Prima Choral Artists; poster for Sunday’s concerts at the double on Father’s Day
PRODUCER and artistic director Eve Lorian leads Prima Choral Artists in a compelling journey through global vocal traditions in two concerts on Sunday at the National Centre For Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
Under One Sky is a signature programme by this Polish-born, York-based choral director, who has consistently introduced unique concerts and explored new territory for York choirs for nearly two decades.
Eve’s latest artistic compilation is designed to celebrate the relationship between musical language, cultural identity and vocal technique, while recognising the unifying nature of the choral canon. Spanning a wide geographical and cultural spectrum, the repertoire highlights distinctive approaches to tone production, ornamentation, rhythm and ensemble cohesion.
Sunday’s programme opens with Sakura, a Japanese folk melody characterised by its pentatonic modality and lyrical phrasing. The Bulgarian works Kaval Sviri and Dilmano Dilbero exemplify the highly resonant, open-throated “white voice” technique, and this vocal aesthetic continues in Serbian folk music, where dance-derived rhythms and communal expression are central.
Folk traditions of the North Atlantic are represented through the French-Canadian J’entends le Moulin, with its rhythmic drive, alongside Wild Mountain Thyme and Gaelic Song Of The Boatman, which reflect the modal inflections of Scottish and Gaelic song traditions.
Prima Choral Artists’ founder, producer and artistic director Eve Lorian
The programme broadens even further afield through Yeish Kochavim (Hebrew), Evohé (Venezuela) and Dao Mai Fan Ye’ (Mandarin), each illustrating the interaction between text, rhythm and collective energy within their respective traditions. These works foreground the role of music in both ritual and communal celebration.
The final section centres on vocal traditions from the Torres Strait Islands and Southern Africa. Sesere Eeye reflects oral transmission practices and community-based performance, while Ngothando, Ndikhokhele Bawo and Papaoutai demonstrate the harmonies and call-and-response structures that are foundational to many African musical forms.
Eve’s diligent research has brought together this sparkling burst of music with the support of a choir who are no strangers to world music and singing in multiple languages.
“We have always been proud of our multi-cultural, international identity,” says Eve. “Music has always been a unifying force for good. These concerts, celebrating unity through diversity, represent a truth that sometimes only music can express.”
Giving a brief glimpse into the creative process behind these events, she adds: “Selecting the music takes weeks upon weeks of research and listening. I thrive on fresh choices, on presenting the unexpected – and these pieces are far from the standard choral repertoire.
Prima Choral Artists in concert under Eve Lorian’s direction
“But the title came so naturally: Under One Sky says everything that we mean to convey in these two performances!”
International connections for Eve and Prima Choral Artists are not merely constrained to concert programming. For more than a decade, Eve has led the way in introducing outstanding overseas opportunities for York choirs.
This commitment continues this summer with a concert tour to Prague from July 8 to 13 to take part in the International Choir and Orchestra Festival (Prague Festival 2026, July 9 to 13).
On September 6, Eve will welcome the Norwegian choir Fanakoret, from Bergen, for a Friendship performance with Prima Choral Artists at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, at 5pm.
“Before these opportunities comes the unmissable chance to join Prima on Father’s Day on Sunday at the National Centre For Early Music with the two time slots designed to complement everyone’s plans and make for a truly special weekend celebration,” she says.
Tickets are available from www.primachoral.com; with limited seating available, booking is recommended.
Al Dunn, Matt Freeman and Nick Bunt in Oh Zeus! on Le Navet Bete’s fifth visit to York Theatre Royal. Picture: Mark Senior
A MYTHOLOGICAL farce and Lenny Henry at large, a snappy crocodile and a Man-Wulf, a spelling bee musical and a mirrored installation keep Charles Hutchinson’s arty eye on the ball and off the football.
Greek comedy of the week: Le Navet Bete in Oh Zeus!, York Theatre Royal, today, 2pm and 7.30pm
EXETER’S chaotic comedy specialists, Le Navet Bete, conduct a riotous ride through Ancient Greece, the Underworld and back in Oh Zeus! Written by director John Nicholson and company founders Al Dunn, Nick Bunt and Matt Freeman, this mythological farce finds the stability of Olympus being threatened by the marriage of Zeus’s daughter, Hebe, to a mere mortal, whereupon the King of the Gods hatches a plan to derail the wedding.
Expect physical comedy, outrageous jokes and fast-paced pandemonium as Dunn, Bunt and Freeman play 40 characters between them. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Beverley Knight: Born to perform at York Barbican. Picture: Lewis Shaw
Recommended but sold out: Beverley Knight, Born To Perform, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
QUEEN of British soul Beverley Knight shares stories from her life on stage, as well as performing her biggest hits, musical theatre favourites and cherished songs that have inspired her on her 20-date UK tour.
“Born To Perform is me taking you on a journey through my life on both music and theatre stages, using my memories and of course my songs. I’m stripping back my sound so the audience can lean in a little closer and really hear my soul,” says Knight, whose hits include Made It Black, Greatest Day, Get Up, Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Gold, Come As You Are, Keep This Fire Burning and Piece Of My Heart. Her special guest is Gabriella Cilmi. Box office for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Anastacia: Playing Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Not That Kind tour
Coastal gigs of the week: TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Skunk Anansie & Garbage, tonight; Anastacia and Heather Small tomorrow, gates 6pm
SKUNK Anansie and Garbage play Scarborough on a six-date tour. Formed in London in 1994, fronted by Skin, Skunk Anansie blend hard rock with political and social themes; American alternative rock band Garbage, fronted by Scottish singer Shirley Manson, combine rock, electronica and pop influences.
Chicago singer Anastacia heads to the Yorkshire coast to perform I’m Outta Love, Paid My Dues and Left Outside Alone et al on her Not That Kind tour. London soul singer Heather Small, of M People fame, is her special guest. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
York artist Ric Liptrot’s illustration for tomorrow’s 2026 Bishy Road Street Party
Community event of the week: Bishy Road Street Party, Bishopthorpe Road, York, tomorrow, 11am to 4pm
CELEBRATING community spirit and independent shops, Bishopthorpe Road Traders Association’s 2026 Bishy Road Street Party combines live music, family activities and food and drink, plus street vendors and community stalls. The main stage plays host to performances by Yorkshire Voices (11am), Third Parallel (11.45am), Gaia On Fire (Juno, 12.30pm) and Bargestra (1.30pm), climaxing with headline sets by the Yorky Pud Street Band (14.15pm) and The Unnamed Band (3.15pm).
Look out for five children’s performances and interactive sessions, with appearances from Evergreen Explorers (11am), Professor Dan (12 noon), Baby Band (1pm), Elevate Dance Sessions (2pm) and Josh Benson (3pm). A children’s zone, featuring face painting, mud kitchen, crafts, hair braiding and balloons, will be set up on Ebor Street and entertainment will be spread across the event space. Charities, artists, makers and community groups offer games, activities and information. Free to attend; no booking required.
Artist and designer Es Devlinin the Temple of the Fours Winds at Castle Howard. Picture: Rick Walker, PA Media
Installation of the week: Es Devlin, Library Of The Four Winds, Temple of the Four Winds, Castle Howard, near Malton, until September 27
AS part of the Vanbrugh 300 celebrations at Castle Howard, artist and designer Es Devlin responds to Sir John Vanbrugh’s visionary architecture with her luminous installation Library Of The Four Winds, a new mirrored sculpture that takes over the Temple of the Four Winds in honour of the National Year of Reading.
The temple’s original use as a place for refreshment and reading was Devlin’s starting point for a central sculpture made up of hundreds of books, curated from the personal libraries of Vanbrugh and Devlin. The temple is encompassed by four concentric tables where the public can read, draw, talk, eat and listen. The space will host events throughout the summer. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk.
The many faces of Lenny Henry: Actor, comedian, fundraiser and stand-up anedoctalist
Talk of the week: Lenny Henry, Still At Large, Grand Opera House, York, June 23, 7.30pm
PART stand-up, part storytelling and part conversation with himself and with you, Still At Large finds Lenny Henry returning to the experiences that shaped him while also exploring the ideas, challenges and creative sparks driving him today.
