Martha Wainwright: Marking 20 years of debut album Martha Wainwright
MARTHA Wainwright will play Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on June 1 (7pm), All Saints Church Hall, Pocklington, on August 27 (7.30pm) and The Foundry, Sheffield, on August 28 (7.30pm) on her 18-date 20th Anniversary Tour.
The Montreal-born singer-songwriter will be marking 20 years since she released her self-titled debut album, when she stepped out of the shadow of her illustrious North American musical family (father Loudon Wainwright III; mother Kate McGarrigle; brother Rufus Wainwright).
On May 23, [PIAS] will release this album on vinyl for the first time, alongside CD and digital versions with extra tracks and a bonus disc of 14 rarities and alternate versions. Gems include Bring Back My Heart, featuring Rufus Wainwright, Our Love with Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Far Away, featuring the late Garth Hudson, of The Band.
“In the years before my first album was released, I was doing my own version of ‘artist development’ – playing a lot of gigs and going into the studio to make demos,” recalls Martha. “I got to New York City in 1998. It was a magical blur of fun and discovery, meeting musicians, playing and seeing shows and going into the studio. Hopping from bar to bar in the Lower East Side and Williamsburg.
“These are some of the recordings that came out of that time. Some were released as EPs that I would sell at shows but others have never been released. These are the ones that best reflect that time and the wild eclecticism I’ve always had, for better or worse, as an artist.”
Vinyl track list: Far Away; G.P.T.; Factory; These Flowers; Ball & Chain; Don’t Forget; This Life; When The Day Is Short; Bl**dy Mother ******* Asshole; TV Show; The Maker and Who Was I Kidding.
Digital/CD track list: Disc 1, 20th Anniversary: Far Away; G.P.T.; Factory; These Flowers; Ball & Chain; Don’t Forget; This Life; When The Day Is Short; Bl**dy Mother ******* Asshole; TV Show; The Maker; Who Was I Kidding; Whither Must I Wander; Bring Back My Heart (featuring Rufus Wainwright); Baby and Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu?
Disc 2, Outliers: Can You Hear Me *; The Sex Song *; The Dead *; Factory #2 *; Our Love *; Far Away (with Garth Huson) *; Pretty Good Day; The Car Song; It’s Over; I Will Internalize; Bye Bye Blackbird; New York, New York, New York; When the Day is Short (Demo) * and Year of the Dragon. *Never before released.
“Twenty years ago my life as an artist took shape when my first record was released,” says Martha. “In many ways that record defined me, as well as launched me into a now over-20-year-long career that has made me who I am.
“It was after ten years of playing in bars, making cassettes and EPs to sell at my shows, singing backup for my brother Rufus, falling in love and out of love, practising, writing, singing until I could barely sing anymore, partying, playing with musicians and listening to great artists, working with my ex-husband in the studio for two years, all that created this first record.”
Martha continues: “Labels wouldn’t sign me when I started and I had to craft, with the help of many people, an album that would finally be licensed and released in 2005. My first record tells my story and when it was finally released I was able to work and tour and have a career in music – something that I always wanted but wasn’t sure would happen.
“Twenty years later, with six other albums under my belt, two kids and a career that is chugging along, I can safely say my first record paved my way forward.
“On May 23, we will release the record on vinyl for the first time ever as well as digitally release unheard songs, outtakes and early material from that ten-year period of discovery that led to my first record. There will be a tour with a few great musicians, where I’ll play the record in its entirety, as well as a few new songs. There’s no 48-year-old me without the 28-year-old me.”
Jason Donovan: Doin’ fine in 2025 at York Barbican
PAY attention to Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations and, like Jason Donovan, you will be doin’ fine.
Good Neighbour of the week: Jason Donovan: Doin’ Fine 25, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
LAST seen in York in fishnets and face paint as Dr Frank N Further in The Rocky Horror Show at the Grand Opera House last October, Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan now takes an “incredible ride” through 35 years in music, theatre, film and television.
His long-awaited sequel to Doin’ Fine 90 features Donovan’s most beloved songs from his stage shows, Joseph, Priscilla, Rocky Horror and Grease, alongside nods to his TV times in Neighbours and Strictly Come Dancing and his biggest pop hits, Especially For You, Too Many Broken Hearts, Any Dream Will Do and Sealed With A Kiss. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Gary Stewart: Rise and shine at Bluebird Bakery in Acomb
Singer-songwriter gig of the week: Gary Stewart, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, tonight, doors, 7.30pm for 8pm start
PERTHSHIRE-BORN singer-songwriter Gary Stewart, now living in Easingwold after 15 years on the Leeds music scene, writes songs in the folk/pop vein, influenced by the Sixties and Seventies’ songbooks of Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Carole King.
