world premiere of A Mother’s Recall at noon and the Twisted Tales short film showcase at 1.45pm.
The 3.30pm UK film premiere will be Home Education, concluding with a Q&A, and the 5.30pm classic feature will be the 40th anniversary release of A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.
7.30pm’s Signature Live Event will be Spirits By Spirits; the 8.45pm feature film will be The Beast Of Riverside Hollow, with a Q&A, and the night ends with the VIP Awards Party at 11pm.
Day three, Sunday Shock The 28th, launches with the 10.30am classic feature, 1981’s Evil Dead, followed by the UK premiere of Nightfall – A Paranormal Investigation at noon and the Spectres & Shadows short film showcase at 1.30pm.
The UK premiere of Tabula Rasa will be shown at 2.45pm; the 4.15pm screening of He Kills At Night will include a Q&A, and Inside The Mind will be the theme of the 6pm short film showcase. In Dead Talks Part II at 7.30pm, the Independent Horror Society welcomes special guests for When Horror Struck Again, a discussion on underrated sequels.
The festival concludes with a classic feature, 1987’s Evil Dead II. For more details on Dead Northern Part VI 2025 Horror Film Festival, visit deadnorthern.co.uk/dead-northern-2025-horror-film-festival.
In Focus: York Printmakers’ 10th Anniversary Handmade Print Fair, York Cemetery, today and tomorrow
Russell Hughes discussing monoprinting. Picture: Chris Kendall Photography
THIS weekend York Printmakers celebrates a decade of creativity, collaboration and craftsmanship with its 10th Annual Print Fair, designed for lovers of original art and handmade processes.
This year’s fair reflects the group’s continuing mission: to keep traditional printmaking alive, accessible and valued.
Over the past decade, York Printmakers has grown into a vibrant collective of more than 40 artists, all committed to the authenticity of printmaking. The fair showcases a wide range of techniques — from linocut to collagraph, screen print to woodcut — all created by hand.
“People are often surprised to learn the difference between a reproduction and a handmade print,” says founding member Sally Clarke. “At our fair, you get to see the blocks, the plates, the tools — and meet the people who made them.
“In a world where everything is easily copied, our fair champions the original: prints made by hand, with care and intention.”
Bridget Hunt describing how to make a collograph plate. Picture: Chris Kendall Photography
This year’s milestone event reflects on ten years of artistic evolution, celebrating the unique voices of long-standing members while championing the newer members to the collective: artists whose fresh perspectives and experimental approaches are helping to shape the future of the craft.
“It’s always a pleasure to welcome new members, especially those just discovering printmaking or beginning their creative journey,” says long-standing member Russell Hughes. “They bring energy and new ideas that inspire even the most experienced among us. And in return, we’re able to share knowledge and techniques that have stood the test of time. That exchange is what keeps the group dynamic and evolving.”
Visitors can explore a rich variety of work, meet the makers and buy original prints directly from the artists.
York Printmakers’ 10th Anniversary Handmade Print Fair, Chapel and Harriet Room, York Cemetery, Cemetery Road, York, September 20 and 21, 10am to 5pm. Free entry.
York Printmakers’ poster for this weekend’s print fair at York Cemetery
In Focus too: Pete McKee, Viva La Nan!, RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate, and McKee Gallery, Sheffield
Pete McKee’s poster for September 27’s Viva La Nan! launch at RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate
PETE McKee’s double exhibition celebrating the beloved nans of his childhood will open across two Yorkshire galleries this autumn.
Viva La Nan! will go on view at RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, from September 27 to October 4 and the McKee Gallery, Leah’s Yard, Cambridge Street, Sheffield, for two days only, October 11 and 12, presenting more than 120 drawings on paper created “in tribute to Nans, Grandmothers, Grandmas,Grannies, Grans, Nanas”.
Each gallery will be home to a completely different exhibition with “fans of art and fans of Nans” invited to enjoy both shows. The heart-warming collection includes original drawings on paper, showcasing the development of McKee’s process from sketchbook to final painting, and the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to own a unique McKee artwork, with prices ranging from just £75 to £2,450.