From The Lenny Henry Show and Chef! to dramatic performances in Othello and The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, he traces the roles, characters and moments that have defined his six-decade career and shares what continues to inspire him as he reflects on a life lived out loud. On show will be the many versions of Lenny: actor, impressionist, comedian, fundraiser and stand-up anecdotalist. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Dan Wood, left, Stephen Wright, Lotty Farmer, Rosa Burns, Hannah Shaw and James Dickinson in York Light Opera Company’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 24 to 27 & June 30 to July 4, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinees and 2pm Sunday matinee (28/6/2026)
NEIL Wood directs York Light in Rebecca Feldman, William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical account of six ‘mid-pubescents’ battling for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing stories from their home life, the tweens spell their way through a series of words hoping to never hear the bell that signals a mistake.
Cue a heart-warming message that highlights themes of friendship, identity and perseverance, all while celebrating the awkwardness and excitement of growing up. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Jordan Eskeisa, left, Marienella Phillips, Chelsea Da Silva (The Enormous Crocodile, front), Precious Abimbola and Ciara Hudson in The Enormous Crocodile. Picture: Danny Kaan
Mischievous adaptationof the week:Roald Dahl Story Company in Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile The Musical, York Theatre Royal, June 25 to 28, 10.30am and 1.30pm.
ROALD Dahl’s Enormous Crocodile is weaving his way through the jungle in search of delicious little fingers and squidgy podgy knees. Only fellow jungle creatures can foil his “secret plans and clever tricks”, but they need courage aplenty to stop this greedy, grumptious, horrid brute.
Equipped with Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab’s tunes, Suhayla El-Bushra’s rib-tickling book and lyrics and Tom Brady’s additional music and lyrics, the dastardly family adventure has been developed and directed by Emily Lim, working in tandem with co-director and puppetry designer Toby Olié. Chelsea Da Silva, Precious Abimbola, Jordan Eskeisa, Ciara Hudson, Marienella Phillips and actor-musician René Francalanza star.Age guidance: Three plus. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Stewart Lee’s poster illustration for Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, on tour for three nights at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, Grand Opera House, York, June 25 to 27, 7.30pm
AFTER a five-night Theatre Royal run in the fledgling days of Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf in January 2025, the contrarian comedian returns to York for three more nights of testing whether the beast inside us all can be silenced with the silver bullet of Lee’s scalpel-sharp stand-up?
Lee will play the same material three ways: first up, telling liberal jokes in a liberal way, then, after a screaming transformation into the Man-Wulf, reactionary jokes in a reactionary way post-interval and, finally, wolf’s head removed, reactionary jokes in a liberal, left-leaning way. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Karl Mullen: Playing everything from Chopin to Oasis, via Led Zeppelin and Les Dawson, at The Old Paint Shop
Cabaret gig of the week: The Old Paint Shop presents Karl Mullen, York Theatre Royal Studio, June 26, 8pm
AFTER two Old Paint Shop gigs last year, Karl Mullen, upright-piano busker, Phoenix Inn fixture and Leeds Piano Competition Pub Piano Champion, completes his hat-trick, serving up his high-energy take on everything from Chopin to Oasis, via Led Zeppelin and Les Dawson, packed with outrageous and heartfelt stories from decades of gigging. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
In Focus: Prima Choral Artists, Under One Sky, National Centre for Early Music, York, Sunday, 21/6/2026, 5pm & 7.30pm
Prima Choral Artists; poster for Sunday’s concerts at the double on Father’s Day
PRODUCER and artistic director Eve Lorian leads Prima Choral Artists in a compelling journey through global vocal traditions in two concerts on Sunday at the National Centre For Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
Under One Sky is a signature programme by this Polish-born, York-based choral director, who has consistently introduced unique concerts and explored new territory for York choirs for nearly two decades.
Eve’s latest artistic compilation is designed to celebrate the relationship between musical language, cultural identity and vocal technique, while recognising the unifying nature of the choral canon. Spanning a wide geographical and cultural spectrum, the repertoire highlights distinctive approaches to tone production, ornamentation, rhythm and ensemble cohesion.
Sunday’s programme opens with Sakura, a Japanese folk melody characterised by its pentatonic modality and lyrical phrasing. The Bulgarian works Kaval Sviri and Dilmano Dilbero exemplify the highly resonant, open-throated “white voice” technique, and this vocal aesthetic continues in Serbian folk music, where dance-derived rhythms and communal expression are central.
Folk traditions of the North Atlantic are represented through the French-Canadian J’entends le Moulin, with its rhythmic drive, alongside Wild Mountain Thyme and Gaelic Song Of The Boatman, which reflect the modal inflections of Scottish and Gaelic song traditions.
Prima Choral Artists’ founder, producer and artistic director Eve Lorian
The programme broadens even further afield through Yeish Kochavim (Hebrew), Evohé (Venezuela) and Dao Mai Fan Ye’ (Mandarin), each illustrating the interaction between text, rhythm and collective energy within their respective traditions. These works foreground the role of music in both ritual and communal celebration.
The final section centres on vocal traditions from the Torres Strait Islands and Southern Africa. Sesere Eeye reflects oral transmission practices and community-based performance, while Ngothando, Ndikhokhele Bawo and Papaoutai demonstrate the harmonies and call-and-response structures that are foundational to many African musical forms.
Eve’s diligent research has brought together this sparkling burst of music with the support of a choir who are no strangers to world music and singing in multiple languages.
“We have always been proud of our multi-cultural, international identity,” says Eve. “Music has always been a unifying force for good. These concerts, celebrating unity through diversity, represent a truth that sometimes only music can express.”
Giving a brief glimpse into the creative process behind these events, she adds: “Selecting the music takes weeks upon weeks of research and listening. I thrive on fresh choices, on presenting the unexpected – and these pieces are far from the standard choral repertoire.
Prima Choral Artists in concert under Eve Lorian’s direction
“But the title came so naturally: Under One Sky says everything that we mean to convey in these two performances!”
International connections for Eve and Prima Choral Artists are not merely constrained to concert programming. For more than a decade, Eve has led the way in introducing outstanding overseas opportunities for York choirs.
This commitment continues this summer with a concert tour to Prague from July 8 to 13 to take part in the International Choir and Orchestra Festival (Prague Festival 2026, July 9 to 13).
On September 6, Eve will welcome the Norwegian choir Fanakoret, from Bergen, for a Friendship performance with Prima Choral Artists at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, at 5pm.
“Before these opportunities comes the unmissable chance to join Prima on Father’s Day on Sunday at the National Centre For Early Music with the two time slots designed to complement everyone’s plans and make for a truly special weekend celebration,” she says.
Tickets are available from www.primachoral.com; with limited seating available, booking is recommended.
OLIVIA Chaney, York musician, Grammy nominee and haunting voice of Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”, plays a sold-out concert for York Festival of Ideas tonight.
Olivia’s deep connection to the music of Henry Purcell runs throughout her life. Now comes Sons Of Art,her latest performance and album project highlighting the deep affinities between the Baroque composer and the modern singer-songwriter: a shared immediacy, a delight in word-setting and a fearless mix of high art and street culture.
For Olivia, this is not classical crossover but a radical reclamation – a conversation across centuries that feels startlingly fresh. Tonight’s show is part of a tour heralding the upcoming Purcell album, as this modern English songwriter, now 44, reimagines Purcell’s works in a refreshingly natural and contemporary way, alongside original compositions and a chamber ensemble.
“It’s kind of a home show, as I’ve lived in York for seven years,” says Olivia. “My now husband [George Younge] was a lecturer in medieval history at the university, but he’s quit to be a furniture designer and maker, with his workshop in Escrick, though we may be moving from York.
“For this concert, I’ve been corresponding with Delma (NCEM director Delma Tomlin] and thought how nice it would be to combine with the York Festival of Ideas.
“I’ve played a few shows in York before, but usually at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall [at the University of York].”
Olivia, however, also took part in a poignant concert on February 28 at the NCEM, where Eliza Carthy and Special Guests performed The Songs of Martin Carthy in celebration of the Robin Hood’s Bay folk titan’s 60-year legacy.
“It was a really emotional night, and I did something – I wept,” she recalls. “We’d just done The Life & Songs of Martin Carthy, a huge event at EartH Theatre, in Hackney, in September put on with Jon Wilks, with all the great and good of the folk world, Maddy Prior, Billy Bragg, Peggy Seeger, Martin Simpson, Eliza, Martin, and video contributions by Paul Weller, Van Dyke Parks and Bob Dylan. That one was particularly moving, Dylan saying Martin was a huge influence on him.”
Since then, Olivia had been to America to record her next album. “I came home, jumped in the shower and headed to the NCEM to pay tribute to Martin. I hadn’t expected him to be there [given his health], but then I saw him shuffling out of the green room to watch the concert. It was such a moving night.”
