Music – Page 20 – charleshutchpress

February 15, 2025February 24, 2025

More Things To Do in York and beyond when Viking beards roam the streets. Hutch’s List No. 7, from The York Press

Stag burning at the Jorvik Viking Festival. More fun and games next week. Picture: Charlotte Graham

THE boat-burning Vikings are back as Charles Hutchinson looks forward to an action-packed February half-term.

Festival of the week: 40th anniversary Jorvik Viking Festival, York, February 17 to 23

A NEW Viking longship, a sword that never misses its target and recreations of the world’s largest fossilised poo take centre stage at Europe’s largest Viking Festival over half-term. Five days of Norse fun, living history, hands-on combat and lectures culminate in a parade of more than 200 Vikings through the historic streets on February 22 and two dramatic evening son-et-lumière shows.

A free living history encampment takes over Parliament Street with an array of tents featuring craftsmen and traders, with the opportunity to handle replica armour and weapons. For the full programme and to book tickets, go to jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk.

Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods, seated, with Bruiser, the Chihuahua (played by Lily), in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

The power of pink musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, until February 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees today, February 20 and 22

JOIN Elle Woods, a seemingly ditzy sorority girl with a heart of gold, as she tackles Harvard Law School to win back her man. Along the way, Elle discovers her own strength and intelligence, “proving that you can be both blonde and brilliant”.

Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods leads Martyn Knight’s 35-strong cast in this feel-good, sassy and stylish show with its powerful message of staying true to yourself, booted with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

David O’Doherty: Irish humour and song at Grand Opera House, York

Comedy show of the week: David O’Doherty, Tiny Piano Man, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 8pm

THE dishevelled prince of €10 eBay keyboards tries to make you feel alive with a pageant of Irish humour, song and occasionally getting up from a chair. “It’s gonna be a big one,” says Dublin comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright David O’Doherty, star of The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2024 and Along For The Ride With David O’Doherty. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Chloe Petts: Getting personal in How You See Me, How You Don’t at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Alternative comedy gig of the week: Chloe Petts, How You See Me, How You Don’t, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm

CHLOE Petts returns with a new show and this time she’s getting personal. Between her newly found trolls, ‘oldly’ found school bullies and an excellent relationship with her food tech teacher, she brings her trademark ‘laddishness’ to tell you who she really is, all while her Head Girl badge glistens on her chest. Box office for returns only: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Gareth Gates: Turning romantic crooner in a Valentine mood at York Barbican

Romantic concert of the week: Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies – A Valentine Special, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

EXTENDING the St Valentine’s Day vibes to the weekend, Bradford singer Gareth Gates combines beloved ballads from classic films with the electrifying energy of up-tempo hits, from Unchained Melody to Dirty Dancing, in a celebration of love stories that have graced the silver screen.

Joining the 2002 Pop Idol alumnus and musical star will be Wicked actress Maggie Lynne, Dutch singer Britt Lenting, Performers College graduate Dan Herrington and a four-piece band. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Abbie Budden’s Annette Hargrove in Bill Kenwright Ltd’s production of Cruel Intentions: The’90s Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday. Picture: Pamela Raith

Dangerous liaison of the week: Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 18 to 22, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Wednesday, 2.30pm; Friday, 5pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

CREATED by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble from Kumble’s 1999 film spin on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, this American musical is powered by the 1990s’ pop gold dust of Britney Spears, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, TLC, R.E.M., Ace Of Base, Natalie Imbruglia and The Verve.

Step siblings Sebastian Valmont (Will Callan) and Kathryn Merteuil (Nic Myers) engage in a cruel bet, where Kathryn goads Sebastian into attempting to seduce Annette Hargrove (Abbie Budden), the headmaster’s virtuous daughter. Weaving a web of secrets and temptation, their crusade wreaks havoc on the students at their exclusive Manhattan high school. Soon the dastardly plotters become entangled in their own web of deception and unexpected romance, with explosive results. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Stuart Green’s police inspector, Truscott, left, and Miles John’s thief, Dennis, in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ production of Loot

Scandalous play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Loot, York Theatre Royal Studio, February 18 to 27, 7.45pm except February 23; 2pm, February 22

KATIE Leckey directs the Settlement Players in agent provocateur Joe Orton’s scabrous 1965 farce, the one with two thieves, dodgy police officers, adult themes, offensive language, sexism and xenophobia, references to sexual assault, including rape and necrophilia, a live actor playing a dead body in a coffin and digs at the Roman Catholic Church.

Don’t let that put you off! Yes, it still carries a content warning and age recommendation of 16 upwards, but it remains outrageously funny. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Wharfemede Productions director Helen Spencer, centre, rehearsing her role as Marmee in Little Women with Connie Howcroft’s Jo, left, Catherine Foster’s Meg, Rachel Higgs’s Beth and Tess Ellis’s Amy. Picture: Matthew Warry

Marching on together: Wharfemede Productions: Little Women – The Broadway Musical, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 18 to 22, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

HELEN Spencer directs York company Wharfemede Productions in their first solo show, playing Marmee too in Allan Knee, Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein’s musical account of Louisa May Alcott’s story of the March sister – traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy – growing up in Concord, Massachusetts, while their chaplain father is away serving during the American Civil War. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Ugg’n’Ogg tell the story of The World’s First Dogg at Milton Rooms, Malton

Children’s play of the week: Rural Arts presents Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 20, 2pm

IN the fresh sparkling world just after the last Ice Age, there were no dogs. How, then, did we attain our best friend and the world’s number one pet? Luckily for us, along came young hunter gatherers Ugg‘n’Ogg to pal up with the wolves, Tooth’n’Claw, to defy flying meat bones, raging forest infernos and even a time-travelling stick to invent the dog.

This original play for pooch lovers aged three upwards highlights the evolutionary transition from lupine to canine in a show full of physical comedy, puppets, music and song. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

In Focus: Exhibition refresh: Secrets Of Dress, Yorkshire Castle Museum, Fashion Gallery, Eye of York, York, from February 15

Fashion exhibits in the Secrets Of Dress exhibition at York Castle Museum. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

YORK Castle Museum’s Fashion Gallery has been refreshed, remodelled and enhanced for 2025 with new items and fresh interpretations to show Secrets Of Dress from the Middle Ages to the opening decades of the 21st century.

Not merely a fashion exhibition, this re-boot is an opportunity to look at dress and textiles from the perspective of social history, exploring what clothes and accessories can reveal about our lives and experiences.