A Lovely Cup O’ Tea, by Pete McKee
“I wanted to create an exhibition celebrating the power of Nans and the love we have for them,” says Pete, who grew up on a Sheffield housing estate. “It shows the beauty and dignity of women who have lived through hardship and pain; women who have worked and toiled and managed to raise us on next to nothing. I consider my nans as iconic figures to be put on a pedestal and worshipped for the mighty women that they are”
The double exhibition coincides with McKee’s first major museum show, The Boy Name With A Leg Named Brian, on show until November 2 at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, where it has drawn 80,000 viewers already.
McKee’s work captures life’s simple pleasures with an innocence often lost in today’s fragmented and high-octane society. His images make you stop and think, laugh out loud or break your heart.
Viva La Nan! artworks by Pete McKee
To celebrate the Harrogate opening, Pete will launch the show in person on September 27 at 10am, when the first 50 visitors will receive a signed limited edition copy of the exhibition exclusive Daily Nan newspaper.
On October 12, the curious and adventurous are invited to join Pete and RedHouse on an unforgettable “Yorkshire road trip” with McKee Travel: the Harrogate to Sheffield Bus Tour to see both Sheffield shows on one day.
“We’ll be making a grand day of it,” says RedHouse Gallery’s David McTague. “Not only will you see the second phase of the exhibition at the McKee Gallery, but we’ll also provide onboard entertainment and stop for a spot of afternoon tea. Before heading home, we’ll also drop by the Weston Park Museum and meet the artist at his concurrent show, The Boy With The Leg Named Brian.”
McKee Travel’s Yorkshire road trip from Harrogate to Sheffield on October 12
Here is the itinerary: 9.10am, coach departs Harrogate from RedHouse Gallery; 11am, arrive in Sheffield and visit Viva La Nan! at Leah’s Yard; 12.30pm, afternoon tea at the Chocolate Bar; 2pm, visit to McKee’s exhibition at Weston Park Museum; 4pm, coach to depart from Sheffield and arrive in Harrogate circa 5.40pm.
Ticket includes seat reservation on McKee Travel coach; on-board entertainment, including bingo; exclusive exhibition paraphernalia; priority entry to Viva La Nan! at Leah’s Yard; reservation at Chocolate Afternoon Tea Experience; entry to Pete McKee: The Boy With The Leg Named Brian; Meet & Greet with the artist at Weston Park Museum. For tickets, go to https://www.redhouseoriginals.com/shop/artwork/gift-voucher/mckee-travel-hgate-bus-ticket.
At RedHouse, in addition to Viva La Nan!, a selection of original archive paintings by Pete McKee will be on view in the first floor gallery rooms. Highlights include Room 414, McKee’s homage to legendary guitarist Robert Johnson: The King Of Delta Blues, and Music For Pleasure, an artwork created for Rhoda Dakar’s album Version Girl. On show too will be Gone To The Dogs, an exceptionally rare “early years” painting from 2003.
Acid House, from the Viva La Nan! series, by Pete McKee
In a further celebration of the Harrogate opening of Viva La Nan!, a selection of original McKee drawings will be available at exclusive Collector Prices, starting at £195, with all artworks signed by McKee and sold framed to the artist’s specifications, with selected works presented in vintage frames.
“I wanted to make my artwork accessible,” says Pete. “I want people to be able to have that pleasure of owning a piece of original artwork and looking at it every day, knowing that you own a bit of the artist’s soul.”
Pete McKee, Viva La Nan!, RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, September 27 to October 4, open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm; The McKee Gallery, Cambridge Street, Leah’s Yard, Sheffield, October 11. 10am to 5.30pm, and October 12, 11am to 4pm.
Sheffield artist Pete McKee
Pete McKee: back story
BORN in Sheffield in 1967, Pete McKee creates iconic and enduring images that reflect his experiences of growing up on a council estate, surrounded by working-class culture and humour.
This down-to-earth and nostalgic thread runs through all of his work and has gained him a worldwide following.
Comics were a large part of Pete’s childhood and he would read “any that he could get his hands on”, when Whizzer and Chips, The Dandy, The Beano and Hergé’s beloved Tintin were particular favourites.