Now, Sons Of Art finds Olivia renewing her creative partnership with New York producer-pianist Thomas Bartlett. “The first album I made with him was called Shelter,” she says. “I’d written it on the North York Moors at Hawnby – before I lived in Yorkshire – when I’d been touring heavily in America and wanted to get away from everything. I had a Bechstein piano that my friends helped me transport there, then I had this surreal experience of writing songs in this bucolic setting and then recording them in mid-Manhattan!”
The release of next album Circus Of Desire, was delayed by Covid’s intervention, being held back until 2024. In the hiatus, her Six French Songs EP emerged in 2023.
“My third album with Thomas [the aforementioned Sons Of Art] will come out next year, and this season’s shows are a signposting of the start of the project: one that I’ve wanted to do for more than a decade, revisiting Purcell.”
Meanwhile, Olivia’s profile has been heightened by the presence of her stark, haunting rendition of the 19th century traditional folk ballad Dark Eyed Sailor in a pivotal scene in Emerald Fennell’s outre film “Wuthering Heights”.
“In a sense, I can’t answer completely how it came about in that the director ‘stumbled across the song’, like how after I made Six French Songs, French director Andre Techine – who had Catherine DeNeuve in all his films – found my song Auprès de ma Blonde, one of the first things I put on YouTube, which I then re-recorded for him.” she says. “The film was premiered at Cannes but never got taken up, so I’ve never seen it.”
Back to Emerald… “Having seen other movies by both Andre and Emerald, I think they were each looking for music to drive their narrative, so maybe that’s why Emerld settled on Dark Eyed Sailor, which she decided would be in “Wuthering Heights” right from the beginning.”
What’s more, Emerald was insistent on using the version she had first heard, rather than a new recording. Namely, Olivia’s recording to harmonium accompaniment for BBC Radio 2’s The Folk Show, made on May 22 2013. “There’s something about the rawness of radio sessions, and that was my first ever live session for Mark Radcliffe’s show,” she says.
“I remember painting my nails on the way to the studio, and I guess that session was the beginning of me finding my sound, delving back into folk music.
“In a way it’s a surprise that Emerald hasn’t chosen something from my albums, but she ended up using the song twice, once when Cathy realises she has married the wrong man, and then later an instrumental version, orchestrating out my harmonium.”
How did Olivia react when she attended the premiere. “What was a big surprise was that I thought it might be a little bit imperceptible, or be swamped by all the other music [by Charli xcx], but I was struck by how spare it was, so that you could hardly hear my harmonium,” she says.
“Emily Brontë’s novel is in my top ten, and I thought, ‘how can they use this happy song?’, but Emerald uses it so cleverly, where it’s seven years since Heathcliff went away and has now returned, so the theme is fidelity, as so many songs about sailors and soldiers are.”
Olivia reckons Fennel’s previous work, Saltburn, is superior. ““Wuthering Heights” is so ambitious, so hard to pull off, but where it maybe fails is in its humour,” she says. “But then there is no humour in my work. I’m not into humour in my art. I like humour but I want to be moved by art.”
Olivia Chaney, Sons Of Art: Purcell Revisited, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm. SOLD OUT.
Olivia Chaney: back story
BORN in Florence to a writer and painter-turned-academic, Olivia grew up listening to everything from Prince to Joni Mitchell to Henry Purcell.
This eclectic mix of influences sparked a passion for song-writing that she nurtured at Chetham’s School of Music and The Royal Academy.
After showcasing at SXSW and a stint as lead singer for electronica outfit Zero 7, she signed with Nonesuch, leading to collaborations with Kronos Quartet and a Grammy nomination for Offa Rex, The Queen Of Hearts, a collection of Fairport Convention-era classics made with Portland, Oregon band The Decemberists in 2017.
Olivia’s first solo album, 2015’s The Longest River, produced by Leo Abrahams, was followed by 2018’s Shelter, recorded in New York City with producer-pianist Thomas Bartlett. Both explored inherited trauma, the clash of tradition and modernity and the paradoxes of love.
In 2023 came Six French Songs, her spontaneous set ofFrench chanson, from medieval ballad to 1960s’ pop, made over two summer evenings at Reservoir Studios with Bartlett and violinist Sam Amidon.
John McCusker: Fiddler, composer, producer, trio regular, podcaster and masterclass teacher
SCOTTISH fiddler John McCusker is joined by virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and singer Sam Kelly and flute, whistle and guitar player Toby Shaer in his folk trio to perform a thrilling combination of instrumental dexterity, heartfelt songs and live energy on the eve of the York Festival of Ideas 2026.
“It was a really lovely surprise to learn it’ll be part of the festival,” says musician, composer and producer John. “I think it will influence what we’ll put in the set-list. It makes you look at the gig through a different lens, thinking about it being part of a festival of ideas.
“I always love coming to York. It feels like I’ve played everywhere there! It’s 36 years of touring now, where one of the lovely things is how places feel very familiar, like the NCEM in York, where we’ve made many friends and the stage feels very comfortable.”
Born in Belshill, fiddle, tin whistle, cittern and guitar player John began touring with the Battlefield Band at the age of 17. Now 53, he says: “One of the things I’ve always strived to do over those 36 years is to keep myself creatively stimulated, after working with many musicians that have inspired me.
“I feel lucky in having done things like bumping into Eddi Reader, who said she’d fallen in love with the songs of Robert Burns and then doing that record with her, or making a record with Kris Drever and Roddy Woomble [2008’s Before The Ruin].
“I’ve never had a plan. I’ve just bumped into people and ended up working with them, touring or making records, and hopefully they’re drawn to me by the magic that happens between us.”
John continues: “Like working with Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle [in an acoustic folk trio rooted in contemporary Celtic and roots music], when we didn’t want the magic to stop after doing Celtic Connections together.
“We’ve just done 40 gigs this year where what we play is barely discussed. We just go on stage and the creativity happens, the chemistry clicks.”
Now John’s attention turns to the John McCusker Trio with Sam Kelly and Toby Shaer, where their fusion of original compositions, traditional melodies and contemporary folk bursts with innovation, joy and soul.
“We’ve just made an EP that’ll be available at the gig – it was being pressed last week,” he says. “With Sam and Toby, it feels like we’re not just copying the other trios. This trio has its own qualities, developed by touring together several times.
“What we’ve discovered is that if I were to play what I play with McGoldrick and Doyle, it doesn’t sound right with Sam and Toby, so instead we try to play to our strengths, not doing something the other trios would, but thinking about what tunes would suit Sam and Toby. I’m loving the discovery of that, albeit I’m trying to do less travelling now.”
“After 36 years, I feel I still have so much to learn,” says John McCusker. Picture: Elly Lucas
John, who now lives in Perth & Kinross, has turned his hand to hosting a podcast, The Fiddle Line, interviewing the likes of fellow Scottish fiddlers Ali Bain and Duncan Chisholm. “The premise is that, as musicians, we meet at festivals, in recording studios or at concerts halls, where we’ll give each other a hug, play tunes together, but I didn’t know what Duncan’s back story was until I interviewed him for the podcast. I’m really enjoying doing the shows.”
John is also hosting fiddle weekends, “having shied away from teaching until I went to the Belfast Trad Festival”. “I did five days solid, teaching five hours a day, as well as concerts, where beforehand I was thinking ‘why am I doing this? I don’t like teaching’, when usually I’ll just do a two-hour masterclass at the Cambridge Folk Festival, but I so enjoyed it that I started teaching last year in the local village hall, in Crook of Devon, just outside Kinross,” he says.
“One of the teaching sessions was with Duncan [Chisholm], where he gave a masterclass and we recorded the podcast live.”
From differing trios to podcasts and fiddle-teaching weekends, John is keeping himself “creatively happy”. “It’s this love of still learning, learning how to get better at teaching and podcasting,” he says. “After 36 years, I feel I still have so much to learn.
“I remember when I used to play in folk clubs at the age of 12, then joining the Battlefield Band at 17, then touring the world with Mark knopfler, playing arenas where the crowds got bigger and bigger, feeling out of my depth working with these genius musicians from all over, thinking how did I get here?
“But you learn so much by soaking it all up – and there are so many sides to it. I remember a chat with John Doyle and Michael McGoldrick, when we were playing at 100 miles an hour and feeling we were not getting anything back from the audience.
“We had to learn about the pacing of our gigs, when we were getting faster and faster. Or learning by talking to Ali Bain about what it was like in the early days.
