The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
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DURHAM BRASS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES RETURN WITH SPECTACULAR OPENING CONCERT
THE hugely popular Durham Brass Festival will be making a return this summer with a showpiece cathedral concert that marks the 40-year anniversary of the miners’ strike.
In what promises to be poignant opening event, Durham Cathedral will host the Public Service Broadcasting band on July 5, who will play – in full – their 2017 album Every Valley, inspired by the rise and fall of coal mining.
And it is guaranteed to strike a chord in an area so affected during the 1984-1985 industrial action to fight pit closures across the coal industry.
The concert will also include local favourites – and festival regulars – NASUWT Riverside Band from Pelton Fell, a former County Durham mining village, and it will mark the debut of the festival which will run from July 5-13 and go on to bring city streets, and the likes of Gala Theatre, alive with the sound of music – or more precisely brass, in all its forms.
Run by Durham County Council, the festival celebrates the region’s proud brass heritage alongside the likes of salsa, swing, big band, choral performances and even rock ‘n’ roll in a programme which melds traditional and contemporary styles.
Among the music performances will be free concerts and new commissions, while community activities will add to the mix.
The founder of Public Service Broadcasting, whose top-five album Every Valley also featured Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield, goes by the pseudonym J Willgoose Esq.
He said: “We are hoping that playing with a brass band in somewhere as amazing as Durham Cathedral will be really powerful.
“It’ll give it a power behind it we’ve never had before and we can put it in front of an audience that it means something to.”
While Every Valley references the decline of the Welsh coalmines, it’s a story echoed in the North East, and the London-based musician himself has ties to the area, with his dad having come from Fulwell in Sunderland and his grandfather living in Seaburn.
He says he was a regular visitor and would enjoy trips to Beamish.
“I do wonder how much of an influence that had on wanting to do a record on coal mining,” he said.
“You never know what things are imprinting on your mind, but it always feels very close to home even though it’s a long way from South London.
“I certainly knew all about the Miners’ Gala and the colliery bands and it always feels important to me to play in the North East.”
NASUWT Riverside Band are looking forward to the collaboration too.
The band, which has been around since 1875, has had previous festival collaborations with Richard Hawley and Field Music and featured as part of its powerful Miners’ Hymn performances.
Its leader, Tony Thompson, said: “I can’t wait to work with them.” And he thinks the anniversary of the miners’ strike is an ideal time for their show, adding: “There’s so much about coal mining in the history of Durham and the cathedral is absolutely unique.
“It’s a very big acoustic but you can still hear the detail so it lends itself to music that can be quiet and reflective – I think it will be a very memorable night.”
Tickets for the performance will go on sale tomorrow, while other upcoming festival highlights will include The Cory Band from Wales, who have been ranked as the world’s number one brass band and competition champions at British, European and international level. Here they will take to the stage at Gala Theatre on July 7 to play a set inspired by the King Kong film.
There will be plenty of free entertainment too during the festival’s run, with its outdoor Streets of Brass events set to take place in the centre of Durham on the July 6-7 weekend and Party in the Park at Wharton
Park on the same Saturday. The council, whose busy cultural programme currently includes the likes of The Story visitor attraction which is to be home to the DLI Collection, sees the festival as another big boost to the area.
Coun Elizabeth Scott, cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said the festival’s debut concert is set to be “an amazing night” and added: “We firmly believe in the power of events such as Brass to put smiles on faces while also boosting our economy.
“Last year 30,000 people came to Brass, spending money in local shops and businesses, and the ability of our events to stimulate this economic activity is a key reason why we deliver our festivals and events programme.”
■ Tickets for the Public Service Broadcasting and The Cory Band concerts will go on sale tomorrow at 9am.
■ To book, and to find more information about the festival, keep an eye out online at: brassfestival.co.uk