The left-handed multi-instrumentalist has released four albums, the latest being June 2021’s self-recorded Lost, Now Found, penned in lockdown. Stewart also plays drums for Leeds band Hope & Social, bass for Fleetwood Mac tribute band Weetwood Mac and fronts his seven-piece re-working Paul Simon’s 1986 album Graceland. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Levellers: Performing in Collective acoustic mode at York Barbican
Acoustic re-boot of the week: Levellers Collective, York Barbican, tomorrow, doors, 6.30pm
LEVELLERS firstdecided to “do something a bit different with their extensive back catalogue” in 2018, teaming up with fellow Brighton group The Moulettes to record two albums that radically reworked their folk rock and anarcho-punk songs, first with producer John Leckie on We The Collective, then with Sean Lakeman on 2023’s Together All The Way.
Now, their 17-date 2025 spring tour coincides with this week’s release of their Levellers Collective/Live CD and DVD, recorded in 2023 at London’s Hackney Empire. Tomorrow’s support act at Levellers’ only Yorkshire date will be Amelia Coburn. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jon Culshaw: Out to impress at Grand Opera House
Making a good impression: Jon Culshaw: Imposter Syndrome, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
AFTER more than 30 years on the circuit, impressionist Jon Culshaw, the chameleon voice of BBC Radio 4’s Dead Ringers, BBC One’s The Impressions Show and Channel 4’s Partygate, debuted his one-man show, Imposter Syndrome, at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, (when he also appeared as Hughie Green in Lena, the year after his solo performance in Les Dawson: Flying High).
Now Culshaw is on a 28-date tour, combining comedy and music as he conjures an array of personalities from the worlds of entertainment, politics and beyond, from Liam Gallagher to a gangster-rapping Gordon Brown. Meanwhile, Candace Bushnell’s True Tales Of Sex, Success And Sex In The City tour date in York on March 11 has been cancelled. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
John Shuttleworth: 40 years of bonhomie, bon mots and persistently, perkily mundane yet quirkily profound songs at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall. Picture: Tony Briggs
Comedy positivity of the week: John Shuttleworth, Raise The Oof, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, March 12 and 13, 7.30pm
JOHN Shuttleworth, the good-natured Sheffield sage and perky Yamaha organ purveyor of charmingly mundane songs fashioned by actor Graham Fellows, celebrates his 40th anniversary on his Raise The Oof tour, full of nostalgia and new stories.
Here come tales of his early days with neighbour and clarinettist Ken Worthington, the humorous realities of married life with miserable wife Mary, and John’s relentless determination to mail off his cassette demos to today’s cutting-edge acts – Chris Rea and the Lighthouse Family, he says – hoping for a late-career breakthrough. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Becca Drake: Guest poet at York Literature Festival’s Howl Owt night at The Blue Boar
York Literature Festival gig of the week: Howl Owt, The Blue Boar, Castlegate, York, March 13, 7.30pm
FOR the second year running, two forces of the York poetry scene team up for the ultimate spoken-word showcase. Join Chloe Hanks and Stephanie Roberts from Howlers Open Mic and Henry Raby from Say Owt for an evening of performances by York poets and writers, bolstered by a special guest.
This time, their roles will be reversed with the Say Owt crew taking over the open mic and the Howlers welcoming the guest, Becca Drake, York poet, Little Hirundine printmaker and researcher with a PhD in late-medieval English. Performers can sign up for three-minute open-mic spots on arrival. Admission is free.
Neil Foster’s Cosme McMoon, left, Jackie Cox’s Florence Foster Jenkins and Mike Hickman’s St Clair in Rowntree Players’ Glorious!
Play of the week: Rowntree Players in Glorious!, The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 13 to 15, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
COVER your ears! Here comes Glorious! The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, as told by Peter Quilter in his joyous and heart-warming comedy with music, based on the life of an eccentric 1940s’ New York socialite with a passion for singing but a voice for disaster.
Enthusiastic but tonally erratic soprano Florence (played by Jackie Cox) gave private recitals for charity, sang at extravagant balls, made bizarre recordings and revelled in a triumphant sold-out final performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall at 76. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Mike + The Mechanics: Re-living 40 years at York Barbican on March 14
40th anniversary celebration of the week: Mike + The Mechanics, Looking Back – The Living Years, York Barbican, March 14, 7.30pm
AFTER opening their Refueled! tour at York Barbican in April 2023, Mike + The Mechanics return next Friday on their Looking Back – Living The Years 40th anniversary travels. Expect the set list to combine Over My Shoulder, The Living Years and All I Need Is A Miracle with selections from their nine albums and a“drift into some of Genesis’s much loved classic tracks”.