“Or feeling that when I started playing with the Battlefield Band, I remember being young and touring with older musicians and observing the way they talked to the audience and set up a set of tunes or a song. That had a huge impact on me; how, after telling a joke, you can play anything because you have the audience right there.”
John returns to his statement of “sometimes wanting to travel less”, then qualifies what he means. “One thing I’ve never got tired of is how, when someone plants a creative seed, it blossoms into a record or into touring,” he says.
This applies to working with Sam and Toby. “We’re thinking, ‘what can we do with all these sounds?’; ‘how can we bring in as many influences as possible to the sound?’. I’m really buzzing off working with them, having been a fan of Sam for years, when I had no idea of his love of old songs.”
Tomorrow’s gig has sold out. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
[hanse] Pfeyfferey: York Early Music Festival 2026 artists in residence. Picture: Vasilisa Gorbacheva
YORK Early Music Festival is to mark its 50th year in July with a spectacular new commission, the majestic York Fanfare, Flourish At 50, to be played several times during the opening weekend.
To create the fanfare, the festival joined forces with West Yorkshire composer Sam Meredith and the all-female German ensemble [hanse] Pfeyffery – it translate as [town] pipes – to create this magnificent piece of music.
Wakefield- born composer and multi-instrumentalist Meredith, who now lives in London, was a finalist in the 2023 NCEM Young Composers Award.
He was chosen from a strong line up of applicants, all alumni from the composers award, to be this year’s Commission Composer for the York Early Music Festival.
“We put out a call to all 100 of our award alumni, inviting bids from these composers,” says festival director Delma Tomlin. “[hanse] Pfeyffery then had conversations with selected composers and settled on Sam.”
Last year, Meredith completed his MA in Opera-Making and Writing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His work has been performed at the Barbican, London, and the annual Bauhaus Festival, London, under the tutelage of John Harle, who has commissioned him to write pieces for big band, large ensemble and most recently a duet for saxophone and piano.
Meredith has sung and toured with the Idrisi Ensemble and was proud to appear in the choir for Alan Bennett’s 2025 film The Choral, filmed in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, directed by Nicholas Hytner.
The Yorkshire Fanfare will be performed by this year’s festival artists in residence, [hanse] Pfeyffery, a Renaissance wind band that specialises in improvised and rediscovered music from around 1500 played on shawms, cornetto, dulcian, slide trumpet and trombone.
The ensemble of Hannah Geisel, shawm, Lilli Pätzold, cornett, and Alexandra Mikheeva, slide trumpet and trombone, were finalists in the 2024 York International Young Artists Competition when they won the Cambridge Early Music Prize.
Composer Sam Meredith
The York Fanfare will open this year’s festival on Friday, July 3, played on the grass outside the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, at 6.20pm before the opening concert by I Fagiolini, and then be performed outside the West Door of York Minster before The Sixteen’s concert on Saturday, July 4 at 6.45pm, 7pm and 7.15pm.
The last chance to catch [hanse] Pfeyffery playing the fanfare will come on BBC Radio 3’s The Early Music Show, broadcast live from the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, on Sunday, July 5 at 5pm.
[hanse] Pfeyffery also will perform Serenade for Isabella: The Casanatense Chansonnier at the York Early Music Friends Coffee Concert, a morning of music, conversation and coffee at the NCEM on July 4 from 10.30am to 11.30am.
Hosted by the Friends and open to everyone, the concert features works from the Casanatense Chansonnier, written as a wedding gift for Isabella d’Este in Ferrara in 1492, but also serving as a repertoire book for her piffari, or court wind-players.
[hanse] Pfeyffery will perform works from the Chansonnier based on vocal originals by Dufay, Agricola and Josquin, alongside instrumentally conceived pieces from Southern Germany, reflecting the powerful cultural exchanges that occurred at the Italian courts, creating a new secular repertory that would become widely popular across Europe.
York Fanfare composer Sam Meredith says: “In this piece, I wanted to emulate the rousing and awe-inducing nature of a traditional fanfare, while also creating a sense of playfulness, joy and celebration, more in the spirit of folk and dance music.
“The often syncopated landscape that emerged, first during the compositional process and then through working with [hanse] Pfeyfferey, is hopefully an exciting and an energetic tribute to the National Centre for Early Music, who commissioned this fanfare to introduce the 50th Early Music Festival in York.”
Dr Christopher Fox, who has been involved in selecting and mentoring the young composers for the NCEM Award since 2011, says: “Every year I am amazed at the imagination and skill of the composers who create music for the award scheme. The workshop day, at which eight young composers develop their work with a professional ensemble, is always very exciting.
“It’s also been a delight to see so many of the NCEM composers, such as Sam Meredith, go on to make a name for themselves. The NCEM alumni are a fantastic bank of compositional talent.”
For the full festival programme and tickets, visit ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf.
The Wizard of York (Dan Wood): Presenting the second WizardFest in York city centre. Picture: The Story Of You
FROM WizardFest to the Wizard of Prog, Roman festivities to musical & poetic nature lovers, Charles Hutchinson picks his hot spots for the Bank Holiday weekend and beyond.
Magical event of the week: WizardFest, York, today until Monday
WIZARDFEST, York’s official Festival of Wizardry, waves its magic wand over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend as The Wizard of York conjures up spellbinding events, tours, trails, workshops, shows and fantastical food and drink.
Wizardry fans can book for the Wizard Walk of York, Brick Magic LEGO workshop, Wizard Family Rave, Giant Bubble Show or Wicked at City Screen Picturehouse. Expect owl appearances, dragons and the new Wizard Activity Zone on Parliament Street with wand making, face painting and more. Dress to impress for the free fancy dress parade from St Helen’s Square on Monday at 3p.m A digital map and full list of events with booking links can be found at wizardwalkofyork.com/wizardfest.
The Roman Camp in York Museum Gardens, part of the Eboracum Roman Festival in York. Picture: Gareth Buddo
Festival highlight of the week: Living History, Crafts and Combat, Eboracum Roman Festival, York, today and tomorrow
THIS weekend showcases the best of Eboracum with live performances, creative storytelling and historical demonstrations alongside fun family activities, insightful talks and opportunities to dive into archaeology in York.
At the Living History Camp in York Museum Gardens, discover how the Romans lived by talking to the legions in their camp and watch demonstrations of weaving, carpentry, pottery and blacksmithing. Check out military demonstrations and formations with Ermine Street Guard or join York Museum Trust’s Garden Team for a guided tour of the Edible Garden today. Look out too for artillery demonstrations and the Kids Barbaric Battle. For full festival details, visit: yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/eboracum-roman-festival-2026.
Live baking on stage: Ellen Carnazza’s TV cook in crisis Petronella Parfait in Badapple Theatre Company’s Crumbs. Picture: Karl Andre
Bake-off of the week: Badapple Theatre Company in Crumbs, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm and 7.45pm
DISGRACED TV baking celebrity Petronella Parfait is out of a job and out of her depth, trying to reinvent herself in the cut-throat world of social influencers. Can she keep the lights on – and the oven – as her live comeback show descends into devilishly delicious disaster?
Expect big laughs, bold flavours, live bread making and a tasty treat for the audience at the end of Kate Bramley’s play as Green Hammerton’s Badapple Theatre returns to the Theatre Royal Studio, where solo performer Ellen Carnazza plays multiple roles. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Upbeat Beatles: Celebrating the Fab Four from the Cavern to Abbey Road at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Tribute gig of the week: Joseph Wilson Productions presents The Upbeat Beatles, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
THE Upbeat Beatles travel the Fab Four’s long and winding road from the early Cavern days through Beatlemania and Shea Stadium, New York City, to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road, with narrative and full multi-media presentation. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Nobody puts Baby’s poster in the corner: Dirty Dancing In Concert at York Barbican
Film event of the week: Dirty Dancing In Concert, York Barbican, May 28, 7.30pm
RELIVE the film that stole the hearts of generations with this live-to-screen concert event featuring Emile Ardolino’s 1987 American romantic drama projected in full, accompanied by a live band and singers performing every song from the soundtrack.