Every object has a secret to tell, hence Secrets Of Dress provides insights into ways of life that are very different to today and yet relatable. From 400-year-old sequins to Second World War utility shoes, from the cottage industry of old Yorkshire to the factory-produced fashions of the industrial age, this is social history brought alive by the story of dress.

Dr Faye M Prior, Curator of Social History, with a 1970s’ outfit designed by Angela Holmes for her York-based fashion brand Droopy & Browns. The outfit was kindly donated by Angela’s sister, Leone Cockburn, and her niece, Clare Cockburn. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

This bespoke exhibition has been updated for the 21st century with a new section focusing on the City of York: York Makers. Thanks to the diligent research of York Castle Museum volunteers, York Makers presents York-made clothing, textiles and textile-working tools from the Middle Ages to the present day, alongside the stories of the people who made and used them.

York Makers celebrates creative people who lived and worked in York, some of whom contributed nationally as well as regionally to fashion.

On display are outfits by York-based designers Angela Holmes, founder of Droopy & Browns, and Vivien Smith, founder of Vivien Smith Simply Clothes. These two entrepreneurs created iconic fashion brands that offered distinctive styles on the high street from the 1960s to the early 2000s.

Gloves made of straw from the Secrets Of Dress exhibition at York Castle Museum. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

Other York Makers include Victorian shirtmaker Herbert Morris Crouch, who ran his own shop on Coney Street, and Mrs Maria Cook, the dressmaker whose ‘Made In York’ label sparked the volunteer research project.

Secrets Of Dress showcases 500 years of clothing, accessories and textiles, including items never displayed until now. Every object has something to tell, and many show repairs and adaptations, revealing how practices thought to be modern, such as ‘upcycling’ and ‘remaking’, have a long tradition.

Displayed in an accessible and fun way, iconic items and textiles from the 1960s and 1970s will be recognisable immediately. Visitors can touch, feel and try on costumes re-created by costume designer Naomi Pugh – aka ‘Nomes’ – of Textiles by Gnomes, and enjoy family trails with Little Spotters Trails, including a colouring page for creative little ones.

York Castle Museum is open Monday, 11am to 5pm; Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Tickets: adult £17; child £10.20; concessions available. Tickets are valid for 12 months. Children of York residents enter for free.

Visitors taking a close look at clothing and shoes in the Secrets Of Dress exhibition at York Castle Museum. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

February 13, 2025February 13, 2025

Wharfemede Productions go Marching on together in Little Women – The Broadway Musical at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Connie Howcroft rehearsing her role as Jo March in Little Women – The Broadway Musical. Picture: Matthew Warry

BURGEONING York company Wharfemede Productions will stage their first solo production, Little Women – The Broadway Musical, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, from February 18 to 22.

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868-1869 semi-autobiographical novel, the American musical focuses on the four March sisters – traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy – and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the American Civil War.

Vignettes wherein their lives unfold are intercut with several re-creations of the melodramatic short stories that Jo writes in her attic studio in a musical featuring a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland.

“Rarely produced in the UK since its Broadway debut in 2005, this is a unique opportunity for musical and literary lovers to see this fabulous adaptation,” says director Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ chief artistic director and co-founder.

“Little Women is a character-driven musical with family and friendship at the heart of this beloved story. I fell in love with the musical the first time I listened to it and having never seen it on stage. The score is beautiful, rousing and reflects the traditional setting of the piece, with spectacular group numbers and heartfelt solos.”

Helen continues: “As Wharfemede’s first independent production, it was the perfect size company and we are incredibly lucky to have some of the best performers in York in our ten-strong cast.

Wharfemede Productions director Helen “Bells” Spencer, centre, rehearsing her role as Marmee in Little Women with Connie Howcroft’s Jo, left, Catherine Foster’s Meg, Rachel Higgs’s Beth and Tess Ellis’s Amy. Picture: Matthew Warry

“Leading our cast as the passionate and fiery Jo March will be the incredible Connie Howcroft. I knew that Connie had sung Astonishing, the most famous song from the show, in her graduation ceremony several years ago so, ‘some things are meant to be’.

“Having performed with Connie several times, there was no doubt in my mind that she was perfect for this challenging role, with her incredible vocals and strength as an actor.”

Connie was familiar with the musical from her student days. “I knew quite a lot about it because I explored it when I was studying for my musical theatre degree at Hull College of Arts [from 2014 to 2017],” she says.

“A friend used one of the songs in her singing assessment, and I thought, ‘ooh, that sounds really nice”! I already knew the book, researched the show and then sang Astonishing, in my degree final ceremony performance – which ‘Bells’ saw on YouTube!”

When “Bells” asked Connie if she would be interested in performing in Little Women, “I said ‘yeah, sure, it’s a great musical’, and so me and Jo March were brought together,” she says.

Did she always have her eyes on that particular role? “Absolutely, 100 per cent, because she’s just a great character! I have many similarities with her, which is helpful in playing a character,” she says.

“She’s so self-aware until she’s not; she knows what she wants until she doesn’t. When something in her life throws her off balance, she always strives to do more. She loves her family, but she wants more than that from her life, so she’s always pulled between her family and what she believes her dreams should lead to. Her passions are always being challenged.”

Rachel Higgs’s Beth March, left, and Connie Howcroft’s Jo March rehearsing a scene for Wharfemede Productions’ Little Women. Picture: Matthew Warry

Connie has to accommodate her acting passions while working full-time as an events lead for an education company, teaching leadership skills to teachers in Westminster and Central Hall, London. “I do the preparatory work from York, sometimes working with people remotely on Zoom, then travel to London to do the events,” she says. “For this show, I did have to miss one rehearsal in late-January for a two-day event.”

She needs the balance of work and play. “Without having some form of performance outlet in my life, I don’t feel happy,” says Connie. “I grew up singing in the Q church in York from the age of 16, putting on Christmas productions too.

“I feel I always need to have singing in my life, but I’m careful about how I spread my time, as I’m a mum as well, to Riley, who’s 13 – and he does lead the life of Riley!

“But when I commit to a performance, I’m 1,000 per cent into it to do everyone proud and to make sure the production is the best it can be.”

Like Connie, “Bells” Spencer has found the balance between her love of performance – once her professional career, running a theatre company – and her work as a doctor in York. “I’m very passionate about the work I do for the NHS but I also get to do the thing I love as a hobby, putting in 100 per cent to make a performance of a standard I would want and expect to see,” she says.

Formed by “Bells” and chief operating officer Nick Sephton, Wharefemede Productions made their debut last October, staging Jason Browne’s The Last Five Years in tandem with fellow York company Black Sheep Theatre Productions.