Pete McKee at work on Viva La Nan!
Pete has collaborated with Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Oasis, Sir Paul Smith, Arctic Monkeys, Richard Hawley, Disney, Warp Films, Clarks Shoes, The Human League, Rega and BBC 6 Music. Noel Gallagher once phoned him to say that McKee’s painting of a child practising guitar on a bed summed up his youth. McKee fans include actress Maxine Peake and filmmaker Ken Loach.
Longstanding supporter of Teenage Cancer Trust Charity, designing concert posters for charity’s Royal Albert Hall shows.
Opened McKee Gallery in Sheffield in 2010, putting on first major exhibition in 2013, The Joy Of Sheff, and since then showcasing numerous shows such as Six Weeks To Eternity, 2016, This Class Works, 2018, and Frank and Joy: A Love Story, 2023.
Pete McKee in his studio
Now holding his longest-running exhibition yet, A Boy With A Leg Named Brian, at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, from November 29 2024 until November 2 2025.
Patron of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, Art+; one of his most notable annual projects being the charity’s Christmas card design.
Received honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 2018, when presented as a Doctor of Arts at that year’s graduation.
A work in progress for the Viva La Nan! series
In 2024, after more than a decade at Sharrow Vale Road, the McKee Gallery relocated to Leah’s Yard, Cambridge Street, in Sheffield city centre.
Pete’s modus operandi: “I’ve got my own path to plough and I do that regardless of what fashions are, or what the art world deems to be appropriate. I’ve got my own niche. It’s my world and I have people that follow me, like my work, and understand it. I just want people to enjoy what they see.”
Over the rainbow: Erin Childs’ Dorothy Gale performing the opening number in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz
APOLOGIES for taking so long to be off to see the Wizard – Prague holiday prevailed – but there is still time to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Grand Opera House.
That road starts outside the auditorium, a lovely welcoming touch by York Stage, whose abundantly colourful production is directed and produced by Nik Briggs, with fabulous ensemble choreography by Damien Poole and thrilling, resourceful musical direction by Jessica Viner, whose birthday happened to fall on the performance attended by your reviewer.
Such is the attention to detail that the Tannoy interval music includes Carry On Wayward Son by…Kansas, and it is to Kansas that we must head for L Frank Baum’s one heck of a weird story, so memorably converted from his 1900 novel to a film wonderland for Judy Garland as over-the-rainbow farm girl Dorothy Gale in 1939.
Vintage performance: Stu Hutchinson’s Tin Man
A-level student Erin Childs takes that iconic ruby slipper-clicking role in York Stage’s show, in tow with Toto, played by Briggs’s dog Freddie, leaving his mark on the production in more way than one with an urgent deposit, and, once on that yellow brick road by Elanor Kitchen’s puppet, handled so dextrously by puppeteer Sarah Jackson. No such mishap for the puppet.
Childs’ Dorothy hits the heights from the off with her rendition of Over The Rainbow, familiar yet with a finale that brings more resonance to the words. Kansas accent spot on, fringe flopping over her eyes, she leads Briggs’s high-spectacle staging of John Kane’s Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation with appropriate pluck and persistence, although her speaking voice tends towards being high pitched at times.
After the spectacular tornado de force of the storm scene, propelled by Adam Moore’s magical evocation of a twister that tosses Dorothy’s bed hither and thither, she is joined on the journey to Emerald City by Florence Poskitt’s Scarecrow, Stu Hutchinson’s Tin Man and Finn East’s Lion (having played the Guard in Pick Me Up Theatre’s 2018 production).
Magical: Carly Morton’s Glinda
Poskitt, one half of musical duo Fladam, is a supremely expressive physical comedic talent, perfectly suited to the wobbly legged, woolly thinking Scarecrow, but every so often her lines were wont to lose clarity as sentences lengthened. Nevertheless, her performance is a work of clowning joy.
Hutchinson’s Tin Man conducts himself like a matinee idol from a Hollywood cigarette card series with just the right air of camp. Even better is Finn East’s Lion, his natural stage warmth, playfulness and show-stealing presence on full throttle. If I Were King Of The Forest had always been one of the lesser tunes in Harold Arlen and EY Harburg’s score…until now, when East parades his full vocal range like a latterday Meat Loaf.