Feel the romance, rhythm and emotion as the love story of Baby and Johnny (Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze) comes to life on a full-size cinema screen. A dance-along encore party follows the final scene. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk
John McCusker: Leading his trio at the NCEM on Friday
Recommended but sold out already: John McCusker Trio, York Festival of Ideas, National Centre for Early Music, York, May 29, 7.30pm
SCOTTISH violinist John McCusker is joined by virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and singer Sam Kelly and flute, whistle and guitar player Toby Shaer in his trio to perform a thrilling combination of instrumental dexterity, heartfelt songs and live energy. Their fusion of original compositions, traditional melodies and contemporary folk bursts with innovation, joy and soul. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
The Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox poster for the The Future Is Vintage tour, visiting York Barbican on Friday
Retro gig of the week: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, The Future Is Vintage Tour 2026, York Barbican, May 29, doors 7pm
SCOTT Bradlee’s troupe of singers, dancers and instrumentalists perform a new show in signature time-twisting style, putting a retro spin on everything from Seventies’ rock classics and Britpop hits to the latest chart toppers and movie and video game soundtracks.
“We’re humbly presenting our own unique vision of a spectacular future; one that is built upon the timeless musical genres of the past and the authentically human spirit of creativity that inspired them,” says founder and arranger Bradlee, who invites you to dress in your vintage best for the full time-travel experience. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ben Moor on his ‘Three Thing Day’. Picture: Andy Lane, Barbican, London, January 11 2025
Oddball storytelling of the week: Ben Moor, A Three Thing Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, January 29, 7.30pm
A STORYTELLER for 30 years and counting, Ben Moor has a show opening later, but first he has a family meeting, and before that there’s a funeral. A single day can encompass the past, present and future; friends, family and strangers; the ridiculous, the moving and the inspirational. Like life.
Surreal and ‘melancomic’, Moor’s2025 Edinburgh Fringe hit is crammed with one-liners and observations, alongside beautiful and poetic digressions. Under discussion will be good gullibility, dolphin infestations, snacks and unreliable phones. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Mike Amber: Performing Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock songs with Lola-Mae at The Basementnext Saturday
Nature lovers of the week: Navigators Art presents Back To The Garden, York Festival of Ideas, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, May 30, 7.30pm, doors 7pm
NAVIGATORS Art has invited York performers to celebrate and explore the York Festival of Ideas theme of Place and Space with a focus on the peaceful, wild, mythical, inspirational green worlds of gardens.
Original words and music features alongside well-loved works by familiar names in the company of storyteller Lara McClure; Mike Amber & Lola-Mae, taking on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock; poet and novelist Janet Dean; performance poet Carrieanne Vivianette and alt folk band Sofa Sofa, whose songs are rooted in nature and people, woods, weather, long walks, short thoughts, longing and love. Box office: ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or on the door.
Rick Wakeman: Performing with English Rock Ensemble in The Wizard of Prog show at York Barbican next March
Gig announcement of the week: Rick Wakeman, The Wizard of Prog, Ultimate Highlights Concert Tour with English Rock Ensemble, York Barbican, March 11 2027
KEYBOARD player extraordinaire Rick Wakeman, who turned 77 on May 18, will be reuniting with the English Rock Ensemble to focus on a broad sweep across Wakeman’s classic back catalogue, including extracts from epic concept albums Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table, Yes material and surprises.
The band line-up reunites from 2025’s Return Of The Caped Crusader Part 2 tour: Wakeman, Jesse Smith (lead vocals), Adam Wakeman (keyboard, guitars and vocals), Dave Colquhoun (guitars and vocals), Lee Pomeroy (bass and vocals), Adam Falkner (drums) and backing vocalists Sara Davey, Jo Goldsmith-Eteson and Jo Marshall. Tickets go on sale on May 29 at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/rick-27.
York Chamber Music Festival director and cellist Tim Lowe
THE recital was billed as the Festival Launch Concert – Gems of the Romantic Cello, but as the York Chamber Music Festival itself does not begin until September, I’m not entirely sure the description quite worked.
In truth, it felt more like a “taster” concert: a glimpse of what audiences might expect from this well-established and prestigious event later in the year.
That idea of a “taster” could — just — be applied to the opening work in the programme, Beethoven’s 12 Variations on “See The Conqu’ring Hero Comes”, WoO 45, for cello and piano, written when Beethoven was only 26 years old.
To be sure, he had already published significant works around this period — the Piano Trios, Op.1, the Piano Sonatas, Op.2, and his first two piano concertos — but it was as a virtuoso pianist that he initially established himself in Vienna. That background is reflected in the unusually substantial piano part.
The theme itself is based on the famous chorus from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, a composer Beethoven greatly admired. I really enjoyed the way the performers projected the reshaping of this famous ceremonial tune through the work’s changing moods and textures.
At first, the short movements came across as decorative, but from Variation 3 onwards the interplay became far more engaging. Here, cellist Tim Lowe’s agile playing danced around the melody while pianist Stephen Gutman’s accompaniment shimmered in the background.
The expressive cello line in Variation 5 felt almost operatic, while the witty exchanges and unexpected accentuation of Variation 7 were great fun. Even more thrilling were the technical fireworks of Variation 11. Indeed, it was the sheer exuberance of the performance that proved so enjoyable.
If describing the Beethoven as a “taster” work might be a slight stretch, it certainly applies to Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F major, Op.6. Strauss began writing the work at the age of only 17 — an age when most young men are taking their first tentative steps into adulthood via their local pub.
The opening Allegro con brio was full of energy and passion. The roles of both players are very much equal, and Lowe and Gutman clearly relished the challenges. What struck me most was the orchestral nature of the writing: thick textures and an expansive Romantic atmosphere, especially in the development section.
Like the opening movement, the closing Finale: Allegro vivo featured exhilarating quickfire exchanges and extended virtuoso passages, particularly for the cello. The exhilarating dash to the finish line was genuinely thrilling.
Pianist Stephen Gutman
Yet it was the warm intimacy of the central Andante ma non troppo that left the strongest impression. Here, Lowe’s melodic playing glowed, amplified and sustained by Gutman’s tender support. But the partnership was very much one of equals, and the two players complemented each other superbly.
Camille Saint-Saëns’s Cello Sonata No.1 in C minor, Op.32 (1872), is surely one of the great Romantic works for cello and piano. The performers instinctively projected the dark, turbulent character of the opening Allegro. Lowe’s playing possessed the necessary dramatic nobility, while Gutman’s piano drove the music forward with urgency and weight.
The dialogue between the performers was powerful, while the sudden bursts of lyricism and the virtuosity of the closing passages fully convinced. Much the same could be said of the closing Allegro moderato, this time propelled by an almost relentless rhythmic momentum. Echoes of Beethoven? Maybe.
Once again, however, it was the central Andante tranquillo sostenuto that made the deepest impression. The sheer elegance of the playing was genuinely delightful.
One of the most striking features of the work was the dramatic use of the cello’s lowest string — the C string. The sound Lowe produced was dark and resonant, creating an almost orchestral quality throughout the sonata, and not only in the outer movements. In the Andante, that darker quality softened into warmth — a kind of chocolate-rich intimacy that proved utterly seductive.
This is a typical characteristic of Lowe’s instrument – the cello made by Carolus Tononi in Bologna in 1716 – and it may also explain the occasional blurring of the pitch centre in the higher positions.
The programme closed with Robert Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro, Op.70, surely one of the finest short chamber works of the Romantic era. Originally written in 1849 for horn and piano, it was later rearranged — with Schumann’s blessing — by the cellist Friedrich Grützmacher for cello and piano.
I’m glad he did, because Lowe’s warm cello tone drew out and intensified the yearning quality of the Adagio. Both players shaped the movement beautifully, capturing its introspective character withreal sensitivity.
The pivotal transition to the explosive energy of the Allegro was entirely convincing. Schumann marks the music Rasch und feurig (“Fast and fiery”), and indeed it was.
Lowe’s cello playing displayed a dazzling, heroic character, filled with sweeping runs, dramatic leaps and sharp exchanges with Gutman at the piano. What really elevates the movement, however, is the brief glimpse back towards the earlier tenderness — a fleeting glance over the shoulder before the inevitable drive towards the triumphant conclusion.
I don’t usually like encores. They are almost invariably unnecessary, creating a self-indulgent buffer that obscures the impact of a concert’s true ending. But I really did like this one: Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style (Fünf Stücke im Volkston), Op.102, No.2 (Langsam). A sublime melody, beautifully played, reminding me why I fell in love with Robert Schumann’s music all those years ago.
Christopher Cross: Sailing into York Barbican tonight
FROM the hotel shenanigans of Fawlty Towers to the uplifting Yorkshire tale of Calendar Girls, Pixies’ 40th anniversary tour to Daniel Sloss’s bitter comic bite, Charles Hutchinson locates cultural hotspots aplenty.
