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.”
May
19
Fri
Mick West, Frank McLaughlin and Stewart Hardy – Scots song and instrumentals from Scotland and Northumberland on fiddle, guitar and Scottish small pipes. Mick has one of Scotland’s most distinctive voices, and in this trio his rich, warm and expressive singing is complimented on guitar and fiddle by the highly creative playing of Frank McLaughlin and Stewart Hardy. The trio has a long standing musical kinship which shines through their arrangements, and makes for a joyous and inspiring performance.
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
Mar
15
Fri
‘Music for a Spring Evening’
A programme of music from light classics to folk and swing, with the fiddles of Alan Edwards, Stewart Hardy & Bryan Jackson
Creighton Hall, Embleton 7.30 p.m. Tickets £10 at door, raising money for Creighton Hall funds.
Jul
13
Sat
30 Years Collection – Book Launch Concert
Saturday 13th July, 8 pm (doors 7.30 pm)
The Presentation Room, Conference Wing, Ushaw College, Durham DH7 9RH
The 30 Years Collection is a brand new book of original compositions, covering Stewart’s 30 Years as a professional musician. To celebrate, there will be a small, informal concert in Ushaw College, with spots from Stewart with Frank McLaughlin, and guest a appearance from Bottle Bank Band, among others. The new books will be on sale, and do bring your instruments for a small session afterwards. Tickets £5 on the door, but seats must be reserved in advance please.
The book will be available to purchase on the website from Monday 15th July. You’ll be able to pay online and choose to have the book posted to you, or select Event Collection to pick up your copy at no extra cost from Stewart at an event or workshop. Cash is also acceptable in person!
www.stewarthardy.co.uk/shop
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Less than a month to go to our Arrangement Techniques course for mixed instruments, which will be my 100th residential JSArts course!* 🥳There is just one place left if you would like to join us. Get in touch quickly, so we can book you in with the venue - the beautiful Shepherds Dene near Riding Mill in Northumberland.
We will be learning a lovely selection of tunes, and choosing which to work on - exploring options for introductions & endings, varying instrumentation, creating harmony lines and different ways of accompanying the tune to produce alternate soundscapes and narratives. With a limited number of participants, there will be plenty of time to explore ideas from everyone. All instruments are welcome, and if you require notation in different keys or clefs, that can be provided. Dots and audio files are provided in advance, and any recordings from the weekend are sent on afterwards.
*There will be cake! 🎂😊
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Finally, a new tune for The Tune Vault, and to pick up where we left off, here’s another sparkling tune by Tyneside fiddle supremo, James Hill in the key of "F for vescence" 🤣Tykeside (James Hill) | The Tune Vault
youtu.be
Tykeside (James Hill)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyThis enigmatically titled reel in F major is another gem by Tyneside fiddling legend James Hill. No tr...
Happy May Day!Looking back, April had some very lovely moments...
At the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering illustrating Amélie Addison's wonderful talk on William Shield and with cracking performances by Tyneside Fiddle Alliance, our April Workshops on Zoom, a trip to see the amazing Dudok Quartet Amsterdam, a duo gig with Ali Say at the Phoenix Folk Ltd. Spring Thing, the start of Block 3 at North East Fiddle School, and our JSArts Advanced Fiddle course at Rydal Hall. Happy Spring everyone 🎻