Guildford, Brighton and Shoreham on tour
Shoreham-based virtuoso guitarist Richard Durrant is embarking on another marathon trip cycling the length of Britain from Orkney to Sussex, performing 15 concerts en route.
The trek marks the release date for his new album The Sleep of a King.
Music for Midsummer tour dates include:
June 21, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford;
June 22, The Brighton Open Air Theatre, Park Road, Brighton;
June 26, St John The Baptist's Church, Underhill Lane, Clayton, Hassocks;
June 29, St Peter’s Church, Bexhill Church Street, Bexhill;
and July 31, Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham.
Richard said: “38 years after my London debut and performances at the Royal Albert Hall, I feel blessed to be undertaking this tour. Apart from the music by Bach which opens and closes each concert, these concerts are about my own solo guitar music.
“The audience are the focus of my concerts. I want people to feel welcome and appreciated; it’s for them that I play music and tell stories of troubadours, council bin-men and Persian princes.
"I stand throughout to make communication with the audience more direct and to take the guitar as far away from the classical realm as possible.”
Richard’s Music for Midsummer odyssey starts in
Orkney’s St Magnus Cathedral and takes in Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, The Stables in Milton Keynes, YAT Guildford and a midsummer’s day concert at The Brighton Open Air Theatre.
Richard will be completing this entire tour on a specially built bicycle, with a trailer carrying his instruments and concert gear on an Aurelius, audax-style bicycle with trailer and panniers.
“Cycling and playing solo is more practical than the larger musical projects I’ve been involved in. I simply get on my bike and head for the next venue; there’s no pollution, no complexities, just pedals.
"The bike also looks beautiful on stage where it becomes an unexpected and intriguing work of art, equally at home in a theatre or cathedral!”
His bicycle stands next to him at each concert, its lights illuminating his performance. Richard is motivated by the effect of constant touring on the environment (an average of 35,000 miles playing concerts in the years leading up to his first cycling music tour in 2014).
The Sleep of a King is available on Spotify, all other streaming platforms.
“The new album, The Sleep of a King, is my first solo guitar album for seven years, and the first album I've made entirely of my own solo guitar compositions.
"It is inspired by the landscape and shared history of the British Isles.”
Connection with the land is central to Richard’s recent work including his last two acclaimed albums Stringhenge and Rewilding.