Guitarist and founder Mike Rutherford will be joined in the band line-up by lead vocalist Andrew Roachford and Canadian-born vocalist Tim Howar. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In Focus: Navigators Art, YO Underground, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, March 15, 7.30pm
Performance artist Carrieanne Vivianette
YORK arts collective Navigators Art hosts a “slightly different forthcoming event”, YO Underground, in The Basement next weekend.
The first in a new series of performance showcases will present Say Owt Slam winner Cooper Robson, performance artist and writer Carrieanne Vivianette, inspiring young poet Oliver Lewis, champion beatboxer Cast, genre-crossing musical duo Gorgo and internationally renowned singer Loré Lixenberg.
Say Owt Slam winner Cooper Robson
“The YO Underground title is apt, not only because our venue is The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “The format will be familiar from the group’s popular Basement Sessions but will feature original music, spoken word and comedy with a more experimental edge than usual.
“It will be a platform for local and regional performers whose work may wander off the beaten track but definitely deserves an audience. New and emerging artists will have equal billing with more established names.”
Advance tickets cost £8. For full details and booking, visit TicketSource via https://bit.ly/nav-events.
Mezzo-soprano and physical theatre, comedy and free improv performer Loré Lixenberg
The second in the series is planned for Sunday, April 27 and will showcase Wire Worms, the Leeds Doom Folk five-piece, whose folk-rooted but boundary-stretching debut album, The First To Come In, explores explore weird, supernatural and experimental notions, inspired by the traditions of Mumming and Guising found throughout the British Isles.
“Navigators Art encourages innovation, improvisation and collaboration, as well as excellence, and would like to hear from performers in any medium who might suit future events,” says Richard. Email navigatorsart@gmail.com or follow @navigatorsart on Facebook and Instagram.
Navigators Art’s poster for the inaugural YO Underground event at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Velma Celli’s show poster for Show Queen At The Movies’ debut York performance at City Screen Picturehouse
YORK drag diva deluxe Velma Celli will return to her former glam stomping ground at City Screen Picturehouse this summer in Show Queen At The Movies.
“I am thrilled to be heading back to City Screen on July 26, but not in The Basement as my head is too big for that space now! So, I am in Screen One! That’s right. Velma in a cinema!” says Velma, the vocal drag alter-ego of West End musical star Ian Stroughair.
“This new show, Snow Queen At The Movies, will explore all your favourite movie soundtracks from Barbra Streisand to Judy Garland. The Bodyguard to Dirty Dancing. Flashdance to Purple Rain. West Side Story to Titanic. Pretty Woman to The Shining…maybe not The Shining!”
City Screen will be one of Velma’s two “bigger” York shows this year to complement her Drag Brunch residency in the Impossible York Wonderbar and MC duties at the Yorktoberfest Beer Festival at York Racecourse. Tickets for the 9pm show are available at https://shorturl.at/j8wHC.
Tickets for Velma’s return to York Theatre Royal’s main stage on November 12 will go on sale later this year. Watch this space.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Natasha Bedingfield : A brace of London pop acts bound for York Racecourse
SOPHIE Ellis-Bextor and a special guest appearance by Natasha Bedingfield will form the dancefloor-filling double bill for the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend on July 25.
At the only evening meeting of the Knavesmire racing calendar, they each will play a set after the seven-race sporting action.
Kitchen Disco queen Ellis-Bextor, 45, will draw on her five top ten albums and eight top ten singles from a pop career now stretching beyond 25 years. Expect Murder On The Dancefloor, Take Me Home, Get Over You, Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) and latest single Freedom Of The Night.
After featuring in the epic final scene of Emerald Fennell’s November 2023 dark comedy Saltburn, Ellis’s 2001 hit Murder On The Dancefloor enjoyed a resurgence, charting at number two for a second time in the UK Singles Chart and at number 58 in the Billboard Top 100, while reaching more than 11 billion global streams across all streaming and social platforms.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Last played York in December 2023 on her Christmas Kitchen Disco tour at York Barbican.
Natasha Bedingfield, 43, has sold more than ten million albums and received multiple award nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her 2004 hit Unwritten re-entered the UK Top 20 last years and was inducted into the Spotify Billions Club.
Bedingfield also made the top ten with Single, the chart-topping These Words, I Wanna Have Your Babies, Soulmate and Alibi (The Other Girl Version) with Ella Henderson and Rudimental last year.