Carly Morton’s Aunt Em/Glinda spars splendidly with Emily Alderson’s curmudgeonly Miss Glutch and green-with-envy Wicked Witch of the West, while Ian Giles picks up where he left off in reprising his Pick Me Up dual roles as Professor Marvel and the Wizard Of Oz with avuncular aplomb, aided by a giant screen representation of the Wizard’s face with Giles’s distinctively thick head of hair.
The green party: a stylish ensemble scene in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz
Ensemble supporting roles for Munchkins, Winkies and more besides are played with abundant energy by adults and juniors alike, at their best in Munchkinland and especially The Jitterbug.
Briggs calls on the costume wizardry of Charades and Sheffield Theatres, as well as York Stage resources, while Shone Productions’ set is top notch too. The poppy field dance is a particular delight.
Viner works her musicians to full capacity, taking on such familiar songs with relish as York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz feels very much at home at the Grand Opera House.
York Stage in The Wizard Of Oz, Grand Opera House, York, tonight at 7.30pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Flo Poskitt’s Scarecrow, left, Stu Hutchinson’s Tin Man, Erin Childs’ Dorothy Gale and Finn East’s Lion in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz
The Coal Porters: Led by Sid Griffin at All Saints Church, Pocklington, on September 19
THE Coal Porters, the world’s first “alt-bluegrass” act, play All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight as one of “two (count ’em) encounters with church-based entertainment venues” on their nine-date tour.
Prominent figures in the UK Americana and bluegrass scene for 17 years, Sid Griffin’s band are back in the saddle throughout this month, performing one Yorkshire concert already at Filey Americana Festival at Filey Evron Centre on September 7.
In a further highlight, eighth-generation Kentuckian Griffin marked his 70th birthday with a special gig at the Water Rats, London, last night.
2025 has been quite a year for Long Ryders and Coal Porters frontman Griffin, both on the road and in the recording studio. “The Long Ryders have made a record and now The Coal Porters are firing up again for this tour,” he says.
Tonight AMA Award winner Griffin leads The Coal Porters at All Saints Church on vocals, mandolin, harmonica and autoharp, accompanied by Grammy winner and Adele string section leader Kerenza Peacock on fiddle and vocals; Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and vocals; Andrew Stafford on bass and Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals.
“We’ve played St Mary’s Creative Space, an absolutely beautiful church in Chester, and a deconsecrated church in Glasgow, so we love playing civic buildings of interest in any form or shape, which are worth their weight in plutonium,” says Sid. “If they can’t hear a choir singing the praises of the Lord, they can hear us.”
How does Sid know which of his songs will suit the his long-running American alternative country band The Long Ryders or the fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and doghouse bass, four-part harmonies and melodies of The Coal Porters’ alt. bluegrass?
“Some of the acoustic songs are really written in the singer-songwriter/troubadour tradition, and are not right for the scale of The Long Ryders, and likewise some songs need those drums and bass,” he says. “I can tell upon writing a song where it should go – and the audiences hardly ever disagree!
The tour poster for The Coal Porters’ September travels
“There’s a danger that you start writing songs that you know the band can play, and that’s a mistake as you have to challenge them to get out of their comfort zone. You really have to watch that. It’s one of the pitfalls.
“You have to extend yourself, but not too far, you have to be different, but not too far, which seems contradictory. The Ramones and Credence Clearwater Revival managed to do that, but it’s usually the point at which bands split.
“The Temptations changed, ZZ Top changed, but sometimes you can’t do that – and that’s the thing. I’ve always tried to traverse, with The Long Ryders experimenting and The Coal Porters being entertaining – and being told we’re too entertaining for hillbilly!”
Sid takes his point further. “We’ll take songs by Bob Dylan or David Bowie and we’ll ‘Porterise’ them, knowing we’re playing a Dylan/Bowie song but in a bluegrass form, being true to the idiom.
