Tag: York Museum Gardens

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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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How Britain’s oldest house has taken on new life in York Museum Gardens

Specialist builder Leo Wolterbeek within the Mesolithic build at York Museum Gardens. Picture: Gareth Buddo

IT took four days for two Dutchmen to build “Britain’s oldest house” in York Museum Gardens, where the Mesolithic Hut will stand until September 1.

Made of reeds, matting and twine, the house design dates from 11,000 years ago, transporting visitors back to life in North Yorkshire in the Mesolithic age, the Middle Stone Age, between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic.

Teams from York Museums Trust and the University of York have combined with experts in ancient technology and archaeology to build the replica house in front of the Yorkshire Museum, using evidence, techniques and materials, such as stone tools and plant materials, gleaned from the prehistoric archaeological site at Star Carr, five miles south of Scarborough, where the oldest known house in Britain was discovered.

University of York head of archaeology Professor Nicky Milner and postdoctoral research fellow Dr Jess Bates are spearheading the project with specialist craftsman Diederik Pomstra and builder Leo Wolterbeek and support from Dr Adam Parker, curator of archaeology at York Museums Trust, in a project made possible by £10,000 funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. 

“Being an archaeologist is like being a detective, using clues to build the picture,” says Professor Nicky Milner, head of archaeology at the University of York. Picture: Gareth Buddo

Dr Parker says: “This is an extraordinary opportunity to experience a Mesolithic build, using evidence-based information such as the tools and the resources, much of which we are showing in the Yorkshire Museum.

“Taking our lead from Star Carr, we are able to harness and harvest materials from the environment that will be similar to the components these people utilised all those years ago. 

“Displays at the museum includes the original implements and items left behind from the lives that unfolded there. It’s a chance to get to know and understand a relatively unknown period of history in a fun and open way for all ages. Come and see for yourself.”

Professor Milner says: “We invited Diederik and Leo from the Netherlands, who come over once a year to do experimental archaeological work, because they’re really skilled at prehistoric archaeological buildings.

“For example, they know what materials to use to make the twine for fastening. It’s about understanding the natural world and how to make things out of materials and how to make tools out of flint.”

Specialist craftsman Diederik Pomstra with Professor Nicky Milner and Dr Adam Parker. Picture: Gareth Buddo

The use of reed for the replica house is derived from the research at Star Carr. “We found post holes and a hollow that signified the oldest house in Britain. The soil there was darker and we can look at that soil with its high organic content, in particular the silica cells from different plants, and some of those looked like reeds,” says Prof Milner. “Star Carr was by the river, so there would have been reeds there.

“Jess [Dr Bates] spent three years doing a PhD looking at the flint finds at Star Carr under a microscope, and from that you can tell what the flint was used for: cutting up meat, processing fish; working with hides, bones, antlers and wood. So we begin to understand the activities in the house.

“We can use science to bring alive evidence. In terms of materials, there was a lot of organic material because the preservation was so good, and from the research we can put together a picture of what life was like; what their skills were.”

Prof Milner continues: “Being an archaeologist is like being a detective, using clues to build the picture, working in our experimental centre, where research gives you more questions to be answered.

Diederik Pomstra, left, Leo Wolterbeek, Professor Nicky Milner, of University of York, and Dr Adam Parker, of York Museums Trust, at the Mesolithic Hut build in York Museum Gardens. Picture: Gareth Buddo

“We have to be honest and say there’s an element of speculation, so we think they used reed to build the house as it was by the river, though we can’t confirm that. They may have used animal skins.”

Prof Milner stresses the importance of the partnership with York Museums Trust, whose Star Carr exhibition, Life After The Ice, at the Yorkshire Museum offers visitors the chance to learn more about the site and see tools, objects and ritual artefacts found there.

“We both want people to know about Star Carr, the house, and how we got to where we are now. I don’t mind  if we are speculating because it gives everyone a chance to ask questions about the past,” she says.

“Star Carr was first excavated in the 1940s and became very famous in the archaeological world because of the incredible preservation of the site, but locally people didn’t know about it. I didn’t until I went to university and couldn’t believe it was on my doorstep, where I grew up!

Dr Jess Bates, from the University of York, with Elizabeth, left, and Eleanor Grahame-Clarke at the Mesolithic build. Picture: Gareth Buddo

“Since then, it’s been a passion of mine for everyone to learn about it as Star Carr is as important as Stonehenge.”

Dr Parker concurs: “Life After The Ice is our first exhibition after two years of having the Star Carr collection, and this is a Yorkshire collection on display in Yorkshire, informed by research happening in York, telling a story that’s important for us to tell, displaying an archive of international significance, presented in a way that maybe the university couldn’t do.

“This is a project that serves both research and public engagement, and the benefit of what we’re doing this month is that it brings the museum outside, and we hope that by people seeing one, they want to see the other.”

Free activities, such as storytelling with Hoglets Theatre Company and Into Wilderness Bushcraft Adventures, are running in a marquee next to the Mesolithic Hut until September 1, open daily from 10am to 4pm.  Participating children must be accompanied by an adult at all times; full details can be found yorkshiremuseum.org.uk.

Access to the Museum Gardens and the Mesolithic build is free; there is a charge for entry to the museum, open 10am to 5pm.

Activities in marquee next to Mesolithic Hut, in front of Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, Museum Street, York

Eleanor Grahame-Clarke learning skills from specialist builder Leo Wolterbeek in York Museum Gardens. Picture: Gareth Buddo

Creative Family Wednesdays: Star Carr Special, August 28, 10.30am to 3.30pm

DROP in anytime – no booking required – for artist-run creative workshops inspired by the Star Carr exhibition, delivered outdoors.

Star Carr Storytelling: August 29, 10.30am to 11.15am; 11.30am to 12.15pm; 2pm to 2.45pm and 3pm to 3.45pm. No need to book.

JOIN Hoglets Theatre, Gemma Curry’s York company, for an adventure into the prehistoric world of Star Carr in these immersive, outdoor story-telling sessions suitable for all the family.

Into Wilderness Bushcraft Adventures, August 30 to September 1,10.30am to 4pm drop-in sessions throughout the day. No booking required.

EXPERIENCE wild Britain from an Aboriginal bushcraft perspective and immerse yourself in the Mesolithic in these hands-on workshops led by the team at Into Wilderness.

