REVIEW: Albany Piano Trio,
British Music Society of York, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York,
February 14 ***
GHOSTS are not generally associated with St Valentine’s Day, but orchids certainly could be. We had both in the Albany Piano Trio’s outing for the British Music Society of York, with the headily perfumed trio by Ravel and some romantic seasoning by Bloch thrown in for good measure.
The
“Ghost” arrived courtesy of Beethoven’s Trio, Op 70 No 1, whose nickname it is
(though conferred by Czerny, not by the composer). There was plenty of
violence, as there should be, in the opening movement. But the players seemed
to be ploughing their own furrows and ensemble was not always as exact as it
might have been.
It
was just as well that Philippa Harrison kept her piano lid on the short stick
rather than wide open: she was in forceful mood all evening. Indeed, she was
regularly more characterful than her colleagues, who laboured very competently
but with intermittent ardour. But all three found the requisite ferocity for
the coda.
The
unnerving variations of the eerie slow movement were a little apologetic.
Beethoven does not hold back here, neither should performers. But its demons
were revived in the finale, thanks to the piano’s strong accents. They were
finally driven out by high cello and low violin – after some skeletal
pizzicatos – as the composer’s sardonic humour turned friendly at the close.
Victorian
“orchidelirium” – a mania for discovering and collecting orchids – inspired
Judith Bingham’s The Orchid And Its Hunters, an Albany commission that the trio
premiered in 2016. Its five brief sections are vignettes evoking dangerous
journeys to garner these exotic flowers from remote locations worldwide.
Their
diffuse colourings suggested impressionistic water-colours rather than
full-blown oils. They became gradually brisker as wide intervals and splashy
piano chords became smoother and, eventually, more urgent, as if the flowers
were under threat. The Albany were surefooted throughout, taking the changes in
their stride.
Swiss
by birth, Bloch wrote his only work for piano trio in 1924, the year he became
an American citizen. His Three Nocturnes proved rather engaging, largely
romantic and lyrical, though the percussive syncopation of the last one hinted
at modernity.
The
first movement of Ravel’s Piano Trio was the Albany’s best moment, its jumpy
rhythms clean and its acceleration finely calibrated. Pantoum, which follows,
became a volatile, piano-drive harlequinade, sharply contrasted with the
chorale-like Passacaille. Vigorous piano in the finale suggested fountains
spraying wildly in a gusty wind. This was all but a full-blown piano concerto.
The
Albany did enough to show that they are capable of considerable finesse. Not
enough of it was on show here, however. And they would be well advised to let
their fingers do the talking in place of under-prepared, under-projected spoken
intros. The Lyons is not a good place for speech.
Cellist Jamie Walton: “skill of a practised magician”. Picture: Wolf Marloh
REVIEW: York Guildhall Orchestra,
40th Anniversary Concert, York Barbican, February 15 *****
HAD I not been there myself, I
would have hardly believed that the Guildhall Orchestra (as it was then known
and is still popularly described) first saw the light of day 40 years ago.
It has been a marvellous four
decades. And still there is a sense of excited anticipation before its every
performance. We know we are in for something special.
Saturday’s
celebration, conducted by Simon Wright, was no exception. A Ravel suite, an
Elgar concerto and a Brahms symphony were leavened by a birthday cake of Celebratory
Fantasy Variations baked by the founder himself, John Hastie.
His tasty pastiche wove myriad
musical allusions – including Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Ravel, Vaughan Williams,
Britten, even a samba – into variations on Happy Birthda’. As the piece finished,
the audience even got to join in with the song’s last line (wisely, after a
rehearsal). Good fun.
Ravel’s
Mother Goose featured on the opening night in 1980. Here it was again in all
its gentle finery, giving us a chance to admire again the nicely controlled
talents of the woodwinds: sinuous oboe for Tom Thumb’s walk, for example, and
clarinet and contrabassoon representing Beauty and the Beast, not forgetting
nifty xylophone (Janet Fulton) and rippling harp (Georgina Wells).
We
are fortunate indeed to have a cellist of international standing living right
on the edge of the North York Moors. Jamie Walton must have played Elgar’s
concerto countless times, but surely never as spellbindingly as this.
