This Summer's Festival promises an exciting artistic
mix; ranging from the London Community Gospel Choir to Phoenix Dance
Theatre, and Seth Lakeman to John Hegley; with much more besides
– celebrating the very best in international and local arts
in Garforth and the wider community.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION:
Tickets for all events available from Garforth Bookshop, 15 Main
St. Garforth Tel 0113 286 3534
Tickets for the Playground Party event also available from Jumbo
Records, St John’s Centre, Leeds (Purchases may be subject
to administration fee.)
Information line: Tel: 0113 336 8619
enquiries AT garforthartsfestival.co.uk
(note please type @ in the usual way - we have presented it like
this to avoid Spam)
FUNDERS/PARTNERS 2010
|
|
Main Event: Playground Party on Sat 10th
July
TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR AND BELOW.
N.B. There is NO PARKING on site. Alternative parking will be
signposted on all routes into Garforth.
The Playground Party once again brings together an outstanding
line up of the some of the U.K’s best and most talented acts.
For just £15 this has to be the best value festival
day in the U.K. Expect some amazing performances from local
acts alongside Seth Lakeman, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, London Community
Gospel Choir and Oompah Brass, all hosted by the wonderful Mike
Hancock.
Not to be missed!
VENUE: Garforth Community College Grounds
TIME: Doors open: 2.30pm
TICKETS:
Single: £15.00 (Standard)
Single: £10.00 (Concession)
Family: £30.00
(Discounts available for Families and Local Residents – information
to follow.)
Also available from
Garforth Bookshop, 15 Main St. Garforth Tel 0113 286 3534
and Jumbo Records, St John’s Centre, Leeds Jumbo
Records
(Purchases may be subject to administration fee.)
To view video footage of this year's artists performing live, either
click on the links below each listing, or see our video
page here
|
Seth Lakeman
Mercury Music Prize nominated Seth Lakeman is one of the fastest-rising
stars on the folk roots scene. His 2006 album ‘Freedom Fields’
has sold over 100,000 copies in the UK alone and helped Seth build
on his traditional cult following, finding a whole new audience
for his rhythmic, captivating brand of indie-folk song writing.
Seth was named Folk Singer of the Year and ‘Freedom Fields’
awarded Album of the Year at the prestigious Radio 2 Folk Awards
in 2007.
His 2008 album ‘Poor Man’s Heaven’ charted at number
8 in the UK on its release. The album represented a progression
for Seth’s sound – while remaining firmly rooted in folk,
it moved from a more acoustic-based feel to a fuller, rockier sound,
underpinned as ever by emotive lyrics and story telling. It is also
the closest representation on record of Seth’s live show yet,
capturing the rhythmic, raw energy seldom seen in any other acoustic
band.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
 Currently
recording album number three for Atlantic Records (released in Spring
2010), Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is 23 year old Sam Duckworth. Duckworth
was signed to Atlantic Records in March 2006, after playing many
gigs, both with punk rock band Silverskin and shared stages with
bands such as The Flaming Lips, The Magic Numbers, OK Go, Funeral
for a Friend, The Kooks and Feeder. The Chronicles of a Bohemian
Teenager Get Cape's debut album, The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager,
has been described as an indie/emo fusion. The album was very well
received by critics and even made the top 100 albums of 2006 lists
of Q and NME.
In October 2006, he performed as part of the BBC Electric Proms.
He has played at a number of major festivals throughout his career,
including Oxegen, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds Festivals and SXSW.
In January 2007, Duckworth was nominated for best solo artist at
the annual NME Awards, up against Lily Allen, Jamie T, Jarvis Cocker
and Thom Yorke.
London Community Gospel Choir
Largely recognised as the pioneers of Gospel music in the UK,
The London Community Gospel Choir was founded in 1982 by Rev. Bazil
Meade, with the help of Lawrence Johnson, Delroy Powell and John
Francis.
Initially the idea was to stage a one-off concert: The 120-strong
choir concert was staged before an audience of more than a thousand.
But what started as a one-off event soon matured into a legacy of
over 25 years traveling and performing worldwide.
The choir’s success quickly led to enquiries for appearances
in television, radio and various corporate functions across the
UK and Europe. The choir’s debut television performance on
Channel Four's 'Black On Black' proved a resounding success and
led to calls and requests from popular artists to work with the
choir.
They are adaptable, flexible with dynamic melodies and rich harmonies.
The LCGC is known for their funk-flavoured gospel flair, swing-beat,
R'n'B, traditional and soulful arrangements, with invigorating choreography
and vocal gymnastics.
Professional, Energetic, Inspiring and Spirit-filled! Whatever
adjective you may choose to describe the sound and vision of the
London Community Gospel Choir, there ‘ain’t no stopping
them now’ - they will continue to go where angels fear to tread!