“The aim of Wharfemede Productions is to have a good time with a good work ethic, where it’s all about being supportive of each other and being a team,” she says.

Joining Connie in Little Women will be Catherine Foster as Meg; Rachel Higgs as Beth; Tess Ellis as Amy; Spencer herself as Marmee; Rosy Rowley as Aunt March; Steven Jobson as Laurie; Nick Sephton as Professor Bhaer; Andrew Roberts as Mr Brooke and Chris Gibson as Mr Lawrence.

“We’ve spent a lot of time working on the rich characters and building a bond in the cast that shines through on stage. I’m so excited for our audiences to see this moving and funny show,” says “Bells”.

Wharfemede Productions present Little Women – The Broadway Musical, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 18 to 22, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Copyright of The York Press

February 13, 2025February 13, 2025

Drag diva Velma Celli goes bingo agogo with launch of Dragamama Bingo at Wagamama York restaurant tonight

Velma Celli: Eyes down, hoping for a full house at her debut Dragamama Bingo evening at Wagamama, York

YORK international vocal drag diva Velma Celli, alias West End musical star Ian Stroughair, turns bingo caller for an evening of camp comedy drag bingo fun and games in Dragamama Bingo at Wagamama, York, tonight.

Eyes down for a full house and a feast of Velma fun and games, running from 7pm to 9pm at the Japanese restaurant in Goodramgate. “Wagamama wants to do community-based stuff on the first-floor mezzanine,” says Ian. “They said they knew who Velma was and asked what could she do for them. I suggested drag bingo for starters.

“So this time it’s bingo and comedy, £8 to join, with a top prize of £100, and Scott Robert will be on the piano to add to the atmosphere. The idea is that I’ll do a Dragamama night either once a month or once every other month with a different theme each time, whether bingo, or a game, or a quiz night.”

How would he rate Velma’s bingo-calling skills? “My mum was the accountant for Holgate Working Men’s Club, so we used to go to the bingo there. I loved it. ‘Thatcher’s House, number 10’. That’s one of mine.”

Velma Celli turns bingo caller at Wagamama, Goodramagate, York, tonight

Looking ahead, Velma’s diary for 2025 is taking shape for nights – and days – of cabaret music, risqué comedy and generally fabulous entertainment. Velma Celli’s Drag Brunch returns to the Impossible York Wonderbar, in St Helen’s Square, from March 8 with further shows booked for April 5, May 3, June 7 (York Pride Bottomless Brunch), July 5 and August 2. Doors open at 3pm. Book by emailing reservations@impossibleyork.com and copy in stroughair2@hotmail.com.

God Save The Queens – Velma’s celebration of British music icons, from Julie Andrews, Cilla Black, Shirley Bassey and Dusty Springfield and Kate Bush to The Spice Girls, Adele, Florence Welsh, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J and Dua Lipa, with room for George Michael and Sinead O’Connor too – will play the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on March 13 at 7.45pm. For tickets, go to: https://tinyurl.com/4z6bvwsy, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Velma will head to Skipton Town Hall on March 15 at 7.30pm with Show Queen, where she harks back to Ian’s stellar turns in Cats, Chicago, Fame and Rent in a parade of the best of London’s West End and Broadway musical theatre hits.

“Velma takes you to every corner of the fabulous genre, from Kander & Ebb and Lloyd Webber to Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked and Schönberg’s Les Miserables and many more,” says Ian. “Like, more than Six!” Box office: https://shorturl.at/MJVaO.

Velma Celli’s Show Queen: Heading for Skipton Town Hall, Cardiff, Millom, Southampton, Cowes, London and Dudley

Last year, Velma’s global travels with A Brief History Of Drag took in Australia, where she won the Best Cabaret prize at Perth Fringeworld 2024, 54 Below in New York City and a sell-out UK tour that culminated in a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Now she brings the show to The Playhouse, Sheffield, on April 4 (7pm) and Hull Truck Theatre on June 13 (7.30pm) for a diva dive into the most iconic drag moments in music, theatre, movies and popular culture.

“From Hedwig to Kinky Boots, Rent to Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Boy George to Freddie Mercury, no stone is left unturned in this electrifying beast of a performance,” says Ian. Box office: Sheffield, https://shorturl.at/hDDiv; Hull, https://shorturl.at/2saW5.

Farther afield, Velma’s Show Queen plays Welsh Millennium Centre, Cardiff, March 29; The Beggar’s Theatre, Millom, Cumbria, April 18; The Stage Door, Southampton, May 23; Cowes Fringe, Cowes, Isle of Wight, May 24; The Duchess Theatre, West End, London, June 2, and Dudley Town Hall, June 20.

“The idea is that I’ll do a Dragamama night either once a month or once every other month with a different theme each time,” says Velma Celli

Before then, her new show, Rock Queen, will be making its debut at Crazy Coqs, the Art Deco cabaret, jazz, theatre and comedy space at Brasserie Zedel, in Soho, London, on March 20 at 9.15pm (tickets: https://tinyurl.com/yc2wur77).

“It will be all the rock classics, like Cher, Bon Jovi and Nirvana, but with a twist, so Velma will do rock songs in a musical theatre style and vice versa,” says Ian. “From Queen to Heart and every Gun N’ Rose in between, she will, she will, rock you!” Watch this space for news of a York performance in 2025.

One more York show definitely in the diary is Velma’s Pride Cabaret at Impossible York on June 6 from 7pm to 11pm (doors 6pm) in a special event to herald York Pride on June 7. Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/ucky9emr

Velma Celli’s Dragamama Bingo, Wagamama, Goodramgate, York, February 13, doors 6.30pm. Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/4hmukk69.

January 30, 2025May 22, 2025

REVIEW: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday ****

*Mark Reynolds’s tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal until Saturday*

CONTRARIAN comedian Stewart Lee enjoys turning convention on its head.

Swimming like the Canute of comedy against the tide, he likes to heckle his audience, restlessly and constantly throughout his latest acerbic, acid-witted show, especially here in York, where he has never forgotten the flattest night of a previous tour being the Theatre Royal one he happened to be filming for TV and DVD release. “You ruined it,” he says.

Six nights into cutting his lupine teeth on a new tour, he opened a five-night run of Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday, “the worst night of the week for comedy in the dullest town”, as he put it.

It was not so much Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf as Stewart Lee Vs Everything – a false start, a Tuesday night, an “indifferent York audience”, the erratic theatre dry ice machine – but also Everything Vs Stewart Lee.

Everything! Theatre Royal technology; the high-speed turnover of topicality (Gregg Wallace, Toby Young); the dull efficiency of the new Labour Government limiting political content; a button coming off his jacket-coat; the heat emanating from, spoiler alert, his second-half £6,000 werewolf coat.