In addition, a Star Carr Skills Weekend was held on August 17 and 18, when expert Chris Woodland’s drop-in sessions highlighted Mesolithic craftsmanship, using natural materials, and offered the chance to learn skills needed for everyday life at Star Carr, demonstrating how to turn nettles into twine and shale into decorative pendants.

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Three Steps To Shed Seven: past, present and future as 30th anniversary rolls on

Shed Seven performing Throwaways with special guest Peter Doherty at York Museum Gardens on July 19. Picture: Barnaby Fairley

Step One: Night two of the Sheds’ 30th anniversary homecoming concerts, Live At York Museum Gardens, presented by Futuresound, on July 20

Set list: Let’s Go; Speakeasy; Where Have You Been Tonight?; High Hopes (with Duke Witter); Dolphin; Devil In Your Shoes; Tripping With You (with Laura McClure); Bully Boy (with Huntington School Choir); Ocean Pie; Parallel Lines; In Ecstasy (with Rowetta); On Standby; Going For Gold; Suspicious Minds; Talk Of The Town; Getting Better; Let’s Go Dancing.

Encores: Room In My House; Throwaways (with Peter Doherty); Disco Down; Chasing Rainbows (with choir, McClure, Rowetta and support acts Doherty, Brooke Combe and Apollo Junction).

CharlesHutchPress viewpoint: As central as a centre-spot, standing with a cluster of chanting York City fans, former manager Michael Morton (February-August 2023) at their core, and a bunch of Sheds-loving former University of York students, meeting up from all over the country for the first time since 1997.

Different set list? Out went She Left Me On Friday (they left it out on Saturday), People Will Talk and The Heroes. In came: Where Have You Been Tonight? and Parallel Lines.

Other differences?

*Shed Seven arrived on stage at 8.30pm rather than 8.40pm.

*Different members of Huntington School Choir sang Bully Boy.

*The Sheds’ friend Stuart Allan, guitarist and vocalist in York band Johnny And The Dunebugs, guested on guitar throughout the Sheds’ set, introduced by Rick Witter as “the fifth Beatle”.

The same on both nights:

*The show-opening recorded poetry reading of The Boys Are Coming Home – a hymn of praise to York’s “characters, cobbles and quirks” – by Matt Abbott, Wakefield poet, educator, activist and former frontman and lyricist of Skint & Demoralised. Commissioned by guitarist Paul Banks.

*Backing singers Mary Pearce and Beverly Skeete, as featured on the Shed Seven albums Instant Pleasures, A Matter Of Time and the upcoming Liquid Gold.

*Special guests Laura McClure, from Reverend And The Makers, Rowetta, from the Madchester Nineties’ scene, and The Libertines’ Peter Doherty, all reprising their contributions to the Sheds’ number one album, A Matter Of Time.

*Brass section of Tim Hurst, trombone; Andy Cox, saxophone; Jamie Brownfield, trumpet.

*The presence of a film crew, led off on Friday by the camera following Rick Witter from the Museum Street entrance, “walking towards the stage like a boxer entering the ring” (to quote Ste’s comment on CharlesHutchPress’s review of the first night.

Why filming?

“The idea of filming the weekend is trifold,” says Rick. “We wanted to make a video for the most recent Liquid Gold release, Getting Better, which came out on Monday evening (July 22). Worth a watch!

“We’re also releasing a ‘Live At Museum Gardens’ variant to coincide with the release of Liquid Gold on September 27. And then possibly we’ll release a DVD of the Museum Gardens gigs, along with all the promo vids from A Matter Of Time onwards and a small documentary about the Sheds. The year of the Sheds indeed.”

Final CharlesHutchPress thoughts: Loved Room In My House and Talk Of The Town becoming latter-day crowd favourites already. Rick’s “dad dancing” with son and Serotones singer Duke in High Hopes. The set – pre-encores – closing with Let’s Go Dancing’s a cappella coda, “Lonely words seek an empty page/Curtain call, time to leave the stage/ It’s time to stop…”.

Peter Doherty and his dapper chapeau – plonked briefly on Witter’s head – loving every minute, whether in Throwaways or the everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink Chasing Rainbows finale. The departing hordes still singing Chasing Rainbows as they crossed Lendal Bridge, homeward bound and euphoric.

Step two: New single Waiting For The Catch and new album Liquid Gold

Shed Seven with Issy Ferris, of Ferris & Sylvester, guest vocalist on Liquid Gold orchestral reworking of Waiting For The Catch. Picture: Andy Little

“HI MATE. Sorry just shooting a video to a new song. It’s all go.” So messaged Rick Witter, on July 22, explaining his delay in answering a handful of CharlesHutchPress questions.

That song is new single Waiting For The Catch, a duet with Issy Ferris, of UK folk/rock/Americana duo Ferris & Sylvester, who released their second album, Otherness, on March 1 on Arch Top Records.

Premiered on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on August 8, Waiting For The Catch is a new reworking of an Instant Pleasures bonus track from the York band’s career-spanning orchestral album Liquid Gold. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HKKvnD-tII.

“Waiting For The Catch fits perfectly alongside some of our biggest hits,” says Rick. “The song has the classic ‘Can’t live with you, can’t live without you’ sentiment and we felt making it a duet would fit perfectly with the lyrical theme.

“So we invited the amazing Issy Ferris to add her beautiful voice to the track, which gives it a yearning, but also vengeful energy. You want to hear Shed Seven arena-sized? No problem, it’s our pleasure.”

Liquid Gold’s orchestral reinventions were recorded in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall. Brice had worked previously with Liam Gallagher and Placebo, while Rendall had teamed up with the Sheds for 2017’s Top Ten comeback album Instant Pleasures and A Matter Of Time.

“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 A Matter Of Time. A logical next step.”

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!”

A signed copy of Liquid Gold: One of multiple formats of the new album

Set for release on Cooking Vinyl on September 27, Liquid Gold can be pre-ordered at shedsevenn.lnk.to/LiquidGoldPR, with formats ranging from signed copies and vinyl to CD and cassette versions.

The Sheds have just launched a new bootleg edition, each with artwork individually hand-stamped by the band, that adds three songs from their BBC Piano Room session, a live recording of Casino Girl, and remix of In Ecstasy.

That Piano Room session in May saw the Sheds perform Chasing Rainbows, Talk Of The Town and a cover of Duran Duran’s Planet Earth with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Maida Vale studios.

The album track listing will be: 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; new composition All Roads Lead To You and Chasing Rainbows.