Racing and music fans can take advantage of a range of deals on General Admission, meaning entrance to the main Grandstand and Paddock enclosure starts at £40 per person for a group of six. As well as free car parking, there are no booking fees. To book, visit yorkracecourse.co.uk.
On the track, the seven thoroughbred contests will include the Listed EBF Lyric Stakes, worth £70,000 in prize money.
Ronan Keating: Boyzone singer to play solo show at York Racecourse on July 26
Post-racing on the next day (July 26), Ronan Keating will take to the Music Showcase Weekend stage. Earlier in the season, on a new race day on Saturday, June 28, Olly Murs will perform.
James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship, says: “A summer evening on the Knavesmire is all about having fun and enjoying yourself, and you can’t get better sounds of the summer than those performed by Sophie and Natasha. I’m looking forward to an event that music and racing fans will remember with real fondness.”
Please note, these race days are integrated racing and music events and admission is not available on a “concert only” basis. At each meeting, the gates will be closed at the time of the last race.
Olly Murs: On track for York Racecourse on June 28
Festival commission: BBC New Generation artist and mezzo soprano Helen Charlston will perform new Anna Disley-Simpson work with theorbo player Toby Carr in In Heaven & Hell…Yours To Choose on July 9 at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, at 6.30pm. Picture: Julien Gazeau
HEAVEN & Hell will be the theme of the 2025 York Early Music Festival, a summer fiesta of 19 concerts in eight days featuring international artists from July 4 to 11.
The Sixteen, the Tallis Scholars and Academy of Ancient Music will be taking part, as will French orchestral ensemble Le Consort, led by rising-star violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, in their York debut with an “exceptional rendition of exceptional of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – but not quite as you know it”.
The festival will intertwine three very different themes: firstly, the music of Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, opening with viol consort Fretwork (Friday, July 4); secondly, the genius of the Baroque, focusing on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Sunday, July 6).
Thirdly, the strand that lends itself to the 2025 title: a reflection on Man’s fall from grace – from Heaven to Hell – in biblical times with YEMF artistic advisor and BBC New Generation artist Helen Charlston and her fellow Gramophone Award-winner, lutenist and theorbo player Toby Carr (Wednesday, July 9) in the medieval Guildhall of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.
Fretwork: Viol consort will open York Early Music Festival with Renaissance music of Orlando Gibbons in My Days: Songs and Fantasias with mezzo soprano Helen Charlston on July 4 at 7.30pm at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York
The Tallis Scholars (Saturday, July 5) and The Sixteen (Monday, July 7) will share their programmes in the glorious surroundings of York Minster; the Spanish ensemble Cantoria (Tuesday, July 8) will present a sizzling array of ensaladas and villancicos in their A La Fiesta programme and Swiss- based medievalists Sollazzo (Thursday, July 10) will return to York for the first time since winning a prestigious Diapason d’Or award.
Thefestival will finish with a flourish in the company of the Academy of Ancient Music and their leader, violinist Bojan Čičić (Friday, July 11) in a celebration of Bach’s violin concertos.
York Early Music Festival continues to support emerging musicians with invitations to two 2024 York Early Music Festival Young Artists Competition winners, Ayres Extemporae and Ensemble Bastion.
Once again, the festival will showcase a variety of York’s beautiful historic buildings, such as the Minster, the medieval Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and the intriguing hidden architectural gem Bedern Hall.
The Sixteen: Returning to York Minster to present Angel Of Peace on July 7at 7.30pm
In an open call for the York Early Music Festival Special Commission, NCEM Young Composers Award alumni were invited to respond to the Heaven & Hell theme by writing a piece to be performed by Charlston and Carr as part of their In Heaven & Hell…Yours To Choose programme featuring Purcell, Strozzi, Monteverdi, Charpentier and Humfrey works on July 9.
Anna Disley-Simpson has been awarded the commission from a competitive field of 24 applications for her piece Heaven Or Hell, for which she will collaborate with librettist Olivia Bell, drawing inspiration from Kurt Weill. Expect her composition to be “deliberately subversive and unexpected in several ways,” Anna promises.
Supported by the Hinrichsen Foundation and an anonymous donor, Anna will receive a commission fee of £2,000, plus travel and accommodation expenses within the United Kingdom to attend a workshop with the musicians in London and the York premiere.
Looking forward to the July event, festival director Dr Delma Tomlin says: “We are thrilled to welcome friends old and new to what promises to be a fantastic celebration of music from an outstanding array of artists.