All that, and his indecision over what this nascent show is about; the purpose, the place, the point of comedy after 36 years on the billboards, now in a world of Trump, Musk and Gervais.

“We’d all love not to care and be off the hook,” he speculates. “To not be accountable.” Like how a werewolf or vampire thinks. Except that Lee holds everything to be accountable.

*Stewart Lee: Comic in werewolf’s clothing as he delivers “reactionary material in a reactionary way” in Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf. Picture: Steve Ullathorne*

Especially Everything Vs Stewart Lee, and above all, everything about this audience. “It’s not me who’s the problem, it’s you,” he says, berating a lack of sophistication when we should surely be above “entry-level comedy” by this juncture and castigating us for not appreciating his “toppers”, when a run of three of punchlines should each be greeted with a louder laugh, but not so tonight! Not once, not twice, but thrice.

Dear Reader, I should point out that the audience – on first impression, BBC Radio 4-listening, Observer-reading, more men than women – are lapping up his cajoling. They love being worked over by the deadpan grilling of Lee, who makes you work harder than any other comic on the crowded British circuit.

No comedian reflects on comedy in motion and commotion more than Lee, a lover of Sixties’ experimental jazz who brings that avant-garde, deconstructive, unconventional modus operandi to the craft of telling and not telling jokes.

He is constantly thinking on the hoof; you must do so too, amid the rhythmic rat-a-tat-tat of repetition, the teasing and hectoring, to keep up with storytelling that functions like SatNav on the blink, suddenly taking you back to where he’s been before.

Repetition, one of Lee’s trademarks, takes a different form here, where he announces he will play the same material three ways in this age of his bug bear: the comedy of offence perpetrated by Netflix-marketed, 60-million dollar, right-leaning stand-up comedians.

First up, he will tell liberal jokes in a liberal way, then, after a screaming transformation into the Man-Wulf in the first half’s denouement, reactionary jokes in a reactionary way post-interval and, finally, wolf’s head and distracting miniature penile appendage removed, reactionary jokes in a liberal, left-leaning way.

He chides the York audience for not laughing loudest at the American-accented reactionary joker in wolf’s clothing – unlike previous audiences, he says – but he knows only too well he is playing to a liberal crowd who will refract everything through that prism.

*Stewart Lee telling “reactionary jokes in a liberal, left-leaning way” against a New York skyline in Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf. Picture: Steve Ullathorne*

Along the way, he takes digs at Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais, Noel Fielding, Laura Kuenssberg (“if she leans any more to the right, she’ll need scaffolding”), even slyly at erstwhile double-act partner Richard Herring, without naming him.

He gives off a shambling, even shambolic air, and yet a shard-sharp intellect always pierces that front, whether revelling in syntactic pedantry or parading his knowledge of the Ripon curio, the watch-setting Hornblower (although he did say 9.30pm, when 9pm is the precise custom!).

Lee is a cracking mimic too, sending up money-fixated Yorkshiremen and a topical, balladeering Bob Dylan on acoustic guitar, revealing a Dylanesque poetic turn of phrase in his lyrics.

He fires off pot shots aplenty, not only at all around him, but self-deprecatingly at himself too, reeling off a list of Lee lookalikes (from Mark Lamarr and Terry Christian to UB40’s Ali Campbell and Showaddywaddy in 2025) and commenting on how he bores even himself sometimes by knowing exactly what he is going to say next. Yet surprise, unpredictability, is one of his best assets.

Favourite line? “Mark Twain said tragedy plus time equals comedy,” says Lee. “Tragedy plus time equals Morrissey.” Now that’s a topper.

“I’m not a stand-up,” he says. “I’m more of a literary artist. The equivalent of a James Joyce novel.” Only much funnier, if perennially disappointed in humanity at large and York’s Tuesday audience in particular.

Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, until February 1, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. The Shed presents Indeterminacy, featuring Stewart Lee and pianists Tania Caroline Chen and Steve Beresford, National Centre for Early Music, York, February 1, 3.30pm. Tickets update on 31/1/20025: Indeterminacy, SOLD OUT. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

*Stewart Lee, narrator, Tania Caroline Chen, piano, and and Steve Beresford, piano and objects, in Saturday afternoon’s performance of John Cage’s Indeterminacy at the NCEM, York*

January 29, 2025August 4, 2025

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 4, from Gazette & Herald

*Ric Liptrot: Exhibiting in The Other Collective exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb*

FROM dollops of Dolly Parton advice to Stewart Lee’s werewolf encounter, devilish storytelling to a Cinderella prequel, Charles Hutchinson, cherry picks highlights for the days ahead.

Exhibition of the week: The Other Collective, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, until March 13

CURATED by Bluebird Bakery, The Other Collective brings together the work of Lu Mason, Ric Liptrot, Rob Burton, Liz Foster and Jill Tattersall.

“These wonderful artists were all missed off the billing for York Open Studios 2025 and we felt that was a real shame,” says Bluebird boss Nicky Kippax. “So The Other Collective was born and we hope the work will get a lot of interest from our customers.”

*Mark Reynolds’ tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal until Saturday*

Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm

IN Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares the stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the “culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”: can the beast inside us all be silenced by the silver bullet of Lee’s deadpan stand-up? Tickets advice: Hurry, hurry as all shows are closing in on selling out; 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Tricia Paoluccio’s Dolly Parton and Stevie Webb’s Kevin in Here You Come Again at Grand Opera House, York*

Musical of the week: Here You Come Again, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

SIMON Friend Entertainment and Leeds Playhouse team up for the tour of Here You Come Again, starring and co-written by Broadway actress Tricia Paoluccio, who visits York for the first time in the guise of a fantasy vision of country icon Dolly Parton.

Gimme Gimme Gimme writer Jonathan Harvey has put a British spin on Bruce Vilanch, director Gabriel Barre and Paoluccio’s story of diehard Dolly devotee Kevin (Steven Webb) needing dollops of Dolly advice on life and love in trying times. Parton hits galore help too! Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

*Hayden Thorpe: Performing Ness with Propellor Ensemble members at the NCEM, York, tonight*

Arthouse gig of the week: Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, doors 7pm for 7.30pm start

PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.

Thorpe, former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album. Using a process of redaction, Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Suffolk’s Orford Ness, the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Sylvie (Aileen Hall), centre, demonstrates her skills to friends Amelie (Perri Ann Barley), left, and Helene (Devon Wells), right, in rehearsal for Blue Light Theatre Company’s Where The Magic Begins!

