Hark! Wintering
Winter is coming; let us welcome the season with an evening of gorgeous winter tale-inspired tunes, some classic seasonal songs, as well as some original stories and new music written especially for the night - all in the surrounds of beautiful Darlington Library...
Featuring:
THE BOOKSHOP BAND
The Ivor Novello award-winning Bookshop Band came to life as an artistic collaboration with their local bookshoop, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in 2010. They write and perform songs inspired by books and released 13 book-inspired albums collaborating with over 100 authors, including Philip Pullman, Louis de Bernieres and Margaret Atwood. Between them Beth Porter and Ben Please bring the books to the stage along with a multitude of instruments, including cello, harmonium, glockenspiel, guitars and ukuleles which, along with their distinct voices, create a cinematic sound that draws the audience right in to a highly intimate performance, at once touching and mesmerizing, heart wrenching and funny. No previous knowledge of the books is required as the band guide the audience through the stories behind each song’s inspiration. For Hark! they'll be drawing on wintery tales, as well as playing some of their classics.
Reading: an extract from SNOW by Marcus Sedgwick, read by Bob Fischer.
THE CORNSHED SISTERS
Four female singer-songwriters who weave together pop, folk, disco and protest music into a unique and distinctive style. using solo and harmony vocals and a blend of acoustic and electronic instruments, they convey their stories with sensitivity and humour. They have toured the UK with the Futureheads and Slug, performed live with Elbow, This Is The Kit and St Etienne, as well as playing Glastonbury Festival. They have received extensive play on BBC 6 Music, featured on Elton John’s Rocket Hour and played live sessions for Marc Riley, Radcliffe and Maconie and Radio 4 Loose Ends. They'll be brining Darlington an exclusive acoustic set including some traditional carols - including some which drew on poems for lyrics.
Reading: poem 'THE OXEN' by Thomas Hardy, read by Marilyn Longstaff
MAYSHE MAYSHE
Yorkshire based Mayshe-Mayshe blends dreamy art-pop and electronica with rich storytelling, skittering percussion and infectious melodies. Her deceptively simple songwriting - at once universal and deeply personal - incorporates choral vocals, vintage synths and the occasional hairdryer. Mayshe-Mayshe’s live performance is a dynamic live-looping set of soft, spare rhythms and intimate vocal harmonies that build into deep oceans of sound. Her writing is often inspired by stories and imaginary worlds, and for HARK! she will be performing her collection of songs inspired by Tove Jansson’s novel November, set in the idiosyncratic world of the Moomins during winter. Each of her songs is based on one character from the book.
Reading: an extract from MOOMINVALLEY IN NOVEMBER by Tove Jansson, read by Mary Atkinson
PLUS! A performance of specially commissioned new music and writing on the theme of Winter, inspired by each others' art, from Darlington acoustic artist and vocal powerhouse EVE CONWAY and talented local writer PAM PLUMB.
Between sets we encourage our audience to wander our beautiful library, explore and loan out the books - and of course get a drink from the fabulous pop-up bottle bar by Crafty Merlin’s!
Doors 7pm. Tickets £10+ bf in advance, or £12 OTD.