Le Consort: French orchestral ensemble will make York Early Music Festival debut on July 6, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, at 7.30pm
“Celebrating over 500 years of music from across Europe, we are particularly delighted to be able to welcome ensembles from France, Switzerland, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands to our wonderful city. We look forward to welcoming visitors and residents alike to eight wonderful days of music-making.”
The full programme and booking details can be found at ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf/. Bookings also can be made on 01904 658338, via boxoffice@ncem.co.uk and in person at the NCEM, Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
York Early Music Festival: the back story
ESTABLISHED in 1977, the festival is designed to celebrate York’s myriad of medieval churches, guildhalls and historic houses through historically informed music-making of the highest international standard.
The annual event is the “jewel in the crown” of the National Centre for Early Music’s annual programme, enjoyed by York residents and visitors from all over the UK and across the world.
The Tallis Scholars: Performing Glorious Creatures programme at York Minster on July 5 at 7.30pm. Picture: Hugo Glendinning
Stamford Bridge Community Choir: Using Makaton signing when performing at York Community Choir Festival tonight. Picture: Murray Swain
A CHORUS of song, a play counting the cost of economics and an eye for comedy help to fill Charles Hutchinson’s in-box of entertainment for the week ahead.
Festival of the week: York Community Choir Festival, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm nightly, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MORE than 1,250 singers are performing this week at the JoRo. Tonight features Stagecoach Performing Arts Choir, The Sounds Fun Singers, The Garrowby Singers, In Harmony Ladies Choir and Stamford Bridge Community Choir; tomorrow, Huntington School Choirs; York Military Wives Choir and Heworth Community Choir, and Friday, York Theatre Royal Choir; Eboraca; Some Voices York; Bishopthorpe Community Choir and Harmonia.
The Saturday matinee presents Excel Learning Trust Schools’ Choir, The Rhythm Of Life Singers, The Fairburn Singers and The York Celebration Singers; Saturday evening, York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir, Chechelele, York Sing Space, The Wellbeing Choir and Main Street Sound Ladies Barbershop Chorus. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Rob Auton: One in the eye for comedy at The Crescent, York, tonight
The eyes have it: Rob Auton: The Eyes Open And Shut Show, Burning Duck Comedy Club at The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm; Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, May 3, 7.30pm
“THE Eyes Open And Shut Show is a show about eyes when they are open and eyes when they are shut,” says surrealist York/Barmby Moor comedian, writer, artist, podcaster and actor Rob Auton. “With this show I wanted to explore what I could do to myself and others with language when eyes are open and shut…thinking about what makes me open my eyes and what makes me shut them.” Box office: York, thecrescentyork.com; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Queenz: On song in Drag Me To The Disco at the Grand Opera House, York
Drag show of the week: Queenz, Drag Me To The Disco, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
JOIN the gals for “an electrifying, live vocal, drag-stravaganza, where Dancing Queenz and Disco Dreams collide for the party of a lifetime”, created and produced by David Griego. Flying their rainbow-coloured flag high in the sky, Bella Du-Ball, Dior Montay, Candy Caned, Billie Eyelash and ZeZe Van Cartier serve up sass, singalongs and a message of love, equality and acceptance.
Craig Colley, alias Billie Eyelash, says: “Drag queens really do come in all shapes and sizes, but if you want to see some hilarious, stupidly talented, beautiful and of course humble ones, Queenz really is the show for you.” Age guidance: 14 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer: Dancing on Speakeasy terms at York Barbican tomorrow
Dance spectacular of the week: Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez, Speakeasy, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing professionals Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez follow up Firedance with new show Speakeasy on their biggest tour so far. Expect exhilarating live music and breathtaking choreography as they unlock the door to an undercover world of elegance and iconic dance flavours.
From the clandestine New York Speakeasy to the sultry Havana dance floors and from the burlesque cabaret clubs of the mid-1900s to the glittering mirror balls of Studio 54, this “delicious dance experience” serves up Mamba, Salsa, Charleston, Foxtrot and Samba moves. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Joe Sellman-Leava, left, and Dylan Howells in It’s The Economy, Stupid! at Helmsley Arts Centre. Picture: Duncan McGlynn
Fringe show of the week: Worklight Theatre in It’s The Economy, Stupid!, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday,7.30pm
NAMED after the phrase coined by James Carville, strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, It’s the Economy, Stupid! employs storytelling to uncover the true cost of low financial literacy in a world ruled by money.