Premiere of the week: Blue Light Theatre Company in Where The Magic Begins!, Acomb Working Men’s Club, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2pm matinee

BLUE Light Theatre Company stage York playwright and actress Perri Ann Barley’s new play Where The Magic Begins!, a prequel to Cinderella based on characters from the original Charles Perrault version.

“We meet many beloved characters in their younger days, such as a young Fairy Godmother, who is about to discover her ‘gift’. We follow her journey as she struggles with a secret that could put her life, and that of her family, in grave danger,” says director Craig Barley. Box office: 07933 329654, at bluelight-theatre.co.uk or on the door.

*Hannah Rowe: Performing in the cabaret setting of The Old Paint Shop at York Theatre Royal Studio*

Cabaret night of the week: CPWM Presents An Evening With Hannah Rowe, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow, 8pm

YORK promoters Come Play With Me (CPWM) welcome Hannah Rowe to The Old Paint Shop’s winter season. This young singer writes of experiences and shifts in life, offering a sense of reflection within her rich, authentic, jazz-infused sound. Friday’s 8pm show by upstanding York pianist Karl Mullen has sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott*

Devilish delight of the week: Tim Ralphs and Adderstone, Infernal Delights, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, Friday, doors 7.30pm

TIM Ralphs and York alt-folk storytellers Adderstone serve up a winter night’s double bill of dark delights. Let Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott lead you down the steps to the underworld with story-songs from wild places in their Songs To Meet The Darkness set.

In Beelzebub Rebranded, Tim Ralphs’s stand-up storytelling exhumes the bones of ancient Devil stories and stitches them into new skins for fresh consumption in his wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/adderstone/infernal-delights/e-xjjber.

*Saxophonist Snake Davis, right, double bassist Don Richardson, left, and concertina player Alistair Anderson: Playing together at Helmsley Arts Centre on Sunday*

Trio of the week: Snake Davis, saxophones, Don Richardson, double bass, and Alistair Anderson, concertina and Northumbrian pipes, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm

ADD an old mucker to a new pal, whereupon saxophonist to the stars Snake Davis sounds excited. Snake and Don Richardson go back decades, too many gigs and shows to remember. Lulu and Paul Carrack were particularly memorable. Snake and Alistair Anderson met at a wonderfully quirky Northumberland venue in late 2023 and decided to make music together. Here comes folk, jazz, world, pop and more. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

*Craig David: Combining his singing, master of ceremonies and DJ skills at Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer*

Gig announcement of the week: Craig David Presents TS5, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 19

SOUTHAMPTON rhythm & blues musician Craig David parades his triple threat as singer, MC and DJ at his TS5 party night – patented at his Miami penthouse – on the East Coast this summer. Expect a set combining old skool anthems from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, while merging chart-topping House hits too.

“I cannot wait to bring my TS5 show to Scarborough and the beautiful Yorkshire coast in July,” enthuses David, 43. “2025 is a massive year for me as it’s the 25th anniversary of my debut album [Born To Do It] and my debut number one single (Fill Me In]. What better way to celebrate than bringing the party to Scarborough this summer.” Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List. No 5, from Gazette & Herald

Colour & Light framing the South Transept of York Minster

FROM wildlife illuminations to characterful faces, dog origin tales to dark sky wonders, Charles Hutchinson finds February fulfilment.

Illumination of the week: Colour & Light, York Minster South Transept, February 12 to March 2

THIS free outdoor event promises a “mesmerising projection” of famous and lesser-known stories of York’s animal world, from the Minster’s peregrine falcons and the foxes that roam the streets after dark, to the Romans’ horses for their ride into Eboracum and the legendary dragons carved into the city’s history.

Colour & Light runs nightly from 6pm to 9pm with projections on a ten-minute loop. The final hour each evening is a designated quiet hour with reduced noise and crowd levels. No tickets are required.

Holly Capstick: Capturing expressions and snapshots of moments in everyday life

Exhibition of the week: Holly Capstick, We Are Layers, Pocklington Arts Centre, until February 28

HOLLY Capstick explores the layers of our beauty and character in her textile and mixed-media portraits that capture expressions and snapshots of moments in everyday life. “Faces have always amazed me,” she says. “The subtleties of the changes within a face can show so much of how we feel and how we connect to others.”

Thread and Press CIC tutor Holly will run portrait-themed workshops this month for children aged 7 to 16 (Learn To Draw A Face, February 19) and for adults (Textile Portraits, Free-motion Machine Embroidery, February 28). Find out more at hollycapstickart.co.uk.

Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical

Musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, February 13 to February 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees on February 15, 20 and 22

The Tannahill Weavers: Humorous tales of life north of the border

Folk gig of the week: The Tannahill Weavers 2025, Helmsley Arts Centre, February 14, 7.30pm

THE Tannahill Weavers, from Paisley, Scotland, play a diverse repertoire that spans the centuries, taking in fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, ballads and humorous tales of life north of the border.

Roy Gullane, on guitar and lead vocals, Phil Smillie, on flute, whistles, bodhrán and harmony vocals, Scotland’s youngest clan leader, Iain MacGillivray, on Highland bagpipes, fiddle and whistles, and Malcolm Bushby, on fiddle, bouzouki and harmony vocals, demonstrate the rich Celtic musical heritage in their exuberant concert combination of traditional melodies, rhythmic accompaniment, and evocative vocals. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg

Children’s play of the week: Rural Arts presents Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 20, 2pm

This original play for families and pooch lovers aged three upwards highlights the evolutionary transition from lupine to canine in a show full of physical comedy, puppets, music and song. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Festival of the week: National Parks Dark Skies Festival, North York Moors, February 14 to March 2

THIS year is the tenth anniversary of the Dark Skies Festival and where better to celebrate than on the North York Moors, one of only 21 global locations to be recognised for pristine dark skies as an International Dark Sky Reserve.

Look out for Stargazing Experiences in Dalby Forest; Stargazing at Ampleforth Abbey; the Robin Hood’s Bay Dark Skies Ghost Walks; Evening Adventure Walks with River Mountain Rescue; a Night Navigation Experience with Large Outdoors; Dancing with The Long Dead Stars and plenty more. For full details, visit: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events.

David O’Doherty, the Tiny Piano Man

Comedy show of the week: David O’Doherty, Tiny Piano Man, Grand Opera House, York, February 15, 8pm

Gareth Gates: In a Valentine mood at York Barbican

Romantic concert of the week: Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies – A Valentine Special, York Barbican, February 16, 7.30pm

EXTENDING the St Valentine ‘s Day vibes to the weekend, Bradford singer Gareth Gates combines beloved ballads from classic films with the electrifying energy of up-tempo hits, from Unchained Melody to Dirty Dancing, in a celebration of love stories that have graced the silver screen.