A special Live @Museum Gardens 2CD edition can be pre-ordered at store.shedseven.com/product/148214?password=LG-YORK-EM. Featuring a bonus disc of live tracks recorded at the two shows, it comes with alternative artwork to commemorate the occasion.

In the immediate aftermath of the Museum Gardens shindigs, the Sheds released a video of the Liquid Gold version of Getting Better, filmed on and off stage over the two days, capturing the band, special guests Peter Doherty, Rowetta and Laura McClure and Friday support acts The Lottery Winners and Serotones, Huntington School choir and audience members…and Witter riding through York on a bike.

Or, as Black Arts PR’s press release puts it: “The video is a joyous celebration of one of the biggest highlights of Shed Seven’scareer. It captures every moment of the day: fans getting the party underway as they arrive; Rick Witter strolling through the audience and posing for photos and pinching a sip of beer; clips of friends including Peter Doherty, Lottery Winners, Rowetta, Laura McClure and Serotones (featuring Rick’s son Duke) all relishing the occasion; and the band embracing before they step on stage. The most emotional moment is saved until the end – the band taking their final bows in front of a sea of adoration.”

Post-gigs, The Shedsposted on social media: “Watch to the end, you won’t be disappointed… you might even feature. Enjoy and thanks once again for making this weekend so special.” Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnJnjir47QE.

Already, the Sheds had previewed the album by releasing two tasters, Speakeasy and Devil In Your Shoes. Pre-orders for Liquid Gold have exceeded the numbers reached with January’s A Matter Of Time. Could Shed Seven notch up two number one albums in a year? Roll on September 27.

Step Three:  T-T-T-Talk Of The Town in multiple towns and cities, 50 shows in all

Shed Seven doing a record store promotion for A Matter Of Time at HMV York in January

AFTER in-store performances and personal appearances, including HMV York, to launch A Matter Of Time in January and the 30th anniversary homecoming celebrations at York Museum Gardens in July, the Shed Seven boys are back in town after town over the rest of 2024.

First up comes a guest spot on Blossoms’ bill at Live From Wythenshawe Park Presents: Blossoms, Inhaler & More @ Wythenshawe Park, Manchester on August 25, followed by BBC Radio 2 In The Park at Moor Park, Preston, on September 8.

Next will be in-store appearances promoting Liquid Gold from September 8 to October 16 and a sextet of gigs in October combining playing 1994 debut album Change Giver in full with a greatest hits set too.

In the traditional biennial Shedcember slot will be a 23-date 30th Anniversary Tour, the Sheds’ biggest-ever winter itinerary, joined by special guests The Sherlocks. Back home in time for Christmas, Rick Witter and Paul Banks will bring down the curtain on the Sheds’ annus mirabilis with a brace of special acoustic duo performances at Huntington Working Men’s Club. Sheds’ bassist Tom Gladwin will do a DJ set each night

AUGUST

25th:  Manchester, Wythenshawe Park (guests to Blossoms)

SEPTEMBER

8th:  Preston, BBC Radio 2 In The Park

27th: Manchester, HMV (1pm – SOLD OUT)

27th:  Bury, Wax & Beans (6pm – SOLD OUT)

28th:  Birmingham, HMV (1pm – SOLD OUT)

28th:  Leamington Spa, Head Records (5pm – SOLD OUT)

29th: London, Rough Trade East (5pm – SOLD OUT)

29th: London, Rough Trade East (7pm  – SOLD OUT)

30th – Southampton, Vinilo (1pm – SOLD OUT)

30th:  Brighton, Resident (6.30pm – SOLD OUT)

OCTOBER

1st: Bristol, Rough Trade (12 noon – LOW TICKETS)

1st: Bristol, Rough Trade (5pm – SOLD OUT)

2nd: Nottingham, Rough Trade (midday – SOLD OUT)

2nd: Nottingham, Rough Trade (6pm – SOLD OUT)

3rd:  Sheffield, Bear Tree Records (midday – SOLD OUT)

3rd: Liverpool, Jacaranda (7pm – SOLD OUT)

4th:  Newcastle, Beyond Vinyl (6.30pm – SOLD OUT)

10th: Kingston-upon-Thames, Pryzm (Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records)

11th: Kingston-upon-Thames, Pryzm (Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records – SOLD OUT)

12th:  Coventry, HMV Empire (Change Giver show)

16th: Edinburgh, Assai Records (midday – SOLD OUT)

16th: Glasgow, HMV (5pm – SOLD OUT)

17th: Glasgow, SWG3 (Change Giver show, hosted by Assai Records)

18th:  Manchester, Academy 2 (Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records – SOLD OUT)

19th:  Leeds, Beckett Student Union (Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records – SOLD OUT)

Party time: Shed Seven’s Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, left, Paul Banks, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Tim Wills celebrate 30th anniversary on November and December tour

NOVEMBER – 30th ANNIVERSARY HEADLINE TOUR

14th:  Sheffield Octagon (SOLD OUT)

15th:  Cardiff University, Great Hall

16th: Liverpool University, Mountford Hall (LOW TICKETS)

18th:  Halifax, Victoria Theatre (LOW TICKETS)

19th: Hull City Hall

21st: Aberdeen Music Hall (SOLD OUT)

22nd: Glasgow, O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)

23rd: Edinburgh, O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)

25th: Leicester, O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)

26th: Margate Dreamland

28th: Bristol O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)

29th: Newcastle O2 City Hall (LOW TICKETS)

30th: Leeds O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)

DECEMBER – 30th ANNIVERSARY HEADLINE TOUR

2nd: Oxford O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)

3rd: Lincoln Engine Shed (LOW TICKETS)

5th:  Stockton Globe

6th: Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse (SOLD OUT)

7th: Birmingham O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)

9th: Norwich, The Nick Rayns LCR, University of East Anglia (SOLD OUT)

10th: Cambridge Corn Exchange (LOW TICKETS)

12th: Bournemouth O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)

13th: Nottingham Rock City (SOLD OUT)

14th: London O2 Academy Brixton (SOLD OUT)

DECEMBER – RICK WITTER & PAUL BANKS INTIMATE ACOUSTIC SHOWS

21st: York, Huntington Working Men’s Club (SOLD OUT)

22nd: York, Huntington Working Men’s Club (SOLD OUT)

Any remaining tickets are on sale via shedseven.com at https://gigst.rs/SS24.

Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Concluding Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary celebrations on home turf at Huntington Working Men’s Club on December 21 and 22. Picture: David Harrison
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More Things To Do in York & beyond the Proms, whatever the pomp & circumstance. Hutch’s List No. 31, from The Press

Jane Burnell: Buxton Opera soprano performing at tomorrow’s York Proms in York Museum Gardens

IN search of high-summer highlights, Charles Hutchinson finds Proms fireworks, outdoor cinema singalongs, a mad woodland king and comedy on the coast.

Musical picnic of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, York, Sunday, general admission, 5.30pm; main stage concert, 7.45pm to 10.30pm

TICKETS are close to selling out for the York Proms,  tomorrow’s picnic concert under the stars organised as ever by York soprano Rebecca Newman. 

Conducted by Ben Crick, the orchestra will be joined by tenor Joshua Baxter and soprano Jane Burnell, both at present performing with Buxton Opera, for a programme of classical classics, operatic arias and film music, topped off with the flag-waving proms finale, decorated with a fireworks display. Box office: 01904 909487 or yorkproms.com.

Hoglets Theatre’s puppet of Badger for Gemma Curry’s new show, The Badger And The Coins, at York Explore & Archive today

Children’s show of the week: Hoglets Theatre in The Badger And The Coins, York Explore Library and Archive, Library Square, York, today, 11am to 11.45am

GEMMA Curry’s York company Hoglets Theatre presents The Badger And The Coins, an original play about love, courage and the belief that even the most unexpected companions can bring magic into our world, suitable for pre-school and primary school children.

Based on a Japanese folk tale, the story of an old man rescuing a mysterious Badger and triggering an amazing journey is powered by original songs, outrageous characters, beautiful hand-made puppets and Hoglets’ trademark energy and creativity. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/exploreyorklibrariesandarchives/1288717.

Cinema in the open air at Castle Howard this weekend, from Disney to Abba, Spielberg to Cruise. Picture: Castle Howard Estate

Outdoor film event of the week: Adventure Cinema at Castle Howard, near Malton, today and tomorrow

PACK a picnic for Castle Howard’s open-air outdoor cinema experience on a giant screen this weekend, presented in tandem with Adventure Cinema. This afternoon features a Sing-A-Long Edition of Disney’s Frozen (PG) at 1.30pm (gates 12 noon).

An Abba disco precedes Mamma Mia! Outdoor Cinema Extrabbaganza, this evening’s all-singing, all-dancing double bill of Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again at 6.30pm (gates 5pm). Tomorrow comprises Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s The Gruffalo/Stick Man (U) at 11am (gates 10am), Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic Park (PG) at 3pm (gates 1.30pm) and Tony Scott’s Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, at 8pm (gate 6.30pm). Box office: adventurecinema.co.uk/venues/castle-howard.

Barn Owl, by Bryn Parry CBE, in the Sculpture In The Landscape exhibition at the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Grewelthorpe. Picture: Celestine Dubruel

Exhibition of the week: Sculpture In The Landscape, Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, until November 3

THE 2024 Sculpture In The Landscape exhibition showcases 60 works for sale by artists across the United Kingdom, complementing the permanent sculptures on show at the Himalayan Garden.

Visitors are invited to explore the intricate sculptures set against verdant landscapes. From monumental installations to delicate works of art, each piece offers a perspective on the intersection of creativity and nature. Normal garden entry applies. Tickets: 01765 658009 or himalayangarden.com

Adderstone in the trees: Music, mystery and magic in the woodland company of Mad Sweeney, the Irish king, at the Forest of Flowers, Huby

Woodland folk event of the week: Sweeney Untethered by Adderstone, Forest of Flowers, Home Farm, Tollerton Road, Huby, York, tomorrow (28/7/2024), 1.30pm to 4pm

ADDERSTONE, the storytelling alt-folk duo of Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott, present Sweeney Untethered, the tale of a 7th century Irish king who went mad, as told and sung on a caper through the wild woods and meadows of the Forest of Flowers with refreshments after the 1.5-mile walk.

The music, mystery and magic-infused performance will immerse the audience in story and surroundings alike as Heinemeyer and McDermott take in the wildflowers, ponds, woodland and wildlife. Bookings: forestofflowers.co.uk/event-details.

The View: Returning to the concert platform after five-year hiatus

Return of the week: The View, The Crescent, York, August 2, 7.30pm

RESCHEDULED from June 15, Under The Influence presents Dundee indie-rock returnees The View in a night of Hats Off To Buskers classics, from Same Jeans to Wasted Little DJs and Superstar Tradesma, plus material from their first album in eight years.

Recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Youth at Space Mountain, Granada, Exorcism Of Youth was released last August on Cooking Vinyl. Five years on from their departing gig at Dundee’s Caird Hall, original members Kyle Falconer (vocals/guitar), Kieran Webster (bass/vocals) and Pete Reilly (guitar) are back on the road. Box office: thecrescentyork.com. music, mystery and magic!

Bill Bailey: Comedy in the Scarborough sea air on August 2

Coastal gig of the week: Bill Bailey, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 2; gates open at 6pm

COMEDIAN, actor, musician, presenter, Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain, Black Books sitcom star and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing champion Bill Bailey heads to the East Coast with his surrealist fusion of stories, poetry and wordplay that takes aim at the modern world’s absurdities, as aired in his Thoughtifier arena tour.

A veteran of the UK festival circuit, with appearances at Latitude, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Sonisphere and the Eden Project, Bailey will have his array of weird and wonderful instruments on tap too for playful pastiches of Tom Waits, Kraftwerk et al. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Chris Hagyard, pictured in Guys And Dolls mode, will be taking part in One Night Of Broadway Hits at the JoRo

Musical revue of the week: Steve Coates and Bev Jones Music Company present One Night Of Broadway Hits, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

BEV Jones Music Company performs hits from 26 musicals, including Guys And Dolls, in an unashamedly traditional fashion under the musical direction of James Rodgers.

His band is joined in this moving, lively and at times funny show by vocalists Chris Hagyard, Annabel Van Griethuysen, Anthony Pengelly, Ruth McNeil, Sally Lewis, Stephen Wilson, Geoff Walker and producer Lesley Jones, back on stage for this show, wearing a silver cat suit unseen since 2010, when she played Vera in Stepping Out. Box office: 01904 501395 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Chrissie Hynde: The great Pretender, leading her band at York Barbican this autumn. Picture: Vi Price

Gig announcement of the week: The Pretenders, York Barbican, October 31

THE Pretenders are extending their sold-out British tour, adding a new date in York, in the wake of releasing Relentless, their 14th UK Top 40 entry and highest-charting record in 23 years, last September.

