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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond when seeking that lovely jubbly feeling. Hutch’s List No. 38, from Gazette & Herald

Lethal tea maker: The Black Widow at York Dungeon

DEL Boy in a musical, a Dungeon murderess, a Greek teen tragedy and gruesome Tower tales promise entertainment and enlightenment, advises Charles Hutchinson.   

New attraction of the week: The Black Widow, York Dungeon, Clifford Street, York, daily from 10am

HERE comes this Hallowe’en season’s new show at York Dungeon. Be prepared to encounter the grim tale of Britain’s first female serial killer: Mary Ann Cotton.

A north easterner with a propensity for lacing tea with a drop of arsenic, the Black Widow was convicted of only one murder but is believed to have killed many others, including 11 of her 13 children, and three of her four husbands. Box office: thedungeons.com/york/tickets-passes/. Pre-booking is essential.

Sam Lupton’s Del Boy on a date with Georgina Hagen’s Raquel in Only Fools And Horses The Musical at the Grand Opera House, York

“Plonker” musical of the week: Only Fools And Horses The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees today and Saturday

BASED on John Sullivan’s long-running BBC One series, his son Jim Sullivan and comedy treasure Paul Whitehouse’s West End hit, Only Fools And Horses The Musical, combines 20 songs with an ingenious script.

“Join us as we take a trip back in time to 1989, where it’s all kicking off in Peckham,” reads the 2024-25 tour invitation. “While the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, love is in the air as Del Boy sets out on the rocky road to find his soul mate, Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say ‘I do’, and even Trigger is gearing up for a date (with a person!).” Box office for the last few tickets: atgtickets.com/york.

Chris Mooney and Helen “Bells” Spencer in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, the debut collaboration between Black Sheep Theatre Productions and Wharfemede Productions

Debut of the week: Wharfemede Productions & Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Last Five Years, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.45pm

HELEN Spencer and Nick Sephton launch their new York company, Wharfemede Productions, in tandem with Black Sheep Theatre Productions, by staging The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s emotive musical story of two New Yorkers, rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years.

Combining only two cast members, York theatre scene luminaries Chris Mooney and Spencer, with a seven-piece band, expect an intimate and emotive evening of frank storytelling and gorgeous music. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/wharfemede-productions-ltd.

Alexander Flanagan-Wright in Helios, his modern take on the Fall of Phaeton, performed under the Great Hall dome at Castle Howard

Theatrical event of the week: Wright & Grainger in Helios, The Great Hall, Castle Howard, near York, today, 5pm and 7.30pm

A LAD lives halfway up an historic hill. A teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car. A boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky. In a play about the son of the god of the sun, Helios transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound round the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city.

“It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build to it, and the little things that leave big marks,” says writer-performer Alexander Flanagan-Wright, who presents his delicate tale with a tape-player beneath the Great Hall dome’s mural, painted by 18th century Venetian painter Antonio Pelligrini, whose depiction of the Fall of Phaeton was the thematic inspiration behind Helios. Box office: castlehoward.co.uk.

Alison Weir: Gruesome tales of executions, beheadings and Royal intrigue from 900 years at the Tower Of London

Literary event of the week: Kemps Bookshop Presents Alison Weir – Ghosts & Gruesome Tales Of The Tower, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight, 7.30pm

IF any place could lay claim to a host of tortured souls and ghosts, it would be the Tower of London. Historian Alison Weir regales her Malton audience with chilling ghostly tales of grim events, bloody deeds, intrigues and violent deaths the Tower has witnessed over 900 years and the ghosts that reputedly haunt it. After her talk, she will take questions and sign copies of her books. Box office: 01653 696240 themiltonrooms.com.

Mary Bourne, left, and Jessa Liversidge: Uplifting journey of song in Songbirds at Helmsley Arts Centre

Songbirds: A Celebration of Female Musical Icons, with Jessa Liversidge and Mary Bourne, Helmsley Arts Centre, October 25, 7.30pm

DEVISED and performed by vocalists Jessa Liversidge, from Easingwold, and Mary Bourne, from Kingston upon Thames, Songbirds is an uplifting journey of song, celebrating “some of the most iconic female singers and songwriters ever known”, from Carole King and Annie Lennox to Kate Bush and Adele. Special guests include HAC Singers and Easingwold Community Singers. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Nadia Reid: Making her Band Room debut on the North York Moors

Moorland gig of the season: Nadia Reid, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, October 26, 7.30pm

THE Band Room promoter Nigel Burnham first tried to book New Zealand singer-songwriter sensation Nadia Reid on her first British tour in 2017. “Persistence has paid off,” he says, welcoming her to “the greatest small venue on Earth” as part of a series of intimate, magical solo shows.