Smashing Pumpkins: Playing Scarborough on Aghori Tour

Gig announcement of the week: The Smashing Pumpkins, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 13

AMERICAN alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins will play Scarborough on their Aghori Tour. Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin’s multi-platinum-selling band will be supported on the Yorkshire coast by London post-punk revival band White Lies.

Since emerging from Chicago, Illinois, in 1988 with their iconoclastic sound, Smashing Pumpkins have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at ticketmaster.co.uk

January 29, 2025May 22, 2025

Hayden Thorpe’s journey from Wild Beasts to re-wilding nature in Ness project with Propellor Ensemble at NCEM tonight

PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness tonight, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.

Thorpe, 39-year-old former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal and Leeds band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album, Ness, released on Domino Records.

Using a process of redaction, Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit on the coast of Suffolk that housed the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War.

Acquired by the National Trust in 1993 and left to re-wild, to this day it remains a place of paradox, mystery and constant evolution.

Thorpe’s ode to Orford Ness, the physical place and the book, features Macfarlane’s words and illustrations by Stanley Donwood. He premiered Ness with fellow Cumbrian musicians from Propellor Ensemble at Orford Ness on September 28 and 29 last year.

Here Hayden discusses working with Robert Macfarlane and Propellor Ensemble, the Cold War, nature and past York experiences with CharlesHutchPress.

Do you have any past experiences of York, whether on a school visit or whatever, Hayden?

“My parents used to take us to the Jorvik Viking Museum when me and my siblings were young. I was always amazed by the fake open sewer smell they would pump into the space.”

*The album cover artwork for Hayden Thorpe’s Ness*

When did you last play in York, either solo or with Wild Beasts?

“I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. A rather long time ago. In any case, it’s been too long. It was somewhere quite familiar to me when Wild Beasts were coming up in Leeds. We’d make a regular dash across.”

How did the Ness project come about with Robert Macfarlane?

“In a really old fashioned manner. I fan-mailed Rob and he wrote back with all the generosity and open heartedness of his books. He’s as good as his word in the truest sense.

“Rob and I decided to perform some improvised music to his reading of Ness. It was a Eureka moment. The atmosphere and drama of the sound we made demanded that we commit to expanding it.”

Did you visit Orford Ness, now the Orford Ness National Nature Reserve, for research purposes?

“Yes. Orford Ness is an astonishing place. It’s a monument to rejuvenation and a monument to destruction. The very best and the very worst of us.”

By the way, Hayden, York has a Cold War Bunker Museum, in Monument Close, Holgate: a two-storey, semi-subterranean bunker built in 1961 to monitor nuclear explosions and fallout in Yorkshire, in the event of nuclear war.

“I had no idea that a Cold War museum existed in York. That’s fabulous. Bizarrely, I’ve developed a Cold War romance. I guess the conflicts and hostilities we face today have brought these conversations back into our everyday consciousness.”

*The Black Beacon at Orford Ness. Picture: Arnhel de Serra, National Trust Images*

How have you turned the album into a concert performance?

“The album is very much made of sounds we’ve made with our hands and lungs, so with enough pairs of those it actually translates in a very true way. The unusual instrumentation, with orchestral percussion and clarinet foregrounded alongside me, creates a very distinct ‘Ness’ sound. The shows have been really emotional as a result.”

Were you tempted to feature strings in the Ness project for their emotional heft?

“We deliberately did not use strings. We opted to use the elemental forces at my play at Orford Ness: wind and resistant materials like metal and wood. It creates a haunted, volatile soundscape.”

Which Propellor Ensemble members will play in York?

“Jack McNeill plays clarinet and Delia Stevens plays orchestral percussion. Molly Gromadzki performs the spoken-word parts and sings in the choir. Brigitte Hart and Helen Ganya make up the choral section. It’s been a joy to work with such expressive and capable performers.”

What does a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show” entail?

“Something which is sonically ambitious and immersive. Once we start the show we don’t stop, it’s the album in full back to front. We want to take the audience to Ness, have them come face to face with the monster.”

The full Propellor Ensemble line-up. Percussionist Delia Stevens, right, and clarinet and bass clarinet player Jack McNeill, third from right, will be among the performers at the NCEM tonight. Picture: Propellor Ensemble

Why was the National Centre for Early Music, in the former St Margaret’s Church in Walmgate, chosen for the York gig rather than The Crescent community venue, a classic working men’s club design?

“We’ve heard such great things about NCEM. Much of the story of Ness takes place ‘In The Green Chapel’, so the work lends itself to a space of worship.”

What is your own relationship with nature? Wild Beasts hailed originally from Kendal, with all that Lake District beauty around you…

“Nature has become increasingly important to my life and work. As artists we’re forced to ask what side of the conversation we sit on, one which acknowledges the existential crisis facing us or one which excuses it. Music can carry non-human voices really effectively. Ness is very much a meditation on that.”

What will be your next project?

“Good question. Ness has certainly expanded my palette. I’ve come to feel maybe my strength is in making strange and ambitious works which would otherwise not get made. It’s crucial to keep the flame burning on works of exploration and oddity in an industry which increasingly incentivises conformity.”

Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight (29/1/2025), doors 7pm, start 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

January 28, 2025May 22, 2025

Nile Rodgers & CHIC confirmed as Live At York Museum Gardens headliners for July 4. When do tickets go on sale?

*After playing Forest Live at Dalby Forest last June, Nile Rodgers will return to the great Yorkshire outdoors to headline Live At York Museum Gardens in July*

NILE Rodgers & CHIC is the second headliner to be confirmed for Futuresound’s summer concert series Live At York Museum Gardens.

The trail-blazing New York-born disco musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, 72, will be joined on the July 4 bill by special guest Jalen Ngonda, the American soul, hip hop and jazz singer and songwriter who found his voice in Liverpool.

York exclusive postcode presale (for YO1 | YO10 | YO19 | YO23 | YO24 | YO26 | YO30 | YO31 | YO32) will go on sale at 9am on Thursday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/nile-rodgers-chic/york-museum-gardens/3257099?pre=postcode.

General sales will open at 9am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/nile-rodgers-chic/york-museum-gardens/3257099.

As a founding member of CHIC, Rodgers is responsible for such hits as Everybody Dance, I Want Your Love and Good Times and as a producer he has collaborated with David Bowie, Madonna, Coldplay, Beyoncé and Daft Punk.