Fronted as ever by Chrissie Hynde, 72, the band is joining Foo Fighters on their American tour in July and August. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-pretenders/.

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York Proms heads for Sunday sell-out when soprono Jane Burnell and tenor Joshua Baxter perform at Museum Gardens

Soprano Jane Burnell: Performing at York Proms on Sunday

THE 2024 York Proms is close to selling out as the picnic concert with the fireworks finish returns to York Museum Gardens on Sunday.

Against the backdrop of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, organiser Rebecca Newman presents the 7.45pm programme of classical classics, operatic arias and film music, topped off by the de rigueur flag-waving proms finale under the stars.

Conducted by Ben Crick, the York Proms Orchestra will be joined by two rising stars of the opera firmament, tenor Joshua Baxter and soprano Jane Burnell.

“Joshua, who is in his early 30s, studied at the Royal Academy of Music and performs in opera and oratorio across the UK and Europe,” says Rebecca. “Jane, who studied at Leeds College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester, is only in her mid-20s and has made her professional debut this year. Definitely one to watch.

“Jane has worked with our musical director, Ben Crick, who writes the arrangements for the orchestra and conducts on the day, and she knows Josh because they are working together at Buxton Opera Festival this summer.

Tenor Joshua Baxter: Heading from Buxton Opera Festival to York Proms on Sunday

“In an interview for the York Proms podcast, she told me they don’t actually sing together at Buxton, so this will be a nice treat for them to actually do that.”

Crick directs an orchestra put together expressly for the York Proms. “Many of them often perform with big orchestras all over the country,” says Rebecca.

“I’m really excited about this year’s programme and the line-up of music looks to be one of my favourites so far, with a selection that offers something for everyone. The arias include some really big, challenging and stunningly beautiful pieces that will be a real treat to hear from two really talented and accomplished performers.”

The podcast has been released this month to tap into the community that has built up since the event was established in 2017. “It has already seen close to 1,000 downloads, which is fantastic for a newly launched podcast,” says Rebecca.

“We plan to offer interviews and news via the podcast that complements the event, but also life in York more generally. There is so much to the York Proms that we can celebrate, aside from the music, including the history of the gardens and the people who make it possible.”

The 2024 York Proms box office is remaining open later than in past years. “We usually close it about five to seven days before the event, so we know the numbers we are expecting and can plan, or when it sells out – which last year happened almost two weeks before the day – but this year has been unprecedented with the extremely wet and cold weather,” says Rebecca.

York Proms organiser Rebecca Newman

“That definitely had an impact on ticket sales as we were significantly ahead of last year’s ticket sales by six weeks before the event, but I don’t blame people for not wanting to gamble with the weather.

“However, now that the forecast is looking great and the sales have picked up, we’re leaving the box office open for a little longer to allow the final few tickets to sell. There’s only ten per cent still remaining though, and the discounted ticket price has to end soon too, so if people are keen to come, don’t leave it too long or you might miss out.”

Proms-goers can bring picnics or head to The Sketch Box on site, offering filled flatbreads, cooked freshly to order in their pizza ovens, plus posh hot dogs, hot and cold drinks and sweet treats. The Northern Bistro will be selling drinks and sweet treats too and Acaster Malbus brewery Ainsty Ales is returning with a bar for the third year running.

“I take every opportunity to source suppliers from York and the surrounding area wherever possible and champion the amazing businesses we have in our area,” says Rebecca. 

Gates open at 5pm for fast track and disabled ticket holders, 5.30pm for general admission, with the warm-up stage sparking into life at around 5.45pm. The main evening show starts at around 7.45pm and will be finished before 10.30pm.

Tickets can be bought online via yorkproms.com or in person via the Visit York Information Centre, in Parliament Street, in person or by calling 01904 909 487. For more information,  visit yorkproms.com.

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REVIEW: Paul Rhodes’s verdict on Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Jack Savoretti, July 18

Jack Savoretti: “A typically charismatic, energetic performance” at York Museum Gardens. Picture: Paul Rhodes

FUTURESOUND’S inaugural Live At York Museum Gardens festival got off to a stellar start on Thursday. Headliner Jack Savoretti gave a typically charismatic, energetic performance that had the sell-out crowd in the palm of his Anglo-Italian hand.

The setting framed the evening to a tee, the musicians played in front of the Yorkshire Museum, with St Mary’s Abbey off to the side. No-one was looking at the ruins, however, and Savoretti had everyone’s attention.

He has gained a large and passionate following, with back-to-back number one albums. The women in the audience especially adore him, and it’s easy to see why. Blessed with good looks and the ability to write songs with broad appeal, he’s also a natural showman.

Homeward bound: York-born Benjamin Francis Leftwich, now based in London, returns home to sing of New York in old York. Picture: Paul Rhodes

“Singing for strangers” may be his daughter’s way of describing her dad’s job, but he has the master’s gift of shrinking an arena so everyone in the audience feels he’s singing to them.

The evening had begun slowly with opener Ellur, from Halifax, starting proceedings early, followed by Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Originally from York (and conceived in a haunted house nearby, he told us, perhaps with a wink) Leftwich is not an obvious party starter. Yet he provided an ideal accompaniment to match the early evening vibe.

Playing with Jamie Squire (touring keyboard player for The 1975), Leftwich’s confident set was mellifluous and tuneful – with New York the highlight. Paul Simon he isn’t, but his hotel-room confessions were played with endearing conviction and the old York links went over well.

Foy Vance: “Performing solo, he demonstrated that with a large crowd, a big voice is not enough to guarantee a successful performance”

Foy Vance by comparison was a disappointment. On record, this Irish lothario’s songs, in Tom Waits/Joe Henry territory and bubble wrapped in Muscle Shoals high-quality packaging, are highly listenable.

Performing solo, however, he demonstrated that with a large crowd, a big voice is not enough to guarantee a successful performance. The audience chatter continued uninterrupted. The queue for beer and wine lengthened. Further back, someone did the crossword. Vance still got a big hand – but this was not his night.

The crowd (some having travelled from Swansea and beyond) wanted something, anything, to get them moving. An outdoor concert, after all, is as much an occasion as a gig, and it needs something special.

As the cloudy light slowly dimmed, the real star turn emerged. Savoretti’s performance was day to night compared to what came before.

Jack Savoretti: “His songs are naturally big, more romantic than the Milk Tray Man, and crowd pleasing”. Picture: Paul Rhodes

His songs are naturally big, more romantic than the Milk Tray Man, and crowd pleasing. We Are Bound was typical while The Way You Said Goodbye is everything Savoretti does best.