He achieved his intensity,
paradoxically, through subtle understatement, drawing in his audience with the
skill of a practised magician. The opening was steeped in a very English
melancholy. The jagged figure at the start of the Allegro spoke volumes about
the scherzo to come and Walton’s clarity at the top of his range was startling.
The
slow movement was beautifully, mouth-wateringly, spacious. Every rest was made
to count, delicately caressed. This kind of playing is risky: it can easily
backfire. Not here. Walton was exactly on Elgar’s wavelength, finding solace in
an elegant cantilena.
Fireworks, such as they were, came
in the finale, but nostalgia was never far from the surface, not least when the
work’s opening motto was rekindled just before the close. All the while, the
orchestra kept in very crisp attendance, typified by the brass interjections in
the finale. I have heard this work dozens of times, but was never quite
persuaded of its logic. Until now. The conjunction of two such intelligent
musicians as Simon Wright and Jamie Walton delivered an intricate precision
that is extremely rare. It will live in the memory.
Inevitably,
perhaps, Brahms’s Second Symphony was not going to reach quite this level. But
it brought catharsis of a kind, while showcasing the orchestra’s three choirs:
strings, winds and brass. Violin ensemble in the first movement had a wonderful
sweep, conjuring pastoral moods; they were enhanced by Jonny Hunter’s solo
horn. The cumulative effect of this huge movement was majestic. Not to be
outdone the cellos, who are in equally fine fettle, took centre stage in an
introspective Adagio.
The
paint-box of the orchestra, the woodwinds, enjoyed their moment in the
spotlight in the Allegretto, sparkling into a sunlit momentum and recapturing
it again at the finish after several distractions. Showing admirable stamina,
the whole orchestra combined for a finale of exuberant brilliance, reaching a
peak when the trombones returned in the coda.
This
orchestra is one of the treasures that makes living in York such a delight.
Roll on its half century!
ROMEO Stodart, lead singer and principal songwriter for The Magic Numbers, will play as a one-man band at The Basement, City Screen, York, tomorrow night (February 17).
“I’ve decided to do a few solo shows mainly because I’ve never done them before, so it’ll be a very different and new experience for me,” says Romeo, 43.
“I’ve got so many pieces of music that haven’t yet found a home, as they’re not necessarily Magic Numbers songs, and I think it’d be a great opportunity to play them and bring them to life in front of people.”
Romeo wants his solo gigs to be unique, liberating, intimate and engaging. “I need you to be there for them with an open mind and open heart,” he says. “There’s nothing to fear as our band is forever, but I’m really excited by these dates. Hope you are too.
“You can hear what some of our songs sound like in the way that they were first conceived or a new interpretation, but the main emphasis will be on the new and the journey of the night.”
Formed in Ealing in 2002, The Magic Numbers have five albums to their name: 2005’s million-selling, Mercury Music Prize-nominated, self-titled debut; 2006’s Those The Brokes; 2010’s The Runaway, 2014’s Alias and 2018’s Outsiders.
Making up the Numbers are two pairs of brothers and sisters: Sean and Angela Gannon and Romeo and Michele Stodart, who were born to Scottish father and Portuguese mother on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, where their mother was an opera singer with her own TV show.
Tomorrow’s 8pm concert is presented by York promoters Under The Influence; tickets for An Evening With Romeo Stodart cost £14 on 0871 902 5726, at thebasementyork.co.uk/romeo-stodart or on the door.
Food Glorious Food: the Young People’s Ensemble give it plenty in Oliver!. All pictures: Tom Arber
REVIEW: Oliver!, York Light Opera Company, York Theatre Royal, until February 22. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
DAME Berwick Kaler’s 41 years at York Theatre Royal
have come to an end, but one company with an even longer run there is still
rolling out the productions after 60 years.
York Light have chosen to mark another 60th anniversary by staging Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, first performed in the West End in 1960.
This latest revival of a perennial favourite utilises David Merrick and Donald Albert’s Broadway stage version, here directed and choreographed by Martyn Knight on an expansive set with walkways, bustling London streets, the drab workhouse, smart townhouse and the underworld of Fagin’s dingy den.
The show opens with a death outside the workhouse,
and the dead woman being promptly stripped of her necklace by an older woman:
welcome to dark Dickensian London.