*Elbow: Live At York Museum Gardens concert on July 3 has sold out*

Futuresound Group’s first show confirmed for 2025, featuring Mercury Prize winners Elbow on July 3, has sold out already and further shows are set to be announced imminently for July 5 and 6.

Presented in tandem with York Museums Trust, the Leeds-based promoter’s inaugural July 2024 weekend drew 12,000 music fans to a brace of 30^th anniversary home-city gigs by Shed Seven, with special guest Peter Doherty, preceded by Anglo-Italian singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti the previous night.

Rachel Hill, Futuresound Group’s project manager, says: “We’re incredibly excited to be working with York Museums Trust for our second year on Live at York Museums Gardens. Announcing the one and only Nile Rodgers and CHIC performing in the gardens is just surreal, especially off the back of Elbow selling out! 2025’s Live at York Museum Gardens series is shaping up to be an unmissable addition to the city’s summer calendar.”

Richard Saward, head of operations at York Museums Trust, says: “We are beyond delighted to welcome Nile Rogers and CHIC to York Museum Gardens this summer. With the band’s unbelievable repertoire and legendary live reputation, we’re already looking forward to a fantastic evening with everyone in full boogie mode.”

Founded in the 1830s, York Museum Gardens comprise ten acres of botanic gardens set against the backdrop of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey and are the home to the Yorkshire Museum too. The gardens welcome around 1.3 million visitors a year.

*Shed Seven’s Paul Banks, left, and Rick Witter performing at Live At York Museum Gardens last July. Picture: David Harrison*

January 28, 2025May 22, 2025

Imelda May confirmed as special guest for Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra at York Barbican on December 17

*Jools Holland: Heading for York Barbican once more in December*

JOOLS Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will be joined by Irish singer Imelda May at York Barbican on December 17 as part of their 30-date autumn and winter tour.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am via yorkbarbican.co.uk for boogie-woogie pianist Holland’s annual visit to York, where he was joined by Soft Cell vocalist Marc Almond and blues guitar prodigy Toby Lee on December 11 last year.

Dublin singer-songwriter and poet Imelda May has chalked up a hat-trick of headline shows at York Barbican in November 2011, May 2017 and April 2022 with her dynamic blend of blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz .

Her career has taken in collaborations with Jeff Beck and performing with Lou Reed, Bono, Tom Jones, Noel Gallagher, Robert Plant and now Jools.

*Imelda May: Playing York Barbican for a fourth time on December 17*

“From the moment I first heard and saw Imelda, I realised that she is one of the true greats of music who understands old and new music,” he enthuses. “Her ravishing voice can illuminate both ballads and boogie-woogie like no-one else.”’

Ed Richardson settled into the drummer’s seat on the 2024 tour, following the retirement of the legendary Gilson Lavis. After starting out together in Squeeze, Gilson became a cornerstone of Jools’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, keeping the beat over a span of several decades.

Reflecting on his new role, Ed says: “I’ve been a fan of Gilson since my dad first sat me down in front of the Hootenanny. His iconic style left an indelible mark on me. To now step into his shoes is both a challenge and an honour. I’ll do my utmost to continue his legacy and keep the drum chair as exciting as he made it!”

Once again, the 2025 tour will feature the vocal talents of Queen of Boogie-Woogie Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Sumudu Jayatilaka as Later… With Jools Holland host Jools performs songs and instrumentals from throughout his career.

January 28, 2025May 22, 2025

SatchVai Band complete line-up for Surfing With The Hydra Tour bound for York Barbican. Who’s joining Satriani and Vai?

*And then there were five: the full line-up for the SatchVai Band’s summer tour*

GUITAR legends Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have confirmed the full band line-up for the SatchVai Band’s Surfing With The Hydra Tour, whose European travels open at York Barbican on June 13.

Powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Marco Mendoza and virtuoso guitarist Pete Thorn will complete the stellar quintet.

“Finding the right musicians for the SatchVai Band was at first a daunting task, then an exciting one,” says Satriani. “There are so many great musicians to choose from.

“It’s no secret that the chemistry between players will always be the thing that makes them a magical live band, and we’ve found that chemistry with Kenny, Marco and Pete.

“The upcoming shows will focus on not only our respective solo works, but also the music from our new album. We are so excited to get this show on the road and celebrate it with all of our fans!”

As Vai explains, “When considering forming one band around myself and Joe, we talked about the qualities needed for each position, bass, drums, rhythm guitar. It was a surprising challenge to find the right fits.”

Drummer Kenny Aronoff is no stranger to Satriani fans. He has toured alongside Joe as part of the Chickenfoot band, joined Satriani solo tours since 2019, played on The Elephant Of Mars album and stepped in for Jason Bonham on the Best Of All Worlds tour with Satriani, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony.

“What can I say about the legendary Kenny Aronoff that I haven’t said before?” asks Satriani. “No other drummer has the sound, feel, time, groove and swagger like Kenny. He’s an exceptional human being too. He’s supernatural!”

Vai adds: “Kenny is the quintessential rock drummer. His time is bullet-proof, his tone is fat and clean, and his ability to respond in an improvisational setting is instant. Besides that, he’s one of the easiest and most fun guys to tour with – an essential quality on the road.”

Aronoff says: “I’ve been performing and recording music with Joe Satriani since 2012 (Chickenfoot, Sammy Hagar, G3 and Joe’s band) and have performed live with Steve Vai, but the next level is right now because I am joining the SatchVaiband for a two-month tour this summer in Europe. I am pumped, excited and ready to kick ass!”

When it came to adding a rhythm guitarist and bass player, Satriani and Vai were challenged to find the right combo. Vai had been aware of Pete Thorn for a while and knew he was perfect for their band.

“Pete’s playing is rock solid with a huge tone in his fingers,” says Vai. “His rhythm playing is tight and in tune in a way that’s rare, and his intonation is stunning. He’s the perfect musician for this band and we couldn’t be happier to have him.”

Satriani agrees: “Pete is an all-around monster guitarist. He has that rare ability to shine on rhythm and lead guitar, switching back and forth with finesse,” he says. “He’s got the technical abilities and the rock’n’roll attitude Steve and I were hoping to find for our band.”

Thorn says: “It sounds like something out of a mad fantastical dream that the 14-year-old guitar-obsessed me would have had…. ‘Joe Satriani and Steve Vai called, they want you to join their new band’!

“And then I’d wake up and go to 9th grade math class! But it’s real! It’s a mind-blowing opportunity, and yet I also feel like I’ve arrived exactly where I’ve always wanted to be. I’m beyond excited to be of musical service to these legends and to rock out!”