Well accustomed to playing concerts on this scale, the set list was a masterclass; mixing audience favourites with new material off this year’s Miss Italia album, even getting the crowd to sing in Italian at one point. The stories may not be new, but Savoretti told them like he meant it.

The 16-song set steadily built up to a wonderful finale. Tie Me Down was unrestrainable and Dancing Through The Rain superb. Then to close, and underline his star credentials, You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me. Made famous by Dusty Springfield, then Elvis Presley, the song began life as the Italian Lo Che Non Vivo (Senza Te).

Savoretti channelled all three to set the seal on a wonderful performance. Bringing his son on stage for the ovation melted even the coldest of hearts still intact. Un tocco perfetto, maestro.

Review by Paul Rhodes

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REVIEW: Shed Seven, Futuresound presents Live in York Museum Gardens, York, July 19

Stars coming out at night: Rick Witter fronting Shed Seven at York Museum Gardens. Picture: David Harrison. To buy David’s photos from Friday’s concert, head to: https://dharrisonyorkphotos.smugmug.com/Music/Shed-Seven-in-Museum-Gardens-2024

COULD this annus miraculum have gone any better for Shed Seven, the year when the York band topped the album charts for the first time, all of 30 years since releasing Change Giver.

Getting even better? It just did, last night, in the first of two 30th anniversary homecoming gigs mounted by Leeds promoters Futuresound in the first rock concerts to be staged in York Museum Gardens since Hawkwind, Pink Fairies and Roxy Music in the long-gone 1970s.

Back where the Sheds’ Rick Witter and Paul Banks had “caused chaos” at 12, 13, 14, their loud ghetto blasters “disturbing all the OAPs”.

The music was rather louder last night, cheered on by 4,000 fans, young, Sheds-aged and quite possibly OAPS alike; myriad Shed Seven T-shirts, from their Bile Beans yellow variation to Bully Boy’s I’ll Fight You Till The Death flipside being the dress code for the hottest weather of this sodden summer so far. Annus miraculum? Even Zeus the weather god was smiling on the Sheds.

Peter Doherty: Name-checking York in Albion in acoustic solo set at York Museum Gardens. Picture: David Harrison

After sets by Serotones (son Duke Witter’s band) and Lottery Winners, enter Peter Doherty, a very unrock’n’roll six minutes early, to play charmingly solo and acoustic in dapper chapeau, name-checking York in Albion, the first song he wrote at 16, inspired to pick up a guitar by the Sheds. “I’m sweating like a Leeds fan in a spelling test,” he said in the night’s best one-liner, nevertheless keeping his suit buttoned up.

Performances in York Museum Gardens, notably the York Mystery Plays, have favoured utilising the St Mary’s Abbey backdrop, but Futuresound have broken with tradition, building a stage on the Yorkshire Museum concourse, looking down to the River Ouse, for Jack Savoretti’s Thursday opener and the Sheds’ back-to-back home fixtures.

A good decision, the abbey ruins still playing their supporting role, lit in resplendent blue as the night sky painted its picture. Witter couldn’t resist addressing those gathered on the far riverside, watching for free (always a Yorkshireman’s favourite price, as the saying goes).

A poem, uncredited alas, floated on the night air, as evocative as the smell of chocolate wafting across the city in capturing the essence of York and its characters, cobbles and quirks, to herald the arrival of the Sheds, not the Britpop veterans of lazy labelling, but a vibrant, propulsive, lippy indie band at the height of their second wave.

Let’s Go: Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witter in homecoming union on Friday night. Picture: David Harrison

In Witter’s words, they have been reinvigorated by the arrival of new members Rob ‘Maxi’ Mansfield on drums and Tim Wells on guitar & keys. Last night marked their York debut. No fuss, low key at the back, rock solid as a Championship centre-half, and solidly rock.

The adrenaline rush of Let’s Go, as purposeful a title as the Sheds have ever written, opened the show, just as it does A Matter Of Time, whose name is emblazoned on a stage otherwise devoid of frills (no screens, no projections, plenty of northern lights).

The accusation was always that the Sheds were a meat-and-potatoes band, but that is to ignore the quality of the gravy. The way their songs connect, the pride in wearing the T-shirt, the Made In York but mad for the world brio. You’d rather be in this crowd than with the in-crowd.

If you could put together the wish-list Shed Seven-in-heaven gig, this was surely it: the weather, the historic York setting; the special guests, Reverend And The Makers’ Laura McClure, Rowetta and Doherty; the spot-on set list; Duke duetting with Rick on High Hopes; the Yorkshire brass players; She Left Me On Friday, hitting harder on a Friday night; the balance of A Matter Of Time songs and the orchestral overhaul of the upcoming Liquid Gold hits album.

More? How about the Huntington School Choir in their stubby tie uniforms for schoolyard anthem Bully Boy, Going For Gold segueing into a cover of Elvis’s Suspicious Minds and the perfect encore quartet of Room In My House; Throwaways, Witter arm in arm with Doherty; Disco Down with Rowetta in a Happy Mondays vibe, and everyone, choir, support acts, et al on the stage apron for Chasing Rainbows.

Why, there was even a marriage proposal, from Nicki Sullivan to Kevin, orchestrated by Witter as master of ceremonies. Kevin said yes, of course he did. Going for gold in a year when everything the Sheds do has done exactly that.

Crack open a can of Homecoming Hazy Session IPA, Brew York’s 30th anniversary Shed Seven fruity citrus beer, then reconvene tonight for more Shed heaven. Let’s Go Dancing, York, you, me and Peter Doherty. The t-t-t-Talk Of The Town.

Set list

Let’s Go; Speakeasy; She Left Me On Friday; High Hopes (with Duke Witter); Dolphin; Devil In Your Shoes; Tripping With You (with Laura McClure); People Will Talk; Bully Boy (with Huntington School Choir); Ocean Pie; Heroes; In Ecstasy (with Rowetta); On Standby; Going For Gold; Suspicious Minds; Talk Of The Town; Getting Better; Let’s Go Dancing.

Encore: Room In My House; Throwaways (with Peter Doherty); Disco Down (with Rowetta); Chasing Rainbow (with choir, special guests and support acts).

Futuresound presents Shed Seven, York Museum Gardens, tonight (20/7/2024); gates open at 5pm. SOLD OUT.