Grammy winner of the week: Christopher Cross, supported by Chris Difford, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm
AMERICAN singer-songwriter Christopher Cross plays York Barbican as the only Yorkshire venue on his nine-date UK tour. The multi-Grammy-winning artist, from San Antonio, Texas, now 75, is best known for Sailing, Ride Like The Wind and Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do). His special guest will be Chris Difford, co-founder of Squeeze. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ebor Singers soloists Alisun Russell Pawley, top, left, Caroline Smith, Jason Darnell, bottom, left, and Jonty Ward
Classical concert of the week: Ebor Singers & Manchester Baroque, Baroque Gala Concert, Dixit Dominus, York Minster, tonight, 7,30pm
THE Ebor Singers unite with period instrument specialists Manchester Baroque to perform Purcell, Handel and Bach works in tonight’s two-hour Baroque Gala Concert in York Minster’s Quire. The soloists will be Alisun Russell Pawley (soprano), Caroline Smith (mezzo-soprano), Jason Darnell (tenor) and Jonty Ward (bass-baritone). Box office: 01904 557200 or yorkminster.org.
Tom Stade: Canadian mischief-maker
Mischievous comedy gig of the week: Tom Stade, Naughty By Nature, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm
CANADIAN stand-up Tom Stade is back on the road with his 2025 Edinburgh Fringe hit, wherein he playfully dishes out more of his insightful observations in a night of mischievous and uncompromising comedy. His credits include the Have A Word Pod podcast, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, The John Bishop Show and Live At The Apollo. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Willy Mason: Songs full of heart, philosophy and hope for humanity. Picture: Ebru Yildiz
The Crescent & Brudenell Presents gig of the week: Willy Mason, National Centre for Early Music, York, tomorrow, 6.30pm (doors 6pm)
MARTHA’S Vineyard, Massachusetts singer-songwriter Willy Mason has been writing, recording and touring for 25 years, ever since his home demo of breakout single Oxygen became an unexpected hit. Treading a meandering path, he frequently shuns the limelight in favour of odd jobs and unexpected company.
When he does appear, however, it is always worth the wait to hear songs full of heart, philosophy and hope for humanity that draw on a deep well of melody and story passed on from songwriter parents. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173675325.
Chris McCausland: “Doing comedy for Yonks”
Scouse humour of the week: Chris McCausland, Yonks, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 8pm
YOU might have spotted him latterly on Strictly Come Dancing (2024 winner, no less), Would I Lie To You, Have I Got News For You, QI, Blankety Blank or The Last Leg, but this is no overnight success story. Liverpool humorist Chris McCausland has been doing comedy for Yonks. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Jonny Best: Leading Frame Ensemble at Magic and Motion: Georges Méliès and Buster Keaton In Concertat NCEM. Picture: Chris Payne
Film event of the week: Magic and Motion: Georges Méliès and Buster Keaton In Concert, with Frame Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, May 19, 7.30pm
STEP into the cinematic dreamworlds of George Méliès and Buster Keaton with the improvised, spontaneous music of Northern Silents’ resident quartet Frame Ensemble (Jonny Best, piano, Susannah Simmons, violin, Liz Hanks,cello, and Trevor Bartlett, percussion) as two pioneers of visual fantasy meet in a specially created cine‑concert.
French filmmaker and actor Méliès’s technical ingenuity in his extravagant Théâtre Robert‑Houdin illusion shows in Paris carried cinema beyond the simple recording of everyday life, opening up its magical possibilities. A quarter of a century later, in 1924’s Sherlock Jr., vaudeville performer Buster Keaton plays a humble projectionist who steps into the film he is showing, tumbling through a world where the laws of physics yield to the imagination. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Paul Nicholas as the Major in John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers: The Play
Don’t mention the war: John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers: The Play, Grand Opera House, York, May 19 to 23, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
FIFTY years since John Cleese and Connie Booth’s chaotic hotel sitcom graced British television screens, Monty Python alumnus Cleese has adapted three vintage Fawlty Towers episodes for a stage play.
Following a sold-out West End season, Caroline Jay Ranger directs the 18-strong tour cast featuring Danny Byrne’s calamitous Basil Fawlty, Mia Austen’s exasperated wife Sybil, Joanne Clifton’s stoical chamber maid Polly and Paul Nicholas’s bumbling Major. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Pixies: Making York debut after 40 years
Recommended but sold out already: Pixies: Pixies 40, Celebrating 40 Years, York Barbican, May 20, doors 7pm
PIXIES are playing York for the first time in their 40-year career, opening the 13-date British and European leg of the Pixies 40 tour at the Barbican, the only Yorkshire show. Celebrating four decades since their formation in Boston, Massachusetts, the American alt.rock band’s founding members, Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering, are joined by bassist Emma Richardson. Gans support.
In full bloom: York Musical Theatre Company in the sunflower-power musical Calendar Girls
Yorkshire musical of the week: York Musical Theatre Company in Calendar Girls The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, May 20 to 23, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
KATHRYN Addison directs York Musical Theatre Company in Cheshire childhood friends Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s musical account of the true story of a Yorkshire group of ordinary Women’s Institute members doing something extraordinary after the death of a much-loved husband.
When they decide to make an artistic nude calendar for a cancer charity, upturning preconceptions is a dangerous business, leading to emotional and personal ramifications that no-one could anticipate but bringing each woman unexpectedly into flower. Katie Melia’s Chris and Alexa Chaplin’s Annie lead the cast. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Skye Pickford’s Ilse in Inspired By Theatre’s Spring Awakening. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter
American musical of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Spring Awakening, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 20 to 23, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
YORK company Inspired By Theatre marks the 20th anniversary of Spring Awakening’s off-Broadway debut in New York City by staging Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s raw, explosive coming-of-age musical in the matching week.
Cutting straight to the heart of youth, desire, repression and rebellion in 1890s’ Germany, Mikhail Lim’s actor-musician production follows a group of young people navigating sex, love and identity in a society that refuses to educate or protect them, drawing on German Expressionism and folkloric imagery to boot. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Daniel Sloss: Acidic comedy at York Barbican
Snappiest show title of the week gig of the week: Daniel Sloss, Bitter, York Barbican, May 21, 8pm
ACERBIC Scottish wit Daniel Sloss likes to keep his titles brief. After Jigsaw, Dark, X, Socio, Hubris, Now and Can’t, Sloss is Bitter in his 13th tour show, visiting York this weekend after playing 55 countries so far.
He has performed stand-up for more than half of his lifetime, sold out nine New York theatre seasons off-Broadway, appeared on the Conan show ten times on American television, broken Edinburgh Fringe box-office records and published his book Everyone You Hate Is Going To Die (Knopf/Penguin Random House) in 2021. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Freida Nipples: Baps & Buns Burlesque bounces into view once more at Rise at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
Freida Nipples presents: Baps & Buns Burlesque, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, May 22, 8pm, doors 7pm
JOIN York’s burlesque queen, Freida Nipples, for a night of cabaret, drag, comedy and beyond at her latest Rise residency. Hosted by Ebony Silk, Friday’s bill features Sucre A La Creme, Cherie Bebe, Molly Ouse, Kiwi Adore and Freida herself. Box office: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baps-buns-burlesque-tickets-1987497655991
Cheesy humour at Scarcroft Alllotments: Mikron Theatre Company’s James McLean, left, and Robert Took in Wensleydale Whey
In Focus: Mikron Theatre Company in Wensleydale Whey, Scarcroft Allotments, Scarcroft Road, York, Sunday (17/5/2026), 2pm to 4pm
IN its 54th year of touring, Marsden’s Mikron Theatre Company will be conducting the Grate Cheese Quest in Lucy Raine’s new play Wensleydale Whey.
On the road and water until October 24, this legen-dairy tale will transport audiences to the Yorkshire Dales, where the stakes are high. Monks from the Abbey are desperately seeking a living soul to resurrect their traditional Wensleydale cheese.
Raine’s fromage-fuelled musical journey delves into the rich history of cheese, featuring a whey-out cast of characters, ghosts, and grievances. True to Mikron’s signature style, the show promises a gouda time with a cheesy plot and a sprinkle of drama.
Artistic director Marianne McNamara says: “2026 is a milestone year for Mikron. The company remains one of the UK’s most prolific touring theatre companies, performing over 5,000 shows since 1972 by canal, river and road.
“We’re all big foodies here at Mikron, so a pitch for a show about cheese is not a hard sell for writer Lucie [who also wrote Mikron’s show Hush Hush last year]!”