Rory Mulvihill’s Fagin and Jonny Holbek’s Bill Sikes in York Light’s Oliver!. Picture: Tom Arber
Once inside, Food Glorious Food bursts into life, the first of so many familiar Lionel Bart songs, choreography well drilled, the young people’s ensemble lapping up their first big moment (even if their bowls are empty already!).
The directorial polish in Hunter’s show is established immediately; likewise, the playing of John Atkin’s orchestra is rich and in turn warm and dramatic. These will be the cornerstones throughout in a show so heavy on songs, with bursts of dialogue in between that sometimes do not catch fire by comparison with the fantastic singing.
This review was of the first night, leaving time
aplenty for the acting to raise to the level of the songs, but there really does
need to be more drama, for example, from all the adults in Oliver and Dodger’s
pickpocketing scene. Likewise, spoiler alert, Nancy’s death scene fails to
shock, although Jonny Holbek elsewhere has the menace in voice and demeanour
for Bill Sikes. Even his dog Bullseye looks scared of him.
Playing the nefarious Fagin for a second time, with a stoop, straggly hair and wispy beard, stalwart Rory Mulvihill has both the twinkle in his eye and the awareness of the fading of the light, characteristics he brings to the contrasting ensemble numbers You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two and Be Back Soon and the reflective, sombre solo Reviewing The Situation.
Jonathan Wells’s Mr Sowerberry and Annabel Van Griethuysen’s Mrs Sowerberry with Matthew Warry’s Oliver (alternating the role with Alex Edmondson)
Overall, the company could take a lead from Neil
Wood’s Mr Bumble and Pascha Turnbull’s Widow Twankey in their hanky-panky I
Shall Scream scene, full of humour, sauce and pleasing characterisation.
Alex Edmondson’s truculent Oliver and Jack Hambleton’s chipper Dodger bond well, especially in Consider Yourself; Jonathan Wells’s Mr Sowerberry and Annabel Van Griethuysen’s Mrs Sowerberry are in fine voice. Her singing is even better, creamier you might say, for the Milkmaid, when joined by Sarah Craggs’s Rose Seller, Helen Eckersall’s Strawberry Seller, Richard Bayton’s Knife Grinder and Edmondson’s Oliver for Who Will Buy?, always beautiful and deeply so here.
Emma Louise Dickinson’s Nancy gives Act Two opener
Oom-Pah-Pah plenty of oomph, and although As Long As He Needs Me sits uncomfortably
on modern ears with its seeming tolerance of domestic abuse, she gives that
bruised ballad everything twice over.
Reviewing the present situation, the singing is
strong, moving and fun when it should be, but, please sir, your reviewer wants
some more from the non-singing scenes, and then he might be back soon.
Hail Caesar: English Touring Opera are bringing Giulio Cesare to York Theatre Royal in early April. Picture: Oliver Rosser
ENGLISH Touring Opera will be performing
in both the main house and Studio on their return to York Theatre Royal this
spring.
Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte will be staged on April 3 and Handel’s Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) on April 4, both at 7.30pm, in the bigger space; next door will be The Extraordinary Adventures Of You And Me, for young children, at 11am and 2pm on the Saturday.
Directed by Laura Attridge, conducted by Holly Mathieson and sung in English, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte is a story of young love and fidelity that combines glorious music and farcical comedy in his third collaboration with librettist Da Ponte after The Marriage Of Figaro and Don Giovanni.
Giulio Cesare, Handel’s epic opera of passion and revenge, is built on “a treasure trove of great arias with immense dramatic intensity”, set in the wake of Julius Caesar’s conquest of Egypt as his uneasy alliance and romance with fabled Egyptian queen Cleopatra unfurls.
Sung in Italian with English surtitles, ETO’s touring show is an adapted revival of their 2017 production, led by artistic director James Conway and conductorJonathan Peter Kenny, who will lead the Old Street Band. Both ETO’s April 3 and 4 performances will be preceded by a 6.30pm pre-show talk.
The
Extraordinary Adventures Of You And Me is the latest instalment of fun,
engaging and interactive operas for children and young audiences, after Laika The
Spacedog, Waxwings, Paradise Planet, Shackelton’s Cat and This Is
My Bed.