“The bluegrass police don’t like it. It’s like The Stanley Brothers again. People always want it to be better but different, and it’s pretty impossible to square the circle,” he says. “Traditionalists don’t like it but Coal Porters fans love us to death, so the question is, how do you make things better than yesterday?”
Should he shed the optimism in The Coal Porters’ performances, ponders Sid. “That would be a mistake when you have to entertain but also give the audience a mirror of what’s going, but are we giving them respite, an escape, from what’s going on?” he says.
“I take performances at least as seriously as recording. They’re staring at you; you have their complete, undivided attention. They’ve paid their money, they’re facing you, whereas at home they’re not paying as much attention to a screen.
“Live gigs are now so important because no-one’s making money out of albums. Merch stands are important too. People come up to ask me questions when it’s their moment to have that conversation with someone that has influence and they really want to give me their opinion.”
Singer, songwriter, band leader, musicologist, broadcaster and author Sid Griffin has lived in London for 33 years, where music will continue to frame his life. “It’s what I do, it’s what we do, as Robbie Robertson said of The Band. Good times, bad times, I make music. I don’t have riches or fame. I’m just happy,” he says, as he turns 70.
“It’s what I’ve been doing for a long time and I’ll keep doing it. I’m very pleased anyone wants to hear what I have to say. It’s very touching that these middle-aged guys, usually in their Clash and Ramones T-shirts, come with their wives and their kids and say what our music has done for them.”
Coming up next will be The Long Ryders’ sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2023’s September November. “It’ll be out in March/April. No title yet,” says Sid. “We recorded in a little town in the desert with producer Ed Stasium [who has worked with the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead and the Smithereens, among others].
“It was a really great experience to get together with the guys again. It’ll possibly be our last one but it was a lot of fun to do. Now we’ve got to be mix it for release in the spring.”
Hurricane Promotions present The Coal Porters, All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight, 7.30pm. Box office: sidgriffin.com/tour; Pocklington, ticketsource.co.uk/hurricane-promotions/the-coal-porters/2025-09-19/19:30/t-eaoqmak.
Alison times three in Fun Home: Libby Greenhill as ‘medium’ Alison, Claire Morley as Alison and Hattie Wells as ‘small’ Alison. Picture: Mike Darley
APOLOGIES for the tardiness of this review, delayed by five days of binging on Prague culture. Nevertheless, it is not too late to see Pick Me Up Theatre’s York premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s award-garlanded musical Fun Home.
Well, hopefully not too late to acquire a ticket for tonight or tomorrow. York Medical Society’s Theatre Room is one of York’s more compact performance spaces (capacity 60, for lectures; 45, for cabaret; 24, for board meetings). And now 40 for Fun Home.
Director-designer Robert Readman gives the portrait-bedecked room more of a drawing-room entertainment vibe, or maybe a parlour. Make that a funeral parlour, as a funeral home – or ‘Fun Home’ as the Beckdel family call their unconventional Pennsylvanian abode – is where ‘small’ Alison and brothers Christian (Oliver Smith) and John (Teddy Alexander) play and make up songs amid the coffins.
Young Alison (Hattie Wells) is one of three Alisons in Fun Home, whose story is drawn from cartoonist Alison Beckdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Omnipresent is adult Alison (Claire Morley), at the age of the 43 – the same age that her father, suicidal spoiler alert, stood in front of a truck – looking back on her childhood and her coming out at 19 at university in New York (‘medium’ Alison, played by 16-year-old Libby Greenhill).
“It’s such a moving and unusual story and I love the score and the book,” says Readman, who rates five-time Tony winner Fun Home among his very best productions.
He is not wrong. Hattie Wells reveals a precocious talent, so confident on stage already, singing brightly and delivering a spot-on American accent, as her Alison shows a preference for jeans over dresses and a love of drawing. Her solo rendition of Ring Of Keys, is a high-point of a musical that eschews an interval to achieve maximum impact.
Likewise Libby Greenhill shows maturity beyond her years in her account of ‘medium’ Alison, with her love of literature and first love for fellow student Joan (Britney Brett), expressed so humorously and passionately in the song I’m Changing My Major To Joan. She is particularly impressive in the scenes where she craves her parents’ response to telling them by letter that she is a lesbian.