Running order: Apollo Junction, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Brooke Combe, 6.35pm to 7.05pm; Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm; Shed Seven, 8.40pm to 10.30pm.

The queue forming in the Friday afternoon sun for Live At York Museum Gardens
Danielle and Gareth, from Hull, enjoying Shed Seven’s set at York Museum Gardens
Duke Witter leading Serotones on Friday evening at York Museum Gardens. Picture: David Harrison
The Lottery Winners’ bassist, Katie Lloyd, at Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens
Thom Rylance, frontman of Leigh band The Lottery Winners, in full voice on Friday. Picture: David Harrison
York singer Jess Steel, front, centre, enjoying Live At York Museum Gardens. Pictire: David Harrison
Peter Doherty and his dapper chapeau at York Mueum Gardens: Picture: David Harrison
Shed Seven singer Rick Witter and bassist Tom Gladwin
Shed Seven drummer Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield making his debut York appearance with the band on Friday night. Picture: David Harrison
Making a mark: A Shed Seven tattoo at Friday’s concert. Picture: David Harrison

Digging deeper: What was the poem that heralded Shed Seven’s arrival on stage

“It’s called ‘The Boys Are Coming Home’,” says Matt Abbott, Wakefield poet, educator, activist and former frontman and lyricist of Skint & Demoralised. “Paul Banks, from the band, commissioned me to write a poem for a York-based homeless charity, Arc Light, back in 2014.

“That was actually my first-ever commission. This was through his production company Digifish. So, I was over the moon when he contacted me to write it.

“Initially, this was only meant to be for the social media announcement, so, it was brilliant to see that they also used it for the shows.”

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as Shed Seven say Let’s Go Dancing. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 30, from The Press, York

Shed Seven: 30th anniversary homecoming celebrations continue at York Museum Gardens this evening

OPEN air concerts by Shed Seven, Kaiser Chiefs, S Club and James are the sound of summer as West Side Story and The 39 Steps turn up the heat too in Charles Hutchinson’s picks for the week ahead.

York festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Shed Seven, this evening; gates open at 5pm

SHED Seven play the second of their sold-out 30th anniversary homecoming concerts tonight, promising a different set list to Friday’s show, special guests and a choir from Huntington School, Rick Witter and Paul Banks’s old schoolyard.

The Sheds will be on stage from 8.40pm to 10.30pm. Support slots go to Apollo Junction, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Brooke Combe, 6.35pm to 7.05pm, and The Libertines’ Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm. Sugababes’ festival-closing concert on Sunday was cancelled in April.

Gary Louris: The Jayhawks’ singer, guitarist and songwriter plays solo at The Crescent, York, tonight

American solo act of the week: Gary Louris, of The Jayhawks, supported by Dave Fiddler, The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm

OVER three decades, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Gary Louris has co-led Minneapolis country rock supremos The Jayhawks with Mark Olson, as well as being a member of alt.rock supergroup Golden Smog, forming Au Pair with North Carolina artist Django Haskins in 2015 and releasing two solo albums, 2008’s Vagabonds and 2021’s Jump For Joy.

He has recorded with acts as diverse as The Black Crowes, Counting Crows, Uncle Tupelo, Lucinda Williams, Roger McGuinn, Maria McKee, Tift Merritt and The Wallflowers too. As an alternative to the sold-out Sheds on Saturday, look no further than this American rock luminary. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

The Unthanks: Sisters Rachel and Becky perform in an 11-piece line-up at Milton Rooms, Malton

Folk gig of the week: Ryedale Festival, The Unthanks, Milton Rooms, Malton, July 23, 7.30pm to 9.30pm

THE Unthanks bring the rich colours of their 11-piece ensemble to the Ryedale Festival. Blending traditional music from their native North East with the influence of Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Sufjan Stevens, King Crimson and Tom Waits, they stand as the most innovative English folk band in modern history.

Join sisters Rachel and Becky as they display an approach to storytelling that makes easy bedfellows of social commentary and sophisticated harmony, cool minimalism and moving empathy, tradition and adventure. Tickets update: for returns only, contact ryedalefestival.com/event/42-the-unthanks.

Putting it in black and white: from top, Finlay Butler, Kristian Barley, Kit Stroud, Rebecca Butler and Maia Beatrice in NETheatre York’s West Side Story

Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in West Side Story, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 24 to 27, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

EXPERIENCE the explosive love and rivalry in 1950s’ New York City in Bernstein & Sondheim’s  musical re-telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. As romance blossoms between teens from opposing gangs The Sharks and The Jets, the relationship is fated to end in tragedy, spoiler alert. Steve Tearle’s production for NE Theatre York will feature a black-and-white design. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

One of Anna Matyus’s works from her exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Anna Matyus, Helmsley Arts Centre, until August 9

ANNA Matyus’s work explores the powerful spiritual resonance of historical sacred buildings and their setting in the landscape. Using etching and collagraph printmaking techniques and a colourful palette, she seeks to bring to life the powerful geometry of the often-faded motifs and time- worn patterns and symbols of historic artefacts found in the masonry and ancient tiles of these sacred sites.

“My final prints explore and record the dynamic rhythms of three-dimensional architectural form, layered with their decorative and symbolic adornment in a graphic expression of awe and wonder,” she says.

Safeena Ladha, left, Eugene McCoy, Tom Byrne and Maddie Rice in a scene from The 39 Steps, back on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Senior

Comedy play of the week: The 39 Steps, Grand Opera House, York, July 23 to July 27, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

PATRICK Barlow’s award-garlanded stage adaptation of The 39 Steps has four actors playing 139 roles between them in 100 dashing minutes as they seek to re-create Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 spy thriller while staying true to John Buchan’s 1915 book.

Tom Byrne – Falklands War-era Prince Andrew in The Crown – plays on-the-run handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents and devastatingly beautiful women. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

James: Playing Scarborough Open Air Theatre for the fourth time next Friday. Picture: Paul Dixon

Coastal gig of the week: James, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 26, gates 6pm

JAMES follow up Scarborough appearances in 2015, 2018 and 2021 by continuing that three-year cycle in 2024, on the heels of releasing the chart-topping Yummy, their 18th studio album, in April.

“I’m very pleased that we will be playing Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer – our fourth time in fact,” says bassist and founder member Jim Glennie. “If you haven’t been there before, then make sure you come. It’s a cracking venue and you can even have a paddle in the sea before the show!” Support acts will be Reverend And The Makers, from Sheffield, and Nottingham indie rock trio Girlband!. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com/james.