The 11am and 2pm audiences will meet the hero, Mackenzie, as they prepare to travel through time and space. On a school trip to a museum, Mackenzie discovers that a pencil case is full of magical worlds. “Who knows who you will meet and where you will visit along the way, so take a deep breath and expect the unexpected” say ETO of a show created by composer Omar Shahryar and writer/director Ruth Mariner.
ETO’s performance is suitable for Key Stage 1 and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) audiences. The story features five performers, including singers and players, an ingenious set, interactive songs and sound technology and is recommended for two to five-year-old children.
Tickets are on sale on 01904 623568, at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or in person from the Theatre Royal box office.
The album artwork for Ronan Keating’s new album, released this spring
TWENTY years since releasing his
chart-topping debut solo album, Boyzone’s Ronan Keating will mark the anniversary
with a new record and tour, taking in York Barbican on June 19.
That night, the Irish boy band graduate will be promoting an album perfectly entitled for this year, Twenty Twenty, out on May 1 on the Decca Records label.
Tickets go on sale on February 21 at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person from the Barbican box office.
Dubliner Keating, who will turn 43 on March 3, describes Twenty Twenty as “a greatest hits of brand new music”. To
help him celebrate the 20th anniversary of his self-titled debut, he made
two inspired choices: to dive into his back catalogue torevisit
three of his biggest hits and, for some new numbers, call in some friends.
Ronan Keating’s 20th anniversary solo album will be “a greatest hits of brand new music”
First single One Of A Kind, despite its title, is a duet, wherein the Irishman is joined by Emeli Sandé. “I guess I’ve been known for those first dance songs at weddings and this has me written all over it,” says Keating. “It’s all about the night before the wedding, the day of the wedding and spending the rest of your life together.”
He decided the song demanded a duet
partner, and for Ronan there was only one choice: the Sunderland-born,
Scottish-raised Sandé.“I was completely honoured when Emeli said she’d
love to do it,” he says. “I was just blown away by her vocal. She’s obviously
got a brilliant voice, and she’s a lovely, warm person, so the personality
she’s brought to the song is just incredible.”
Two of a kind: the single cover for One Of A Kind replicates Twenty Twenty except for the addition of Emeli Sande
For Twenty Twenty, Keating had production
assistance from his longstanding wingman, Steve Lipson, who has worked with
such big hitters as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Annie Lennox, Simple
Minds, and Whitney Houston. Names of further collaborators and track titles will
be revealed in due course, but Keating teases by revealing those collaborators
comprise some of his closest musical and chart-topping friends.
Over the past 20 years, Keating has
chalked up 30 consecutive Top Ten solo singles, ten studio albums,
multiple tours and 20 million records sales on top of 25 million sold with
Boyzone, as well as judging on The X Factor and The Voice in Australia; acting in
television drama and film; playing Guy in the romantic Irish hit, Once The
Musical, in the West End and co-hosting Magic FM’s breakfast show.
Over the past 12 months, he has worked tirelessly on an album that celebrates a longevity he does not take for granted. “There’s not a lot of artists that have been lucky enough to do 20 years and still be here,” he says, appreciative too of sustaining solo and band careers. “I’m very honoured to have had that, so I wanted to mark it with an album like this.”
Ronan Keating last played a York concert in July 2018 with Boyzone at the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend
In York, Keating last performed with Boyzone at a York Racecourse Music Showcase post-racing show on July 28 2018 on their 25th anniversary tour. His last solo appearance in the city was at York Barbican on September 21 2016. Last summer, the dangers posed by a massive thunderstorm led to his open-air solo concert at Castle Howard, near York, on August 4 being cut short.
York violinist Paul Milhau: music, coffee, tea and a chat on a relaxed afternoon
YORK professional violinist Paul Milhau will perform
February 20’s Dementia Friendly Tea Concert at St Chad’s Church, Campleshon
Road, York.
His 45-minute classical concert of solo violin pieces will
be followed by tea, coffee, homemade cakes and a chance to chat.
Milhau’s 2.30pm programme will combine two partitas by J S
Bach with Eugène Ysaye’s lovely second sonata in a
relaxed atmosphere suitable for anyone who might not feel able to attend a
formal classical event.
No admission charge applies but donations are welcome. Please
note, there is a small car park at the church, along with street parking on
Campleshon Road. Disabled access is via the hall.