Directed by Katharina Reinthaller, this 60-minute Edinburgh Fringe hit tells the true story of a family caught up in the 1990s’ recession, losing home and livelihood under the economic conditions that led the world from post-war boom to housing and cost-of-living crises. Using an old board game, bags, boxes, projection mapping and a sprinkle of magic, writer Joe Sellman-Leava and Dylan Howells explore how macroeconomic forces can win elections and why the force that dominates personal lives is so complicated. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Greg Brice: Blues guitarist to play Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week: Greg Brice, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
BACK when Greg Brice played the pubs, clubs and bars of the West Midlands, he would find even tough audiences hanging on to his every word within a few bars. His intricate fingerstyle guitar and strident electric slide connected in the raw and immediate way that only proper roots music can. Now, in blues and Americana clubs alike, his songwriting is capturing people’s imagination. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Edwina Hayes: Heading from Beverley to Malton on Sunday night
Singer-songwriter of the week: An Evening With Edwina Hayes, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 7.30pm
EAST Riding musician Edwina Hayes brings together English folk, Americana and the northern singer-songwriter tradition to create her own sound. She has toured with Jools Holland, Van Morrison, Loudon Wainwright III and the late Nanci Griffith, who covered her song Pour Me A Drink and once called her “the sweetest voice in England”. She last released an album, Ruby Rose, in 2021. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Artwork by Rosebay, on show at Helmsley Arts Centre from today
Exhibition of the week: Rosebay, Helmsley Arts Centre, today to May 2
YORK Open Studios 2021 and Ryedale Open Studios 2023 artist Rosebay uses marker pens filled with acrylic paint as the quickest and most direct way to fill big canvasses that celebrate the unsung corners of the natural and built world. “The bark of a tree, a patch of rock, the place where weeds spring out of a crack in the pavement: all have their own magic and all are worthy of attention,” she says.
“Drawing on elements of Pop Art, graffiti art and cartography, sometimes my paintings home in on a tiny area and turn it into a whole landscape; sometimes I step back and take in a larger scene, often weaving together images I have seen as I walk.” Rosebay will be very happy to discuss her paintings when visiting the arts centre on March 16 and 30.
Jason Donovan: Doin’ fine in 2025 at York Barbican on Saturday night
AUSTRALIAN singer and actor Jason Donovan takes an “incredible ride” through 35 years in music, theatre, film and television in his Doin’ Fine 25 Tour, playing York Barbican on Saturday.
His long-awaited sequel to Doin’ Fine 90 features Jason’s most beloved songs from his stage shows, Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, The Rocky Horror Show and Grease, alongside nods to his TV times in Neighbours and Strictly Come Dancing and his biggest pop hits, Especially For You, Too Many Broken Hearts, Any Dream Will Do and Sealed With A Kiss.
Last seen in York in fishnets and face paint as Dr Frank N Further in Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show at the Grand Opera House in October 2024, here he discusses his new tour show.
Is it harder going on tour at 56 than when you were in your twenties, Jason?
“There’s a bit more physio these days and a lot more stretching. There’s even a bit of steam and inhaler just to keep the vocal cords pretty!”
It must be a great feeling to be going on the road again to sing these songs?
“I love creating my own show. I guess the difference with this and what I do in theatre is that I’m sort of the boss. For me, if I was to just rely on my own shows and those pop songs as my only bread and butter, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it as much.
“But because I get these gaps, and because I do a lot of theatre work, I get the opportunity to exercise those songs every four or five years and not get tired of them.”
Although this is the “Doin’ Fine 25 Tour”, 35 years have passed since your original Doin’ Fine shows. Are you nostalgic?
“When I listen to my own records, I get a little bit scientific about them, like was that vocal good or not good? But doing that 1990 world tour was important to me, because it was a matter of proving to myself and my audience that I was in this for the long term.”
Jason Donovan as Dr Frank N Furter, the “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania”, in The Rocky Horror Show, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, last October
What can fans expect from the tour? Aside from the hits, will there be deeper album cuts too?
“That’s always a tug of war, because you’ve got to try and deliver what people want, but educate as well. It’s about trying to find that balance between what the crowd wants and what you want creatively. You want a show that engages with an audience and doesn’t put them to sleep as well.”
Apart from your own hits, will you be performing songs from musicals you have appeared in?
“I do Rocky Horror songs, because they work really well in my shows. There are a couple ofsongs from Priscilla Queen Of The Desert that my audience loves and some covers too. Idid Don’t Leave Me This Way years ago – that’s always gone down well. My act is anunusual one, but there’s an audience out there that seems to want to listen to what I’ve gotto say and what I’ve got to sing.”
Will you have a guest vocalist for the Especially For You duet or will you pipe in Kylie Minogue’s original vocal?