Then came the choice for bassist, Marco Mendoza. “Marco is a bass phenomenon,” says Vai. “With his six-string fretless, his bass sings with perfect intonation and swooning vibrato. His wide, rich tone and masterful control of dynamics will bring a new dimension to our songs.”

Satriani adds: “Marco’s musicianship is boundless. He’s got a special magic to his bass playing; it’s both foundational and out front at the same time. Together with his exceptional singing voice and stage presence, he will be a driving force in our band.”

Mendoza says: “I have to say that getting invited to be part of a great project like this is monumental for me personally. I know it’s going to be something very special and I can’t wait to get it started.”

The York Barbican show will open a tour that will take in such cities as London, Paris, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Istanbul and Athens, along with European summer festivals at Hellfest, Umbria Jazz Festival and Guitares en Scene Fest.

Celebrating nearly five decades of musical friendship, Satriani and Vai made their musical collaboration debut in March 2024. The Sea Of Emotion, Pt. 1 showcases their synergy as they trade solo sections throughout the nearly six-minute opus.

Their second collaboration is set to be released just before the European tour, adding even more anticipation.

The last few tickets for June 13 are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

January 25, 2025August 4, 2025

More Things To Do in York and beyond, any way the wind blows. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 4 for 2025, from The York Press

FROM dollops of Dolly Parton advice to Stewart Lee’s werewolf encounter, devilish storytelling to a Cinderella prequel, Charles Hutchinson, cherry picks highlights for the days ahead.

Exhibition of the week: The Other Collective, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, until March 13

CURATED by Bluebird Bakery, The Other Collective brings together the work of Lu Mason, Ric Liptrot, Rob Burton, Liz Foster and Jill Tattersall.

*The poster for South Bank Singers’ Of All The Birds concert*

Nature concert of the week: South Bank Singers, Of All The Birds, A Winter Chorus, St Clement’s Church, Scarcroft Road, York, today, 3pm

SOUTH Bank Singers present Of All The Birds, A Winter Chrous, a Saturday afternoon concert of choral music inspired by the enchanting beauty and song of birds. Directed by Carlos Zamora, the choral programme spans six centuries, taking in Mendelssohn, Stanford, Ravel, Gibbons, Janequin, Vautor, Guastavino and Bartlet. Admission is free with a retiring collection for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

*The poster for A Million Dreams, presented by Steve Coates Productions, at the Grand Opera House, York*

Fundraiser of the week: A Million Dreams, A Charity Broadway Spectacular, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm

STEVE Coates Productions present an evening of musical magic, song, dance and laughter by York talent in aid of The Snappy Trust, a charity “dedicated to maximising the personal development of children and young people with wide- ranging disabilities”.

Bev Jones Music Company, Flying Ducks Youth Theatre and a ten-piece band perform songs from Broadway and West End shows such as Wicked, Hamilton, Frozen, The Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

*Mark Reynolds’ tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal from January 28 to February 1*

Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm

IN Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares the stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the “culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”: can the beast inside us all be silenced by the silver bullet of Lee’s deadpan stand-up? Tickets advice: Hurry, hurry as all shows are closing in on selling out; 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Tricia Paoluccio’s Dolly Parton and Steven Webb’s Kevin in Here You Come Again at Grand Opera House, York*

Musical of the week: Here You Come Again, Grand Opera House, York, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

Premiere of the week: Blue Light Theatre Company in Where The Magic Begins!, Acomb Working Men’s Club, York, January 29, 30 and 31, 7.30pm; February 1, 2pm matinee

BLUE Light Theatre Company will forego their annual panto in favour of staging York playwright and actress Perri Ann Barley’s new play Where The Magic Begins!, a prequel to Cinderella based on characters from the original Charles Perrault version of “everyone’s favourite fairytale”.

*Hannah Rowe: Performing in the cabaret set-up of The Old Paint Shop at York Theatre Royal Studio*

Cabaret night of the week: CPWM Presents An Evening With Hannah Rowe, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, January 30, 8pm

The Old Paint Shop shows by irreverent York covers combo Hyde Family Jam (today, 2pm and 8pm) and Karl Mullen, upstanding York pianist Karl Mullen (January 31, 8pm) have sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Tim Ralphs: Wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb*

Devilish delight of the week: Tim Ralphs and Adderstone, Infernal Delights, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, January 31, doors 7.30pm

In Beelzebub Rebranded, Tim Ralphs’s stand-up storytelling exhumes the bones of ancient Devil stories and stitches them into new skins for fresh consumption in his wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/adderstone/infernal-delights/e-xjjber.

*York Ice Trail: Taking the theme of Origins next weekend*

Whatever the weather, here comes the new ice age: York Ice Trail 2025, February 1 and 2

YORK’S “free weekend of frosty fun” returns with a 2025 theme of Origins as York’s streets are turned into an icy wonderland of frozen tableau in this annual event run by Make It York. Among the 30 ice sculptures showcasing 2,000 years of city history will be a Roman shield, a Viking helmet, a chocolate bar, a drifting ghost, a majestic train and a Yorkshire rose, all captured in the language of ice by Icebox. Full details can be found at visityork.org/york-ice-trail.

Before all that ice, windswept York has another free event on the city streets and beyond this weekend: York Residents’ Festival today and tomorrow. For the full list of offers, head to: visityork.org/offers/category/york-residents-festival.

*Snow Patrol: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer*

Gig announcement of the week: Snow Patrol, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, June 27

THE Northern Irish-Scottish indie rock band Snow Patrol are to return to the Scarborough coast for the first time since July 2021, led as ever by Gary Lightbody, accompanied by long-time lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and pianist Johnny McDaid.

Emotionally charged anthems such as Chasing Cars, Run and Open Your Eyes will be complemented by selections from 2024’s The Forest Is The Path, their first chart topper in 18 years. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk and scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

In Focus: Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, January 29, doors 7pm, start 7.30pm

*Hayden Thorpe: Performing Ness with Propellor Ensemble at the NCEM*

PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness on Wednesday, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.

Thorpe, 39-year-old former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal and Leeds band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album, Ness, released on Domino Records.

Using a process of redaction, Cumbrian musician Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit on the coast of Suffolk that housed the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War.

Acquired by the National Trust in 1993 and left to re-wild, to this day it remains a place of paradox, mystery and constant evolution.

Thorpe’s ode to Orford Ness, the physical place and the book, features Macfarlane’s words and illustrations by Stanley Donwood. He premiered Ness with Propellor Ensemble at Orford Ness on September 28 and 29 last year.