Jeff Beck: playing York Barbican for the first time this spring
GUITAR great Jeff
Beck will play York Barbican on May 19 on his nine-date British tour.
Tickets for the two-time Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame inductee and serial Grammy Award winner will go on sale on Friday, February 14 at 10am.
Joining blues,
rock and jazz guitarist Beck on tour will be Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Rhonda
Smith on bass and Vanessa Freebairn-Smith on cello.
Beck’s tour will begin on May 17, taking in a second Yorkshire show at Sheffield City Hall on May 23 and climaxing with a London finale at the Royal Albert Hall on May 26 and 27.
Over the
course of a career stretching beyond 50 years, Beck has won eight Grammy awards;
been ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of
All Time and been inducted into the Rock’n’Roll
Hall of Fame, both with The Yardbirds and solo.
Beck replaced
Eric Clapton as The Yardbirds’ lead guitarist in 1965, going on to form The
Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart on vocals and Ronnie Wood on bass. So much has
followed and, now 75, the Wallington-born guitarist is working on new music for
release in 2020 on Rhino/Warner Records.
From Friday, tickets for Beck’s York Barbican debut will be available at yorkbarbican.co.uk and myticket.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person at the Barbican box office.Sheffield tickets: sheffieldcityhall.co.uk, myticket.co.uk or 0114 278 9789.
STORYTELLER, poet and BBC Radio 4 regular John Osborne returns
to Pocklington Arts Centre on Thursday to present his beautiful, funny and
uplifting new theatre show about music and dementia.
Last March,
he performed a quietly spoken double bill of John Peel’s Shed and Circled In
The Radio Times in the bar; intimate, convivial storytelling in an intimate,
convivial space.
Now, inspired by seeing a friend’s father face a dementia
diagnosis and the feelings of warmth and positivity and unexpected twists and
turns the family went through, he has put together You’re In A Bad Way.
“This is the fifth theatre show I’ve made and it’s definitely my favourite,” says Osborne. “That’s because I never planned to write about something as personal as dementia, and I’d never written about such a big topic before, which I felt was intimidating and other writers would do it.
“But I was faced with this dilemma when my friend’s father was
diagnosed with dementia a couple of years ago. It was a really interesting
thing to observe, because though it was horrible and terrifying and sad, it was
also beautiful and magical with special moments.
“It felt like such a beautiful story that I wanted to tell. Just
because you’ve been diagnosed with something, it doesn’t mean it’s the end.”
Osborne recalls the circumstances behind his friend’s
revelation. “My friend and I go to Glastonbury every summer. We started at 21
and we’ve been going for 17 years now and we never miss a year,” he says.
“So, it was one of those sweet things we like to do, but it was
at Glastonbury she told me about her father. Glastonbury is kind of where these
things do happen, when you’re spending so much time together.
“I was saying I felt I was getting too old for Glastonbury, for putting
up tents and the like, and it was then she suddenly told me about her dad’s
dementia, and I thought, ‘what’s happening to us?’. But everyone has these
stories, don’t they?”
This set in motion You’re In A Bad Way. “I started thinking
about my relationships, friendships; growing up and now not being as young as
you used to be, but also about having the luxury of growing old, and then my
friend’s father dementia diagnosis,” says Osborne. “I also found myself
thinking about how music plays an important part in our lives.”
Gradually, music and dementia joined in union as Osborne wrote
the show. “Initially, I was looking at music from my own point of view, but the
more I researched dementia, sport and music were two things that were so important
to dementia patients,” he says.
“Like hearing an old commentary from a cup final their favourite
team won. Someone who has been unresponsive to any stimulus can suddenly go back
to where they first heard that commentary.
“It’s the same with music, where they can remember the lyrics
from years ago, but can’t now remember who anyone is.”
Before he went ahead with You’re In A Bad Way, Osborne sought
his friend’s approval for him to talk about her family’s story on stage. “She
works in theatre and said she was happy if a theatre show did discuss these
things,” he recalls.
The poster artwork for John Osborne’s dementia-and-music show You’re In A Bad Way
When premiering the show at last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, Osborne
spent time at a dementia care centre in the Scottish capital to ensure he was
fully informed about the experience of caring for someone with dementia.