Noted for her evocative lyrics and introspective, folk-infused soundscapes, Reid has been described as “an understated, wise guide through uncertain territory”, drawing comparison with Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, Gillian Welch and Sandy Denny. Latest album Out of My Province took her to Matthew E White’s Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia, where producer Trey Pollard surrounded her songs in luminous washes of southern country soul. Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.

Elbow: Headlining first day of second season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts

Show announcement of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, July 3 2025

GUY Garvey’s Mercury Prize-winning Bury band Elbow are confirmed as the first headliner for Futuresound’s second Live At York Museum Gardens concert weekend, after the sold-out success of Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary shows and Jack Savoretti this summer.

Elbow will be supported by Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution. The York exclusive postcode presale (for YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32) goes on sale today at 10am at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333?pre=postcode. General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333.

In Focus: Nunnington Hall Autumn Festival, October 19 and 20

Nunnington Hall: Autumn garden tours next weekend

VISITORS to the National Trust property of Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, can enjoy the manor house being decorated for autumn next weekend.

The garden team will be running garden tours and apple-juicing demonstrations, and there will be an opportunity to do autumn-themed crafts.

Programming and  partnerships officer Elena Leyshon says: “We’re delighted that our annual Autumn Festival will be returning to Nunnington Hall this year. Visitors can explore the hall decorated for autumn and join our garden team on orchard and wildlife tours, and live apple-juicing demonstrations.

“We’ll have a range of local makers and creators demonstrating and selling their work, from willow weaving to felting.

“There will also be some delicious autumnal treats in the tearoom to enjoy, so come along and enjoy a sweet treat in our tearoom and celebrate the best of the autumnal season with us.”

Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie’s exhibition, A Yorkshire Year, continues at Nunnington Hall and will be be open to visitors over the festival weekend.

Nunnington Hall  Autumn Festival, October 19 and 20, 10.30am to 5pm each day, with last entry at 4.15pm. Visiting stalls will be on site until 4pm. No booking is required. Normal property admission applies, with free admission for National Trust members and under fives.

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Gig announcement of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, July 3 2025

Elbow: July 3 headliners for next summer’s Live At York Museum Gardens concert series

GUY Garvey’s Mercury Prize-winning Bury band Elbow are confirmed as the first headliner for Futuresound’s second Live At York Museum Gardens concert weekend, after the sold-out success of Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary shows and Jack Savoretti this summer.

Elbow will be supported by Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution.

The York exclusive postcode presale (for YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32) goes on sale tomorrow at 10am at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333?pre=postcode. General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333.

Rachel Hill, project manager for Futuresound Group, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the York Museum Gardens team once more for another great event.  This year was such a proud moment for all involved. 

“Witnessing how incredibly important it is to the people of York, their support and how it was received is so heart-warming.  Seeing the city come to light and witnessing the benefits of the economic impact was a wonderful thing.”

 Richard Saward, head of operations at fellow event promoters, York Museums Trust, said: “We are excited to welcome the concerts back to York Museum Gardens in 2025.  The events last year brought in new audiences to the city and the gardens, with the income we raised invested back into our museums, galleries and collections.”

Watch this space for further news of next summer’s Live At York Museums Gardens programme.

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Shed Seven to close 30th anniversary with December 21 and 22 gigs by Rick Witter and Paul Banks at Huntington WMC

Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Playing intimate acoustic sets at Huntington Working Men’s Club on December 21 and 22

SHED Seven will end their 30th anniversary celebrations with a brace of intimate acoustic concerts by frontman Rick Witter and guitarist Paul Banks at Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, on December 21 and 22.

“We are genuinely thrilled to announce a pair of very special homecoming shows,” says Rick. “And where better to end our 30th anniversary year than in Huntington, where me, Paul and Tom first met back in the ’80s and the story first began.” Tom, as in Sheds’ bassist Tom Gladwin, will do a DJ set each night.