Over five decades, Mikron has been delivering professional theatre to 137 different venues annually, from allotments and fish & chip shops to pubs, village greens and even the odd theatre.
Wensleydale Whey’s cast of actor-musicians James McLean, Georgina Liley, Robert Took and Catherine Warnock is directed by Elvi Pipe, with musical direction and arrangements of Amal El-Sawad’s original music by Robert Cooper and set and costume design by Celia Perkins.
BASED in Marsden, West Yorkshire, Mikron travels the country by van and narrow-boat [called Tyseley]. Over 54 years, the company has performed thousands of times to nearly half a million people.
Mikron is famous for performing in unconventional venues, including youth hostels, lifeboat stations and hives.
A significant portion of Mikron’s performances remain “pay what you feel” to ensure theatre remains accessible to everyone.
In Focus too: Pocklington Area Open Studios, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm
CREATIVES from around the heart of East Yorkshire are opening their doors to the public for a weekend celebration of the arts.
Pocklington Area Open Studios (PAOS) has rapidly become one of the premier events of its kind, this year featuring 30 artists at 19 locations, drawing visitors from far and wide.
This weekend’s art trail celebrates quality craftsmanship in its many forms, including painting, ceramics, printmaking, textiles, jewellery, sculpture and photography.
Visitors can meet a diverse and welcoming group of makers and painters in person, many in their own studios and creative surroundings.
Printed free brochures are available from The Feathers Hotel and Costa Coffee in Market Place, Pocklington, as well as shops, cafes and libraries and from participating artists.
The brochure and venue map can be downloaded at https://www.pocklingtonareaopenstudios.co.uk/info.html.
Cone, by Alison Jagger, on show at WET Bar & Plates, York
FROM street photography to Jack The Ripper investigations, German comedy about the English weather to Canadian naughtiness, Charles Hutchinson highlights all manner of cultural delights ahead.
Photographic show of the week: Alison Jagger, After The Crowds, WET Bar & Plates, Micklegate, York, until June 3
AS a lone traveller and self-confessed free spirit, York street photographer Alison Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vitality she loves to capture with her mobile phone camera.
“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Jagger. After The Crowds is the second in RARE Collective’s programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
Pink Moors, oil on canvas, by Louise Davies
Exhibition of the week: Louise Davies and Glassmakers, Journey In Colour, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until July 4
PAINTINGS and etchings by South East London artist and printmaker Louise Davies are complemented by glass by Allister Malcolm, Madeleine Hughes, Margaret Burke, Charlie Burke and Amelia Burke.
Davies, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, combines fluid lines and rich colour in vibrant landscape prints and oil paintings. Gallery owner Terry Brett drove to Stourbridge to pick up glass works by Malcolm and his workshop assistant, Hughes. Margaret Burke, son Charlie and his wife, hot glass specialist Amelia, run the hand-blown glass studio E&M Glass at The Old Bakery, Sarn Bridge, Malpas, Cheshire.
Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her new play Jesse North Is Broken. Picture: Ian Hodgson
Solo show of the week:John Godber Company presents Martha Godber in Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight,7.45pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm & 7.45pm
JESSE North, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, writer-performer Martha Godber’s play follows Jesse from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha, whose solo play is directed by Millie Gaston. A post-show discussion follows tonight’s performance. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for James Morrison’s 20 Years Of Undiscovered Tour, bound for York Barbican
Anniversary of the week: James Morrison, 20 Years Of Undiscovered, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm
UNDISCOVERED was the number one debut album that changed everything for Rugby soul singer-songwriter and guitarist James Morrison (or James Morrison Catchpole to give him his full name). Back then, he was fitting carpets by day, playing open mics by night and driving up and down to London at any spare moment, taking meeting after meeting with multiple record companies.
On his 18-date May and June tour, 2007 British Male Solo Artist BRIT award winner Morrison is playing Undiscovered in its entirety in a set taking in big hits such as You Give Me Something and Wonderful World, fan favourites The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and This Boy, rarely performed gems One Last Chance and How Come and highlights from his six-album songbook, topped off by 2025’s Top Five success Fight Another Day. Cordelia supports. Tickets update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Wehn and where: Henning squeezing every German joke out of the British weather at Grand Opera House, York
York comedy gig of the week: Henning Wehn, Acid Wehn, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GERMAN Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn takes an unbiased look at climate change. “It’s a topic sure to delight audiences and no surprise,” he says. “After all, everyone loves talking about the weather. Rain or shine, all will be fine. Or maybe it won’t. Who knows?! Come along. Or else.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for Stephen Morgan’s show An Evening With Jack The Ripper
Reopening the greatest unsolved case in criminal history: Steve Morgan in An Evening With Jack The Ripper, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 7.30pm
PRODUCER and broadcaster Steve Morgan conducts Ripper walks through London’s East End, where he retraces the steps of the notorious killer through the Whitechapel streets he stalked in 1888, when a series of women were murdered brutally between August and November.
The identity of the killer remains a mystery. Was he a doctor, a sailor, a soldier or some kind of religious zealot intent on ridding the streets of vice? Now Morgan has adapted his walk talk for the stage to explore the Ripper’s motives and investigate how he escaped detection. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
York Chamber Music Festival director and cellist Tim Lowe
Festival launch of the week: Tim Lowe (cello) & Stephen Gutman (piano), Gems Of The Romantic Cello, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm
DIRECTOR and cellist Tim Lowe previews the 2026 York Chamber Music Festival (September 11 to 13) in concert with pianist Stephen Gutman in a passionate exploration of expressive and beautiful works from the cello and piano repertoire.
Their programme will be the same as they played at St Mary le Strand, London, last Wednesday: Beethoven’s 12 Variations on See The Conquering Hero Comes from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus; Saint-Saëns’ Cello Sonata No 1 in C Minor; Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F Major and Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman: Hand in hand for folk night at Helmsley Arts Centre
Folk gig of the week: Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
KATHRYN Roberts and Sean Lakeman’s creative bond spans 30 years, from being young trailblazers in 1990s’ folk supergroup Equation to twice being named Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their live shows are brimful of charm, wit and musical mastery of songs of emotional depth, as captured on 2025’s Another Day At The Circus, their first live concert album. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Tom Stade: Naughty By Nature mischief-making
Ryedale comedy gig of the week: Tom Stade, Naughty By Nature, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
CANADIAN stand-up Tom Stade is back on the road with his 2025 Edinburgh Fringe hit, wherein he playfully dishes out more of his insightful observations in a night of mischievous and uncompromising comedy. His credits include the Have A Word Pod podcast, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, The John Bishop Show and Live At The Apollo. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
The poster for Scarborough Theatre Company’s first visit to Kirk Theatre, Pickering, with Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat
Musical of the week: Scarborough Theatre Company in Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, May 22, 7.30pm; May 23, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; May 24, 2.30pm
DIRECTED by Alex Weatherhill, Scarborough Theatre Company will be performing in Pickering for the first time, presenting Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s debut musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a combination of unforgettable songs, dazzling costumes and electrifying energy.
Having staged The Addams Family, Kinky Boots, White Christmas and The Wizard Of Oz on the East Coast, now Weatherhill oversees a tale of betrayal, hope and triumph in a story that continues to inspire audiences of all ages, driven by pastiches of many musical styles. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Cone, by Alison Jagger, on show at WET Bar & Plates
FROM street photography to an introduction to ballet, sparring spiritualists to acidic German comedy about the English weather, Charles Hutchinson highlights all manner of cultural delights ahead.
Photographic show of the week: Alison Jagger, After The Crowds, WET Bar & Plates, Micklegate, York, until June 3
AS a lone traveller and self-confessed free spirit, York street photographer Alison Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vitality she loves to capture with her mobile phone camera.
“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Jagger. After The Crowds is the second in RARE Collective’s programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
English National Ballet School students in My First Ballet: Cinderella, on tour at Grand Opera House, York
Children’s show of the week: English National Ballet & English National Ballet School, My First Ballet: Cinderella, Grand Opera House, York, today, 10.30am and 2pm; tomorrow, 1pm and 3pm
MEET the nature-loving Cinderella, who lives on the edge of an enchanted forest where she once gardened and sang with her mother. After loss and silence settle over her home, she is left with a sharp-tongued stepmother, two noisy stepsisters and a house full of chores and shadows.