“I met these fantastic women at LifeCare Edinburgh, and we
talked about what they do and how they wanted to raise awareness of what they
do,” says Osborne. “We raised money at the end of every performance to give to
LifeCare.
“It was really good to get information and stories from them and
to be able to repay them by mentioning LifeCare at each show.”
Osborne says that every time he performs You’re In A Bad Way, he
learns new things about dementia. For example, the feeling of isolation when confronted
by loved one falling into the black hole
of dementia. “If you’ve got a parent with dementia, it can be very hard to
communicate about it with your friends, as your relationship with your family
is so specific to you,” he says.
“In the case of my friend, her response was to drop everything to
support her father, whereas her sister couldn’t deal with it at all and wasn’t
there for him. She ran away from it.
“But whatever your reaction, there are thousands of reasons for
why people do what they do in those circumstances.
“That’s why I wanted to do my research and not be out of my
comfort zone when people tell me their own stories at the shows. I’ve met
people who have stayed and supported; I’ve met people who ran away.”
Looking
forward to Thursday’s Pock performance, what tone can the audience expect? “As
it’s such a big topic, I’ve tried to make the show funny and life affirming and
relatable,” says Osborne.
“I don’t
want it to be sad or serious; I think it’s important for it to be a good story
to someone who has no association with dementia, as well as being sensitive to
those who live surrounded by the illness.”
Osborne is busy writing his next show for this summer’s
Edinburgh Fringe. “After two serious shows, You’re In A Bad Way, and before
that, Circled In The Radio Times, which was also about getting older, I
thought, ‘I really want to write something fun’,” he says, introducing My Car
Plays Tapes.
“I’d had my first car for years, but it broke down. I did my John
Peel’s Shed tour in it, and that’s partly why it broke down, when a little
Fiesta isn’t meant to do that many miles, with a box of records in the back.
“So, I got the cheapest replacement car possible, with no
electric windows, no CD player, but it’s got a tape player. Suddenly I was
re-united with the tapes I made when I was 16, when I would have had no reason
to listen to them again otherwise.
“That’s set me off writing about being forced to re-visit your
past.” Hopefully, the resulting show will make its way to Pocklington
post-Edinburgh Fringe.
In the meantime, tickets for Thursday’s 7.30pm performance of You’re In A Bad Way are on sale at £10 on 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk or £12 on the door, with a special price of £9 for a carer of someone with dementia.
BONNEVILLE And
The Bailers, the York band du jour you just have to see, will play The Crescent
in York on February 20.
“This show is
what I’ve been working towards for the past six months with my fabulous new
band The Bailers,” says Bonnie Milnes, the fast-rising York combo’s singer and country-noir
songwriter. “I’ve loved smashing out hits with these world-class musicians and
can’t wait to take it to the stage at a venue I’ve always dreamed of
headlining.
“Next Thursday’s audience can expect a mix of heart break and
full-frontal sass as I write material on some tough times with some kickass
comeback songs. I’d describe the show as feminist, sexy and straight from
heart.”
Before then, on Wednesday, Bonnie is “so excited to be sharing a new single, Baby Drive, with an absolutely beautiful video shot by Luke Downing on a beautiful day at Rufforth Airfield, starring myself and my best friend and bass player Jack Garry”. “The song’s about thinking you’re in love with your best friend,” she says.
Bonnie Milnes and Jack Garry in a still from Luke Downing’s video for Baby Drive, Bonneville And The Bailers’ new single. View the video at https://youtu.be/h6H9Va9RNjA
Looking ahead, Bonnie says: “We don’t have any other York shows lined up
but we have got an exciting little tour of gigs that kicks off tomorrow
(February 11) in Hull [at 9.15pm at The Sesh at The Polar Bear, in Spring Bank]
and we’ll be supporting York’s own Benjamin Francis Leftwich at Komedia, Brighton,
on February 26.”
Meanwhile, Bonnie has been building a rehearsal studio with Young
Thugs’ sound technician Matt Woollons. “Called Boom, this has been my base for
writing, rehearsing and – before long – recording something new,” she says.
Tickets for February 20 cost £8 at eventbrite.co.uk/e/bonnie-and-the-bailers or seetickets.com, or in person from Earworm Records, in Powells Yard, Goodramgate, or The Crescent, off Blossom Street. Alternatively, pay more on the door from 7.30pm.