Tickets will go on sale at store.shedseven.com at 9am on Wednesday (12/6/2024) for this York postscript to the Sheds’ 23-date November and December tour, their biggest ever “Shedcember” itinerary.

Yorkshire venues will be Sheffield Octagon, November 14 (sold out); Victoria Theatre, Halifax, November 18; Hull City Hall, November 19, and Leeds O2 Academy, November 30 (sold out).

The year began with the Sheds’ first ever number one album, A Matter Of Time, followed by vinyl chart-topping single Let’s Go Dancing, and next up will be two sold-out outdoor shows on July 19 and 20 as part of Futuresound Group’s four-day festival at York Museum Gardens.

On September 27, they will release Liquid Gold, an album of orchestral re-workings of 12 Shed Seven hits and live favourites, reimagined by the band in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall.

Brice’s credits include Liam Gallagher and Placebo, while Rendall worked with the Sheds on 2017’s Top Ten comeback album Instant Pleasures and A Matter Of Time.

Shed Seven’s 2024 line-up: Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, left, Paul Banks, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Tim Wills

For the richly reinventive recording sessions, Shed Seven teamed up with a full orchestra, brass section, gospel singers et al.

Released on Cooking Vinyl, Liquid Gold spans the band’s career, from Speakeasy and Ocean Pie, off 1994 debut album Change Giver, to Better Days, from Instant Pleasures, via a soaring, sweeping Disco Down.

It also revisits the Sheds’ landmark second album, 1996’s A Maximum High, for Getting Better, Going For Gold, On Standby and a dramatic new take on Parallel Lines, described playfully by Paul Banks as “sounding like Shed Zeppelin”.

The more luxuriant scale is encapsulated in Devil In My Shoes. Originally a slow-burning highlight of 1998’s Let It Ride, this new account adds a cinematic sheen: its new-found grandeur providing a shimmering contrast between the initially downbeat melancholy and the full force of optimism that beams through the crescendo.

Liquid Gold is completed by All Roads Lead To You, a new composition written specifically for this project, and a new version of Instant Pleasures-era bonus track Waiting For The Catch, now featuring Issy Ferris, from the UK Americana Award winners Ferris & Sylvester.

“This year we celebrate 30 years as recording artists and, after reminiscing about our career, we thought we’d celebrate the milestone by revisiting some key songs from our past,” says Rick.

“The idea being that if we cherry picked a hatful of songs and recorded them now, it would be a coherent stroll down memory lane but also sit sonically beside our recent number one album A Matter Of Time. A logical next step.”

The cover artwork for Shed Seven’s September 27 album of orchestral reinventions, Liquid Gold

Rick continues: “We see this record as a gateway into the world of Shed Seven. We also felt that adding an orchestra to each track would lend the whole project a unique slant. The songs have become widescreen, full of colour.

“The original recordings will always hold a special place in our hearts but re-recording the chosen songs was an exciting prospect for us. It’s a gift from the band to our loyal supporters and will hopefully introduce some golden moments throughout our career to a whole new audience. Enjoy, and here’s to the next 30 years!”

The Sheds gave a taster of Liquid Gold at their May 30 appearance on BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room, when they performed Chasing Rainbows, Talk Of The Town and a cover of Duran Duran’s Planet Earth live at Maida Vale with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Chris George and arranger Fiona Brice.  

Liquid Gold is available to pre-order at shedsevenn.lnk.to/LiquidGoldPR, where the Sheds’ official store offers exclusives in the shape of a splatter vinyl with unique artwork, a different colour CD and a cassette, while all bundles also add a signed postcard.

Other retailer-specific formats include silver vinyl, from Assai Records, blue vinyl, from HMV, and yellow vinyl, from select indie stores.

After their open-air summertime shows in York and at Blossoms’ Big Bank Holiday Weekend at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, on August 25, the 30th anniversary Tour will run from November 14 to December 14. Expect the Britpop-era hits, fresh favourites from A Matter Of Time and surprise guest appearances, plus support from special guests The Sherlocks. To check ticket availability amid a raft of sold-out shows, head to gigst.rs/SS24.

Liquid Gold track listing:

Getting Better; Speakeasy; Devil In Your Shoes; On Standby; Going For Gold; Waiting For The Catch, featuring Issy Ferris; Better Days; Parallel Lines; Disco Down; Ocean Pie; All Roads Lead To You; Chasing Rainbows.