Alison’s mother, Helen (Catherine Foster, in fine singing voice), is a professional actress, but the focus is on her home life, where husband Bruce (Dale Vaughan) is a towering mass of complexities, contradictions, gaslighting control and linear, intolerant thinking, yet with a teacher’s love of literature, a reckless streak and an expressive sideline in house restorations.
Doors to the Theatre Room are kept open for the corridor sounds of Bruce kicking out in anger, shouting in foul-mouthed froth at his wife and introducing ‘small’ Alison to her first dead body, adding to their shock value.
Bruce is homosexual, and not a closet one, openly hitting on students (played by Cain Branton) without regard for his wife’s feelings. Vaughan’s frank, fearless, frightening performance is one of the best on the York stage this year.
Everything is observed by Morley’s Alison, drawing and writing captions for her memoir, trying to make sense of it all, not least her father’s suicide, and she does so with a mixture of humour and tragedy in Morley’s first musical since her All Saints schooldays. And she really can sing! Who knew!
Oh, and if you miss tonight or tomorrow’s shows, you could always head to Manchester for the Royal Exchange production from July 3 to August 1 next summer.
Pick Me Up Theatre in Fun Home, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm Content guidance: Themes of LGBTQ+, suicide and strong language. Parental guidance: 12 plus. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/pickmeuptheatre.com.
The poster for Navigators Art’s YO Underground #5 bill at The Basement on Saturday
YORK arts collective Navigators Art will hold a Folk & Word Open Mic upstairs at The Artful Dodger, Micklegate, tonight and subsequently on the third Thursday of each month.
Poets and singers can sign up from 7pm for the 7.30pm start. “We welcome writers and ‘wordful’ acoustic musicians who’d like to share their work,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “Bring a poem, a guitar, a voice. All are welcome. We have a safe, friendly ethos. Access is by stairs only, sorry.” Entry is free with a purchase from the bar.
Navigators Art’s regular fulcrum of bold, left-field new music, words and performance will return to The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, for YO Underground #5 on Saturday at 7.30pm.
York flute and recorder player Carmen Tronsoco
“This edition features ethnic instruments, acoustic-electronic improvisation, words and guitar-based fusion, plus passionate new songwriting,” says Richard. “Expect bold, beautiful and adventurous sounds.”
On the bill will be Carmen Troncoso’s ethnic woody wind-blown instruments; York oboe musician Desmond Clarke & Osc~, featuring Barrington Brook, Iris Casling, Nika Ticciati and Gaia Blandina; No Spinoza’s words and guitar-based fusions, and a new York ‘supergroup’, the NSC Sound Union, combining members of Soma Crew, Namke Communications, Simon Micklethwaite and two others.
Carmen Tronsoco is a flautist, recorder player and creative researcher. “In my artistic projects, I explore imaginative ways of engaging with my instruments, viewing them not as mere tools but as autonomous entities — or even creatures — capable of unfolding and revealing their own character,” she says.
York oboe player Desmond Clarke
“My practice aims to express the evolving, dynamic relationship between human and non-human agents.”
Desmond Clarke’s performances explore the boundaries and overlaps between acoustic instruments and their electronically inflected mirror images. Osc~ is a loose collective of musicians, based in the north, interested in long-form improvised musical performances. Previous performances have included four, seven, eight and 24-hour-long improvised megastructures.
No Spinoza is Thomas Pearson, a musician, poet and artist from the north east whose music – electronic folk with an art-rock edge – has received airplay on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio York and on radio and playlists worldwide. His fourth album will be released later this year.
No Spinoza’s Thomas Pearson
As Thomas Pearson, his writing has been published in various books and magazines, from Litmus to the Architects’ Journal. His artwork has been exhibited at the National Poetry Library, the Royal Academy of Arts and as a large-scale landscape installation at RSPB Saltholme, near Middlesbrough.
NSC Sound Union, formed by members of long-standing York bands Neuschlaufen and Soma Crew, meets the two bands half way: the improvisation from Neuschlaufen versus the discipline of Soma Crew. “Find out at each show which one comes out on top,” says Richard. “It’s never the same show twice.”
