Nov
1
Tue
After a very successful Launch Tour for their debut CD, join Chloe, Sophy, David and Stewart in a much anticipated concert in the wonderful Embleton Village Hall. The band takes its name from the one-time residence of Tyneside’s most famous fiddling son, James Hill. Their repertoire is firmly rooted in but by no means limited to the North East of England – a region which enjoys a centuries old tradition of fiddle playing. Individually the members of Bottle Bank Band have all established reputations as outstanding musicians. By coming together in this combination, they create an exciting and exhilarating musical landscape: the glorious sound of four fiddles, rich in harmony and captivating arrangements, is underpinned by an instinctive understanding of traditional playing, which gives voice and space to the musicality and talent of the individual players.
Dec
9
Fri
My friend, Bryan Jackson and I get together whenever possible to play through his wonderful arrangements of classical and folk music. I got to know Bryan through the Monkseaton Morris Men for whom he played fiddle and danced for many years. We will be providing music for the RNLI weekly coffee morning, in the form of carols arranged by Bryan for two fiddles. All proceeds will go to the RNLI – come along and get into the festive spirit!
Mar
4
Sat
In this recital talk the Bottle Bank Band will introduce you to the variety of tunes and melodies which have been inspired by and played in Tyneside over the years.
Apr
21
Fri
The Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering is celebrating its big 50th Anniversary this year and there is lots planned. On the Friday night there will be the Golden Gala Concert in the Methodist Church, in which I will be playing with Bottle Band Band, Tyneside Fiddle Alliance and leading the Morpeth Community Strings group in their debut performance. On the Saturday there will be the usual competitions, and I will be supporting family and friends in the fiddle classes, and might even be persuaded to enter the instrumental duos! The Tyneside Fiddle Alliance plan to defend their title in the Concert Band category and there will be many other great things going on. Do come along and support this wonderful celebration of Northumbrian traditional music, song and dance.
“An exciting three-day annual festival of street entertainment, indoor events, music, dance, craft, dialect, heritage and traditional fun – held the weekend after Easter in the medieval market town of Morpeth, 14 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The festival is a true gathering of people who come together to enjoy the traditional culture of Northumberland and the wider NE region. It features concerts, dance, crafts, battle re-enactments, dialect, stories, drama, workshops, sessions, singarounds, competitions, stalls, bellringing, orienteering, tours, walks, talks and street performances which include a young people’s pageant as part of the Saturday morning Border Cavalcade.”
Jun
28
Wed
Phoenix Folk presents a Summer Series of Concerts.
Sophy, Chloe, David and myself are delighted and honoured to be able to open the 2017 season with this evening concert on Weds 28th June.
Sep
29
Fri
Tickets also available from Tully’s in Rothbury.
Oct
27
Fri
In the Community Centre in Seaton Sluice there will be another of the extremely popular “Geordie Nights” featuring such lumineries of the North East folk scene as Benny Graham, Jim Mageean, Stu Luckley, Barry and Ingrid Temple with more possibilities yet to be confirmed. Lurking somewhere in the shadows will be somebody resembling myself doing their best to hide their Midland origins by speaking very little! To date these have sold out fairly quickly so please do reserve your tickets (£10) sooner rather than later (0191 237 1136 / 0191 237 5163).
Benny Graham
Jim Mageean
Jan
10
Wed
Lunchtime Concert with Bottle Bank Band
12:30pm St George URC. Bridge St
Tickets £3.00 at the door. Doors open at Noon with tea, coffee & biscuits available.
Recordings
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NEFS Block 3 starts this week!Sign up now 🎻We have a new block starting on Zoom this week!
Join us for our five weekly Wednesday evening Zoom sessions starting on 24th April with video tutorials on demand, and/or our in-person workshop in Wylam on Saturday 11th May. Bookings now open!
www.northeastfiddleschool.org.uk/shop/
More details are available on the Classes page of the NEFS website. Get in touch with Ali if you have any questions 😊
🎶 This block we have two more fabulous video tutorials, both English jigs collected in the middle of the nineteenth century from “Wheelwright Robinson” of Abbots Bromley, Flaxley Green Dance from Stewart Hardy Music and, of course, The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, this one from Kevin Lees - Music. Grace Smith Music will be teaching alongside Stewart on our Zoom calls, and will be introducing a lovely Shetland jig as our new live tune.
We are also delighted to announce that Chris Meredith will be teaching with Stewart on our Saturday Workshop in Wylam on 11th May. Chris is a wonderful player and teacher, and was the force behind FiddleTutor.com with some wonderful online tutorials.
📣 Sign up now!
🎧🎻🎹 Our next set of Zoom workshops is this weekend, on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th April. Each workshop can be booked individually, and all will be available on-demand after the weekend. Book now on the website!There will be lots of favourite tunes with harmonies and chords provided for the Friday evening play-along session. All instruments are welcome, and alternate clefs or keys for transposing instruments can be provided on request. Then on Saturday in the fiddle workshops, we'll be looking at a fabulous north east tune by Geroge Mitchell of the Cheviot Ranters, call Geordie's Rant, in the morning. In the afternoon, it will be the turn of Shrewsbury Lasses, one of the classic country dance tunes of the English repertoire. Full resources including audio files and a worksheet are provided.
Visit the website for more info and bookings 😃
There will be lots of fascinating facts and insights into the life and times of William Shield, presented by Dr Amélie Addison on Saturday afternoon, illustrated with a few fiddle tunes! We'll be at the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum at 4pm.Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering
(Disclaimer: more recent photos are available!)