The poster artwork for Shed Seven’s Rick Witter & Paul Banks gigs at Huntington Working Men’s Club
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How Rachel Hill brought her passion project to fruition with Futuresound’s York Museum Gardens concert series this summer

Rachel Hill: Project manager for Futuresound’s July concerts at York Museum Gardens

FUTURESOUND events promoter and project manager Rachel Hill has long had her eye on putting on concerts in the Museum Gardens in her home city of York.

This summer that aspiration becomes a reality when chart-topping local heroes Shed Seven play sold-out 30th anniversary shows on July 19 and 20, bookended by Anglo-Italian singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti on July 18 and Sugababes’ original girl group line-up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy on July 21.

“I used to come to the Museum Gardens as a kid, to sit in the gardens and muck around,” recalls Rachel. “As I got older and Mr H [Tim Hornsby] took me under his wing at Fibbers, I realised I wanted a career in music in some capacity. I remember thinking, ‘the Museum Gardens would be the perfect place for gigs: the landscape, the history, the location. It’s just beautiful.”

Rock and pop concerts are not unprecedented in the Museum Gardens: Hawkwind in July 1971; Roxy Music in July 1973, when they parked their tour van in Marygate; Procol Harum in July 1976 and Wendy Wu’s New Wave band The Photos in June 1980.

Since then, the Gardens have played host to the York Mystery Plays (most recently in 2012), light installations, children’s storytelling days, birds of prey displays and operatic soprano Rebecca Fewtrell’s York Proms concerts since 2017.

Jack Savoretti: Topping the Futuresound bill at York Museum Gardens on July 18

“We’re going to follow the same template as the York Proms because York Museums Trust knows that template works well,” says Rachel. “That’s why the stage will be set up in front of the Yorkshire Museum, rather than by the St Mary’s Abbey ruins [where the York Mystery Plays were staged from their revival for the Festival of Britain in 1951 onwards].

“St Mary’s Abbey might happen in the future, but in order for us to make it work this summer, it was right to use the York Proms template.”

The Futuresound Group, a music management and promotion company based in Munro House, Duke Street, Leeds, already runs the two Live At Leeds festivals (In The Park and In The City) each year, along with the pop-punk, emo and metal Slam Dunk Festival at Temple Newsam, Leeds and Hatfield House, Hertfordshire (May 25 and 26 2024), as well as owning The Wardrobe venue in the thriving Quarry Hill arts, media and education quarter of Leeds.

The four-day York event is the latest addition to the portfolio, as Rachel’s passion project comes to fruition. “York Museum Gardens lend themselves to staging concerts. I’m really passionate about this, and I wanted them to be put on by a local person, a Yorkshire company, with a relationship with the local community,” she says.

“It’s been in the pipeline for a while as a venue for Futuresound. It was about finding the right format, the right dates, taking into consideration what goes on at the Hospitium in the gardens [such as wedding parties]. It came down to careful planning, and thankfully the stars aligned.”

Shed Seven’s Paul Banks, left, Tim Wills, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Rob’Maxi’ Maxfield, in front of St Mary’s Abbey, York Museum Gardens. Two sold-out gigs await in July

Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary was the perfect opportunity. “I know them from when they first performed at Fibbers, when I started working there for Tim Hornsby, and I still see them around town, though we don’t see each other in pubs these days. It’s now in supermarkets – and not even in the booze aisle!” says Rachel.

The chart-topping success of the Sheds’ January album A Matter Of Time gave further impetus to their 4,000-capacity Museum Gardens gigs, both selling out rapidly. Rachel then added Jack Savoretti and 2024 MOBO Award-winning Sugababes too.

“It was really important to have contrasting concerts,” says Rachel. “I’m very aware that York is a really diverse city culturally, and I really wanted to expand the genres over the four days. That was important to Futuresound’s head promoter, Andy Smith, too, who’s followed my lead on it, and that’s why we’ll have local opening acts.

“York singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich will be on the Jack Savoretti bill, along with Irish musician Foy Vance, and we’ll be announcing the Sugababes’ supports over the next few weeks.

“The Sheds curated their own bill, which was important for them, with Libertines’ co-frontman Peter Doherty on both nights; The Lottery Winners and Serotones [Rick Witter’s son Duke’s band] on July 19, and Brooke Combe and Apollo Junction on July 20.”