However, when a letter arrives, inviting all to a garden ball, Cinderella’s journey to find her true self begins, guided by the spirit of her mother and the magic of the forest. Using a narrator to help the young audience follow the story, and a shortened, recorded version of Prokofiev’s score, this introduction to ballet is choreographed byGeorge Williamson and performed by English National Ballet School Graduate Artists Programme students. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Sparring spiritualists Sheila Gold (Eileen Walsh) and prickly mum Rosa (Frances Barber) in Rosa’s mobile home in York Theatre Royal’s world premiere of The Psychic. Picture: Manuel Harlan
World premiere of the month: The Psychic, York Theatre Royal, until May 23
“IS any of it real,” ask Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman in The Psychic, the latest spook-fest from the writer-director duo behind Ghost Stories. In their twisted new thriller, popular TV psychic Sheila Gold (Eileen Walsh) loses a high-profile court case that brands her a charlatan, costing her not only her reputation but also a fortune in legal fees.
When a wealthy couple ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, she senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she has ever believed, leading her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tenor Christopher O’Gorman
Lunchtime concert of the week: York Late Music presents Christopher Gorman (tenor) & Mark Hutchinson (piano), Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today, 1pm
THE first complete performance of York composer Steve Crowther’s song settings of poems by late York writer Helen Cadbury will be given by tenor Christopher O’Gorman and pianist Mark Hutchinson this afternoon. The concert also features Richard Allain’s Three Shakespeare Sonnetsplus music by Emily Hall and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Songs Of Travel. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.
Louise Davies in her Woolwich studio
Exhibition opening of the week: Louise Davies and Glassmakers, Journey In Colour, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, today, 11am to 2.30pm, until July 4
PAINTINGS and etchings by South East London artist and printmaker Louise Davies will be complemented by glass by Allister Malcolm, Madeleine Hughes, Margaret Burke, Charlie Burke and Amelia Burke.
Pink Moors, oil on canvas, by Louise Davies
Davies, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, combines fluid lines and rich colour in vibrant landscape prints and oil paintings. Gallery owner Terry Brett drove to Stourbridge to pick up glass works by Malcolm and his workshop assistant, Hughes. Margaret Burke, son Charlie and his wife, hot glass specialist Amelia, run the hand-blown glass studio E&M Glass at The Old Bakery, Sarn Bridge, Malpas, Cheshire.
Bradley Creswick: Violin soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s concert tomorrow
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra Spring Concert, York Barbican, Sunday, 3pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra continues its celebration of the works of German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist and critic Carl Maria von Weber, this time recognising his considerable input into the world of opera with the overture to Der Freischütz.
Tomorrow afternoon’s soloist will be Bradley Creswick, leader emeritus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, playing the Bruch Violin Concerto No 1. The second half features Verdi’s overture to his opera The Force Of Destiny, Britten’s Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes and Ravel’s orchestral showpiece La Valse. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her play Jesse North Is Broken. Picture: Ian Hodgson
Solo show of the week:John Godber Company presents Martha Godber in Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 11 to 14, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Thursday matinee
JESSE North, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, writer-performer Martha Godber’s play follows Jesse from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha, whose solo play is directed by Millie Gaston. A post-show discussion follows Wednesday’s performance. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for James Morrison’s 20 Years Of Undiscovered tour
Anniversary of the week: James Morrison, 20 Years Of Undiscovered, York Barbican, May 13, doors 7pm; Sheffield City Hall, May 23, doors 6.30pm
UNDISCOVERED was the number one debut album that changed everything for Rugby soul singer-songwriter and guitarist James Morrison (or James Morrison Catchpole to give him his full name). Back then, he was fitting carpets by day, playing open mics by night and driving up and down to London at any spare moment, taking meeting after meeting with multiple record companies.
On his 18-date May and June tour, 2007 British Male Solo Artist BRIT award winner Morrison is playing Undiscovered in its entirety in a set taking in big hits such as You Give Me Something and Wonderful World, fan favourites The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and This Boy, rarely performed gems One Last Chance and How Come and highlights from his six-album songbook, topped off by 2025’s Top Five success Fight Another Day. Cordelia supports. Tickets update: York, limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk; Sheffield, https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/james-morrison-sheffield-23-05-2026/event/35006367D9B1B6C6.
Wehn and where? Henning squeezing every German joke out of the British weather at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gig of the week: Henning Wehn, Acid Wehn, Grand Opera House, York, May 14, 7.30pm
GERMAN Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn takes an unbiased look at climate change. “It’s a topic sure to delight audiences and no surprise,” he says. “After all, everyone loves talking about the weather. Rain or shine, all will be fine. Or maybe it won’t. Who knows?! Come along. Or else.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tim Lowe: Launching 2026 York Chamber Music Festival with NCEM recital with Stephen Gutman
Festival launch of the week: Tim Lowe (cello) & Stephen Gutman (piano), Gems Of The Romantic Cello, National Centre for Early Music, York, May 15, 7.30pm
DIRECTOR and cellist Tim Lowe previews the 2026 York Chamber Music Festival (September 11 to 13) in concert with pianist Stephen Gutman in a passionate exploration of expressive and beautiful works from the cello and piano repertoire.
Their programme will be the same as they played at St Mary le Strand, London, on Wednesday: Beethoven’s 12 Variations on See The Conquering Hero Comes from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus; Saint-Saëns’ Cello Sonata No 1 in C Minor; Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F Major and Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
Cowboy Junkies: 40 years and counting
In Focus: Cowboy Junkies, Celebrating 40 Years And Beyond Tour, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, tonight; doors 7pm for 7.45pm start
Cowboy Junkies: 40 years and counting
TORONTO’S Cowboy Junkies are playing British venues for the first time since 2022 on April and May’s Celebrating 40 Years and Beyond tour, promoted by Hurricane Promotions. Next stop, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, tonight.
Coinciding with the 11-date itinerary, the Canadians have released a triple LP/ double CD/digital collection of songs from their 21st century releases, Open To Beauty.
Released on May 1 on Cooking Vinyl, this ‘Best Of’ set revisits selected tracks from the albums Open, One Soul Now, Early 21st Century Blues, At The End Of Paths Taken, Renmin Park, Demons, Sing In My Meadow, The Wilderness, All That Reckoning, Songs Of The Recollection and 2023’s Such Ferocious Beauty.
Speaking of the new compilation, Cowboy Junkies’ Michael Timmins says: “We are now 25 years into this century, the beginning of which saw us leave the world of major labels and return to making music as an independent band.
“We figured this was as good a time as any to look back, reassess and reflect on the music that we have recorded over these past two and a half decades and, hence, Open To Beauty – The Best of the 21st Century.”
Tour tickets are on sale at: https://cowboyjunkies.com/tour/. Tonight’s show has sold out: for returns only, https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/cowboy-junkies/.
Did you know?
COWBOY Junkies’ signature performance of Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground composition Sweet Jane was featured in the final episode of Netflix TV series Stranger Things.
Cowboy Junkies’ Peter Timmins, Margo Timmins, Michael Timmins and Alan Anton
Cowboy Junkies: back story
SOMETIMES revolutions begin quietly. In 1988, Canadian alt. country band Cowboy Junkies proved there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise – and it was compelling, standing out amid the flash and bombast that defined the late 1980s.
The now classic recording – made live at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto in November 1987 – combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.
Cowboy Junkies’ ability to communicate volumes before the lyrics kick in defines an enduring career. Where most bands chase trends, the Junkies have stayed their course, maintaining a low-impact excavation of melody and evocative language delivered sotto voce in singer Margo Timmins’s feathery alto.
Forming in Toronto in 1985, Margo was joined by siblings Michael Timmins on guitar and Peter Timmins on drums, plus Michael’s life-long friend Alan Anton on bass, to begin a journey that has evolved over 29 albums.
“I’ve known Alan longer than I’ve known Pete,” says Michael. “We were friends before Pete was born.”
Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies have never had a break-up or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them constantly working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael.
The oldest, Michael is the chief architect; songwriter, and guitarist, who works with Margo on sculpting the emotional planes and vocal performances before bringing in Peter and Alan to create the soundscapes that have made Cowboy Junkies a band that defies categories.
“The expectations and responsibilities of our roles are a big part of the band’s ethos,” says Michael. “We’re still amazed that we’re doing things our way and continuing to grow the band, but the longer we are at it, the more fun it’s become. We don’t take it for granted.”
Margo adds: “We do what we do and it feels right for all of us. After 30-plus years of playing together, the band and its music are more important to us than ever. The music we make brings each of us a great sense of contentment, a knowledge of place, and a sense of doing what we were meant to do.”