“I normally have a backing singer that I do it with, but that’s an interesting idea. But I’m a little bit conscious that records like that, whilst they’re defining moments, you also don’t want to be defined as just Kylie and Jason. There are a lot of other moments to what I do and what I’ve done. You’ve got to pay reasonable respect to that, but not saturate.”
Will you be performing the Neighbours theme?
“When I used to do these personal appearances in the early 2000s I’d sing the Home And Away theme, but I’m a bit like that. People would say, ‘That’s Home And Away, that’s not Neighbours!’, and I’d go, ‘Exactly’! But more recently, when Neighbours was rebooted on Amazon, the producers asked if I wanted to re-record the song and I turned it down.
“I did have a think about it, but I thought going back to appear in what we thought was the last episode [in 2022] was enough done. It’s a great song, but does it work in a show? It’s a bit twee.”
You last released a studio album, Sign Of Your Love, in 2012. Do you have plans to record again?
“I do. The problem is, it takes a lot of energy and the market is very different now. You’ve got to dream big, I get that. I’m definitely not lazy, but I just feel that maybe my time is better spent on stuff that engages a little bit more. Like playing to full houses with Rocky Horror – what more could I want?”
Jason Donovan, Doin’ Fine 25, York Barbican, March 8, 7.30pm. Tickets update: Still available at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Richard Hawley: Made in Sheffield, played in York. Picture: Dean Chalkley
SHEFFIELD singer-songwriter Richard Hawley is the latest addition to Futuresound Group’s second summer of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts, confirmed for July 5.
Hawley, 58, will be marking the 20th anniversary of Coles Corner by performing his Mercury Music Prize-nominated 2005 album in full for the first time with a string section, alongside a selection of favourites from his 11 albums, from 2001’s Late Night Final to 2024’s In This City They Call You Love.
Hawley will be joined by 2024 Mercury Music Prize-winning Leeds band English Teacher and England-based New Jersey songwriter and multi-instrumentalist BC Camplight. Gates will open at 5pm. The show poster offers the promise of “More To Be Announced”. Watch this space.
Leeds band English Teacher
York exclusive postcode presale (YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32) will go on sale from 10am on Thursday (6/3/2025) at futuresound.seetickets.com/event/richard-hawley/york-museum-gardens/3237716?pre=postcode. General sale tickets will be available from 10am on Friday (7/3/2025) at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/richard-hawley/york-museum-gardens/3237716.
Hawley’s open-air York gig will coincide with the 20th anniversary re-issue of Coles Corner, available on Parlophone/Rhino from July 4 on Half-Speed master black vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve, 2CD deluxe edition, featuring B-sides and previously unreleased acoustic tracks, and limited-edition bundles. To pre-order, go to http://lnk.to/RichardHawleyCC20
Leeds-based promoters Futuresound Group already have announced Elbow, Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution for July 3 (SOLD OUT) and Nile Rodgers & CHIC and Jalen Ngonda for July 4 (tickets: seetickets.com/event/nile-rodgers-chic/york-museum-gardens/3257099).
New Jersey singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist BC Camplight
Coles Corner was former Longpigs and Pulp guitarist Hawley’s third studio album and his first for Mute Records. Recorded in Sheffield’s Yellow Arch Studios and co-produced with his long-time bassist Colin Elliot and Mike Timm, it featured Shez Sheridan (guitars), Jon Trier (keyboards), Jonny Wood (upright bass) and Andy Cook (drums).
Inspired by Hawley’s love of vintage 1940s and 1950s’ chamber pop, country, blues and rock’n’roll, they conjured a set of intimate love songs full of nostalgia, regret, sadness and a bittersweet atmosphere that bore witness to Hawley’s abiding love and passion for his home city of Sheffield.
Nowhere is this better exemplified than on title track Coles Corner, named after a former Sheffield department store where couples met, its romance captured in sweeping strings and swooning chorus on a universal paean to the loneliness of the city at night.
Futuresound Group’s poster for Richard Hawley’s Live At York Museum Gardens concert on July 5
Beautiful balladry in Born Under A Bad Sign and Darlin’ Wait For Me rubbed shoulders with Hawley’s love of country and early rock’n’roll in Hotel Room, I Sleep Alone and Just Like The Rain.
The most epic number was The Ocean, to this day a fan favourite in concert. Written on a family holiday in the shadow of Cornwall’s Minack Theatre (with a video later filmed at the same location), the recording featured one of Richard’s best baritone vocals.
The vinyl and CD1 track listing will be: Coles Corner; Just Like The Rain; Hotel Room; Darlin’ Wait For Me; The Ocean; Born Under A Bad Sign; I Sleep Alone; Tonight; (Wading Through) The Waters Of My Time; Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet? and Last Orders.