Sugababes: Playing York Museum Gardens on July 21

Rachel has past experience of working with Doherty, one of rock’s legendary wild men. “We assisted on Rock’n’Roll Circus with The Libertines a couple of years ago. You just have to mother him!” she says. “He’s got a great relationship with the Sheds, especially with Rick [duetting with him on A Matter Of Time’s closing track, Throwaways].”

Rumour has it that Doherty will not be the only contributor to A Matter Of Time likely to be making an appearance at the Sheds gigs. “I believe Rowetta will doing the shows too,” says Rachel, referring to the Happy Mondays’ singer, who plays the female foil to Witter on In Ecstasy.

Rachel believes in the importance of building relationships, especially with an eye to establishing Futuresound’s open-air shows as a regular component of the Museum Gardens summer. “York Museums Trust [which runs the Yorkshire Museum] have been very supportive of us running a four-day event, and we’ve been engaging with the local residents too with two community engagement evenings.

“The first one was at the Hospitium and the second one will be held in the Fairfax Room in the Yorkshire Museum, open to those who live in close proximity to the gardens. I’ve done all the letter drops myself. We would really like to keep doing these concerts; that’s something very close to my heart.”

The last word goes to Shed Seven’s Rick Witter in praise of Futuresound. “We’ve really enjoyed the experience of working with them as they’re really forward thinking,” he says. “They like to go down the unusual route, like having us play in the Museum Gardens. That’s something different from playing York Barbican or the new football stadium.

“They’re thinking outside the box by not putting on two more nights with more indie bands but appealing to people who like other types of music by having Jack Savoretti and Sugababes.”

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‘Genuine icons’ Sugababes to play York Museum Gardens on July 21. Tickets on sale

Sugababes in 2024: Mutya Buena, left, Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan

SUGABABES will complete Futuresounds’ debut line-up for Live At York Museum Gardens in their second outdoor appearance in the city.

The London girl band’s original line-up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy will perform on Sunday, July 21, following up their July 23 performance at the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend two summers ago.

They join London singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti on July 18 and chart-topping York titans Shed Seven on July 19 and 20 (both sold out) in the four-night run.

Futuresound Group’s Rachel Hill says: “We are thrilled to finally announce the completed line-up for our first year in the beautiful Museum Gardens with the incredible Sugababes.

Shed Seven: Playing sold-out shows at York Museum Gardens, supported by Peter Doherty, on July 19 and 20. Friday gig will feature Lottery Winners and York band Serotones, fronted by Rick Witter’s son Duke. Picture: Barnaby Fairley

“It’s so exciting to have some genuine icons join us while being able to showcase some of York’s brilliant local artists. With such an eclectic line-up, this will really offer the residents of York a weekend of live music to remember.”

A full supporting line-up of special guests for July 21 will be announced soon. Tickets will be available first via a postcode presale event from 10am today, open to YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32 residents at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/sugababes/york-museum-gardens/2953107?pre=pc.

General sales will open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/sugababes/york-museum-gardens/2953107.

Formed in 1998, Sugababes have topped the singles charts with Freak Like Me (2001), Round Round (2022), Hole In The Head (2003), Push The Button (2005), Walk This Way (with Girls Aloud, 2006) and About You Now (2007), while 2005’s Taller In More Ways and 2007’s Change hit the album chart peak too.

Jack Savoretti: Playing York Museum Gardens on July 18, supported by Foy Vance and York singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Top ten hits came their way with Overload (2000), Angels With Dirty Faces (2002), Too Lost In You (2003), In The Middle (2004), Caught In A Moment (2004), Ugly (2005), Red Dress (2005), Easy (2006), Girls (2008), Get Sexy (2009), About A Girl (2009) and Wear My Kiss (2010).

The Sugababes line-up changed three times – Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen joining at various points – before Buena, Buchanan and Donaghy reunited in 2011.

Live At York Museum Gardens is Yorkshire promoters Futuresound’s latest addition to a portfolio that has embraced Live At Leeds, Slum Dunk Festival and Ed Sheeran’s August 16 and 17 2019 performances at Roundhay Park, Leeds.