Kaiser Chiefs: A night at the races in York. Picture: Cal McIntyre

Under starter’s orders: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Kaiser Chiefs, July 26, 8.45pm to 10.30pm, and S Club, July 27, 5.45pm to 7.30pm

LEEDS indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs, who mounted the exhibition When All Is Quiet at York Art Gallery in 2018-2019, return to York next Friday when the emphasis will be on I Predict A Riot, not Quiet. Expect Oh My God, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, Ruby et al, plus songs from this year’s Easy Eighth Album,  after the evening race card.

Next Saturday afternoon’s racing will be followed by British pop favourites S Club, these days featuring Tina Barrett, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O’Meara and Rachel Stevens. Here come S Club Party, Never Had A Dream Come True, Bring It All Back, Reach, Don’t Stop Movin’, Have You Ever, Two In A Million, Say Goodbye, You’re My Number One, Love Ain’t Gonna Wait For You and more besides. Raceday tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk.

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Shed Seven promise diffedrent sets, special guests & school choir at 30th anniversary concerts in York Museum Gardens

Shed Seven: Playing York Museum Gardens as the homecoing fulcrum of their 30th anniversary celebrations

AFTER a first ever number one album in January, Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary celebrations hit a homecoming peak with tomorrow (19/7/2024) and Saturday’s sold-out concerts at Futuresound’s inaugural Live At York Museum Gardens festival.

“I’d be quite happy for it chuck it down all week, but then NOT,” says lead singer Rick Witter. “Obviously, it is what it is, but it does make for a better atmosphere if you don’t have to contend with rain.

“We have thought before of selling [Chasing] rainbow-coloured umbrellas, but unfortunately at indoor gigs they’d be classified as offensive weapons!”

Good news for Rick and Shed-heads alike, the weather forecast suggests dry conditions will prevail on both nights, when Shed Seven will perform on the concrete concourse in front of the Yorkshire Museum, rather than against the St Mary’s Abbey backdrop once favoured by the York Mystery Plays.

“We’ll be facing the river [Ouse], with the riverside walk being cordoned off, so I imagine having 4,000 people crammed into the space each night will look amazing,” says Rick, as the Sheds look forward to playing the gardens where The Press first photographed the band after they signed to Polydor Records in late-1993.

“As a small band from York, we’ve managed to close the river for two nights, so it’s going to be a huge York event. We’ve been reminiscing about when we were 13-14, sitting in the Museum Gardens with music blasting out of our ghetto blasters, so it will feel weird but lovely this weekend for me and Paul [guitarist Paul Banks] and Tom [bassist Tom Gladwin].”

If that sepia-faded photo-shoot for The Press does not spring immediately to his mind, “I did see a picture of us in 1992 at the time of the Fibbers’ Battle of the Bands. We looked so hopeful, so youthful. We still do!” says Rick, as whippet-slim as ever at 51.

Shed Seven, who now feature Rob ‘Maxi ‘Maxfield on drums and Tim Wills on guitars and keys, rather than founder members Alan Leach and Joe Johnson, spent last weekend rehearsing intensely for this week’s shows.

“We’re definitely going to mix it up a little bit with the two sets, as we’re in the fortunate position of having too many songs. Some will be played on Friday and not Saturday and vice versa, so those who’ve booked for both nights are in for a treat,” says Rick. “We’ll be cramming in as much as we can into one hour 50 minutes each night.”

Special guests are promised too, but without giving names away, Rick does say: “If you look back to our album that came out in January [A Matter Of Time], we had several guests on that record, and I think you might get to see some of those people in our sets.

“Obviously, Pete [Peter Doherty, of The Libertines] will be in the ‘field’ with us on both nights as a support act, so it would be rude not to perform Throwaways (Witter and Doherty’s album-closing duet] with him.”

Will Happy Mondays’ Rowetta make an appearance for In Ecstasy or Reverend And The Makers’ Laura McClure join the Sheds for Tripping With You? Wait and see, but definitely a York choir will be participating.

“Me and Paul visited our old school last Thursday – Huntington School – for the first time in an awfully long time, which felt lovely but a bit odd as a 51-year-old man being back in the classroom! We’d reached out to the school hoping for a mixture of age groups, boys and girls, and it turns out there’s a choir of 60, so we’ve settled for having 20 on each night.” Which song, Rick? Not telling!

New band members Maxfield, from Manchester, and Wills, from London, will be breaking new ground. “They’ve spent a lot of time with us here rehearsing, but this will be the first time they’ve performed with us in our home city, so that’ll be a big moment for York,” says Rick. “And they’ve both talked about moving to York.”

Likewise, Shed Seven will be playing to more than a home crowd. “It’s just amazing that people from all over the country have bought tickets for these shows, so we’ll have 8,000 people descending on our lovely city, filling our bars and hotels,” says Rick.

The 30th anniversary celebrations do not stop there. “The funny thing is, we’re only half way through. I was speaking to Paul about what we might not be able to fit into the sets from A Matter Of Time, and only six months after its release, it’s almost as if we’re having to put a number one album to one side already, as we’re putting so much into our next album.”

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, will be released on September 27.

“We’re very excited about this album coming out to mark 30 years,” says Rick. “Only next year can we sit back and reflect on what we achieved this year.”

Still to come in 2024 are multiple in-store appearances to promote Liquid Gold, with yet more dates soon to be added to the schedule, followed by the 30th Anniversary Tour in the traditional Shedcember slot in  November and December, with Yorkshire gigs at Sheffield Octagon, (November 14), Victoria Theatre, Halifax (November 18) Hull City Hall, November 19, and Leeds O2 Academy (November 30).

Witter and Banks will see out the year with a brace of intimate acoustic concerts at Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, on December 21 and 22. Sold out, of course.

Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Jack Savoretti, tonight; Shed Seven, Friday and Saturday. Gates open at 5pm each evening. Box office: seetickets.com/event/jack-savoretti/york-museum-gardens/2929799.

Thursday bill: Ellur, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Benjamin Francis Leftwich, 6.30pm to 7.15pm; Foy Vance, 7.45pm to 8.30pm; Jack Savoretti, 9p, to 10.30pm.

Friday bill: Serotones (Duke Witter’s band), 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Lottery Winners, 6.35pm to 7.05pm; Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm; Shed Seven, 8.40pm to 10.30pm.

Saturday bill: Apollo Junction, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Brooke Combe, 6.35pm to 7.05pm; Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm; Shed Seven, 8.40pm to 10.30pm.