Richard Hawley in Coles Corner days in 2005. Picture: Joe Dilworth
The second CD of single versions, B-sides and acoustic versions comprises: The Ocean – Single Version; Just Like The Rain – Single Version; Born Under A Bad Sign – Single Version; Hotel Room – Single Version; Long Black Veil; Room With A View; I’m Absolutely Hank Marvin; Dark Road; Kelham Island; Some Candy Talking; Young And Beautiful; I’m Just Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail; Can You Hear The Rain Love?; Coles Corner – Acoustic Version; Hotel Room – Acoustic Version; Darlin’ Wait For Me – Acoustic Version; I Sleep Alone – Live at Sheffield City Hall and A Bird Never Flew On One Wing.
Tickets will go on sale on March 14 for further performances of Coles Corner with a string section at Boston Gliderdrome, September 5; Portmeirion Village, Wales, September 6; Blackpool Tower Ballroom, September 12; Margate Dreamland, October 3, Worthing Assembly Hall, October 4, and Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier, October 10. Box office: seetickets.com.
Richard Hawley’s album cover artwork for 2005’s Coles Corner, photographed outside the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
Enthusiastic performer: Jackie Cox’s Florence Foster Jenkins poses for the camera in full regalia in the rehearsal room for Rowntree Players’ production of Glorious!
COVER your ears! Here comes Glorious! The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, as told by Peter Quilter in his play with music, to be staged by Rowntree Players from March 13 to 15 at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York.
Billed as a “joyous and heart-warming comedy”, this 2005 play is based on the life of 1940s’ New York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, who had a passion for singing but a voice for disaster, nevertheless defying her far-from-perfect pitch to perform enthusiastically to bemused audiences.
Considered by many to be “the worst singer in the world” and “the First Lady of the sliding scale”, Florence gave charity private recitals to fans, such as Cole Porter, sang at extravagant balls, made bizarre recordings and revelled in a legendary, triumphant sold-out performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall at the age of 76.
Neil Foster’s Cosme McMoon, left, Jackie Cox’s Florence Foster Jenkins and Mike Hickman’s St Clair in Rowntree Players’ Glorious!
Soprano Florence warbled and screeched her way through her performances, where audiences greeted her with derisive laughter, but this delusional and joyously happy woman paid little attention to her critics, instead surrounding herself with a circle of devoted friends who were almost as eccentric as she was.
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals, Quilter’s play is a story of friends who embrace their delusions and have the courage to follow their dreams, no matter what.
Director Martyn Hunter has assembled a cast of Jackie Cox as Florence Foster Jenkins; Neil Foster, Cosme McMoon; Jeanette Hunter, Dorothy; Mike Hickman, St Clair; Chris Higgins, Mrs Verrinderr-Gedge, and Moira Tate, Maria.
Mike Hickman in rehearsal for his role as St Clair
Martyn is joined in the production team by production and technical manager Graham Smith and marketing and costumes team Sara Howlett and Leni Ella.
Rowntree Players present Glorious! The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 13 to 15, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee.Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Did you know?
GLORIOUS received its West End premiere at the Duchess Theatre, London, on November 3, 2005, directed by Alan Strachan with Hull actress Maureen Lipman in the role of Florence Foster Jenkins.
Chris Higgins’s Mrs Verrinderr-Gedge, Jeanette Hunter’s Dorothy and Moira Tate’s Maria in a poster for Rowntree Players’ production of Glorious!
Kieran White (1961-2025) playing at his favourite busking pitch by St Michael le Belfrey
THE funeral of York composer, busker, solo and band pianist, piano teacher, York St John University tutor and Buster Keaton aficionado Kieran White will be held on Tuesday, March 18 at 1pm at English Martyrs RC Church, Dalton Terrace, York.
On behalf of Kieran’s widow, Kate, everybody is invited to attend an open-mic celebration at the Waggon & Horses pub, in Lawrence Street, where tributes of music, songs, piano pieces and more besides can be played and shared by anyone who would like to do so in his memory. A piano will be on site.
“If you are unable to attend the church service, please do come down to the pub to say thank you for the music to Kieran,” says Louisa Jane Yasmin Starr, who played in a duo and the band White Starrs with Kieran, alongside Kate White on saxophone, and will give the eulogy at the funeral.
At English Martyrs, parking is limited; the nearest public car park is at Nunnery Lane. It is requested that only family flowers are arranged; the burial at York Cemetery will be private.
Donations in memory of Kieran can be made to York Mind.