Futuresounds will present Madness on their C’est La Vie itinerary at Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall, Leeds, on July 26, supported by The Zutons. What a Yorkshire panoply of outdoor concerts is in prospect that night when Kaiser Chiefs will play York Racecourse and James will return to Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

Tickets: Madness, https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/madness/kirkstall-abbey/2835070; Kaiser Chiefs, yorkracecourse.co.uk; James, scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

The poster announcing the postcode presale for Sugababes’ show at York Museum Gardens
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First, Shed Seven two-nighter, now Jack Savoretti confirmed for July 18 at Museum Gardens. Fourth gig to be announced soon

Jack Savoretti: First York appearance since 2017. Picture: Supplied

JACK Savoretti is to headline July 18’s triple bill at York Museum Gardens with support from special guests Foy Vance and York singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich.

General ticket sales open at 9am this morning at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/jack-savoretti/york-museum-gardens/2929799.

London-born acoustic singer-songwriter Savoretti, 40, has released seven studio albums and one compilation, Songs From Different Times, since 2007.

Savoretti, whose exotic full name is Giovanni Edgar Charles Galletto-Savoretti, previously played York in an intimate gig at Fibbers on July 16 2017, when promoter Mr H, alias legendary York club boss Tim Hornsby, enthused: “He’s a class act, a modern-day troubadour, a thrilling performer, a giant.

“Our hero may have started as a lonely acoustic troubadour, relying on not much more than his songs and that careworn growl, but we’re now witnessing a gorgeous widescreen sweep, drawing on a rich Italian heritage, with Morricone-like flourishes and battlefield last stands.”

Storytelling Bangor bluesman Foy Vance

Such sentiments still stand, rubber-stamped by the chart accolade of Savoretti hitting number one with his past two studio albums, March 2019’s Singing To Strangers, recorded at Ennio Morricone’s studio in Rome, and June 2021’s Europiana, conceived in lockdowns at Jack’s Oxfordshire home. A deluxe edition, Europiana Encore, followed in 2022.

In an Instagram post last November, Savoretti revealed he was “in the studio, where we are putting the final touches to the new album”.

The title and release date details are yet to be announced but CharlesHutchPress’s early request for an interview elicited this response from Chelsea Bakewell, marketing manager for concert promoters Futuresound: “Jack’s team mentioned they are pausing on interview until the album is out so this isn’t something which can be facilitated at this moment in time I’m afraid.” Watch this space!

Northern Irish storytelling bluesman, survivor, rocker and folk hero Foy Vance, 49, will be returning to York for the first time since headlining York Barbican on his Signs Of Life tour in August 2022.

Now living in Tottenham, London, York singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich, 34, will release his fifth studio album, Some Things Break, next Friday on Dirty Hit Records, his regular home since becoming the label’s first signing at the age of 21 in 2011.

Composed over the past two years at locations across the globe, from London to Nashville, Washington to Stockholm, Some Things Break was produced by Grammy Award-winning Jimmy Hogarth and features collaborations with fellow songwriters Mikky Ekko, Jamie Squire and Jon Green.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich: New album to be released on February 9. Picture: Harry Pearson

The track listing will be:  I’m Always Saying Sorry; Moon Landing Hoax; Break In The Weather; New York; Some Things Break; Spokane, Washington; God’s Best; A Love Like That; Only You and Don’t Give Up on The Light.

“Learning to hold onto certain things and let go of others, with as much grace as possible, I feel like I’m hiding less on this record,” says Leftwich. “Ultimately, I think it’s a record about a kind of slow acceptance that some things break and, for me, sometimes that’s necessary for healing.”

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Leftwich will open his eight-date spring tour at Leeds Brudenell Social Club on April 4, where he will be accompanied by The 1975’s Jamie Squire on piano. For tickets, head to:  www.benjaminfrancisleftwich.com

Leftwich has played myriad concerts in York over the past 15 years, none more contrasting than an exclusive, intimate album launch gig for Gratitude at the 50-capacity FortyFive Vinyl Café, Micklegate, on March 15 2019, followed only a fortnight later by York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe.

Savoretti’s concert will be part of a four-night run of Futuresound promotions at York Museum Gardens. York’s revitalised Britpop survivors, Shed Seven, will ride in on a crest of a wave for sold-out 30th anniversary gigs on July 19 and 20, with The Libertines’ Peter Doherty in support, after topping the album charts for the first time with A Matter Of Time on January 12.

The fourth concert will be announced soon.

The poster for Jack Savoretti’s July 18 concert at York Museum Gardens