“You can't listen to the London Community Gospel Choir
without moving or smiling. Everyone was singing and clapping
along within minutes. The music just gets you that way”
- The Guardian
Oompah Brass
 Oompah
Brass started out in 2006 with the firm intention of being a traditional
German oompah band, playing all the famous waltzes, polkas and marches
that none of you will have heard of. Very quickly they realised
that it was much more fun for the audience, and especially themselves,
to play tunes everyone knows and can sing along to. Thus they began
to arrange classic pop songs with a slight Bavarian lilt, and Oompop
was born!
They’ve spent the last four years oomping all over Europe,
playing to 60,000 people at the Belgrade Beer Festival, taking oompah
back to its spiritual home in Bavaria and astonishing passing skiers
halfway up the Alps at the Snowbombing Festival.
Back in the UK, pub, clubs, bars, theatres, weddings and festivals
nationwide have thrilled to the “expert horn blowage”
of this indefatigable fivesome.
The Oompop songbook now numbers over 100 rock and pop classics,
ranging from Michael Jackson to Motorhead, by way of James Brown,
Dolly Parton and Britney Spears. Last year, the band also starred
in Blow Up! The Musical, the 2009 sold-out smash hit of the Edinburgh
Festival (“a work of genius” - Scotland on Sunday,
***** “The most unlikely hour you will ever spend, but glorious”
- The Scotsman).
They are currently working on this year’s follow-up: The
A to Z of Oompah, which will debut in Edinburgh in August.
“They rock. So good. Legends in lederhosen!”
- Chris Evans
“Absolute genius! Spectacular expert horn blowage
from Oompah Brass. Their version of Bohemian Rhapsody is even better
than the original.” - Shaun Keaveny, BBC 6Music
Phoenix Dance project
Phoenix Dance Theatre will work with over 200 students at Garforth
Community College to broaden and increase their access to dance
experience. The project will be delivered over an 8 week period,
and will result in a huge en masse dance performance at The Playground
Party . The performance will involve contemporary movement being
delivered to an audience through a performance with a large number
of young performers.
Plus much more live music and events
Details to follow...
|
|
Mighty Zulu Nation + SPT Primary Schools
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Mon 28th June
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £4/£3 – SOLD OUT!
 The
Mighty Zulu Nation Theatre Company is a cast of Zulus from the Kingdom
of KwaZulu Natal who have toured festivals, theatres and schools
throughout Britain, Russia, Italy, France, Germany and South Africa.
MZN showcases a kaleidoscope of dynamic traditional Zulu culture.
Often dubbed ‘the young Ladysmith’, The
Mighty Zulu Nation has captured audiences from Belgrade to Sweden
and Bristol to Belgium for the past seven years.
The amazing voices of the cast with their brilliant
harmony have delighted audiences throughout the world. The powerful,
traditional splendour of dance sequences accompanied by pulsating
Zulu drums guarantees to hold any audience spellbound.
“The production is effectively a potted history
of the Zulu nation’s culture and foundation cleverly put together
with traditional Zulu dance and song. The voices of the cast are
just incredible and the raising beat of the drums, the most important
tribal possession, appear to work the cast (and if you’re lucky
the audience) into a frenzy.” - Vicky Watts
“African passion and drama explodes onto
the stage in this vivid spectacle casting a sublime spell”
- Louise Nibbs, Jersey Evening Post
The festival brings them to Garforth to work alongside
primary school children who will appear with them as part of the
evening. Every child in the School Partnership Trust primary schools
will experience something of this project.
|
|
Rommi Smith, Fruit Tree Project & G.C.C. students – slam
poetry & jazz
Venue: Garforth Working Men’s Club
Date: Tues 29th June
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £5/£3
Combining slam poetry with live jazz fusion, Rommi Smith &
Fruit Tree Project will perform works written especially for this
event alongside material from their regular repertoires. Support
will be provided by Garforth Community College students in the form
of a poetry slam, having worked closely with Rommi over the 6 week
period prior to the festival to develop their poetry writing &
performance.
 Rommi
Smith
Rommi Smith is a poet and playwright. She has held numerous residencies
including most recently, Parliamentary Writer in Residence; her
specific focus, in this post, was an exploration of the Transatlantic
Slave Trade and the Parliamentary act to abolish the slave trade
and this is the first post of its kind in history. She has held
numerous other national and international residencies including:
British Council Poet in Residence at California State University
in Los Angeles and BBC Writer in Residence for the Commonwealth
Games.
Her chapbook of poems: Selected Poems from Mornings and Midnights
is a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice. Her work has been nominated
for a South Bank Show Award. The full collection, Mornings and Midnights
is due from Peepal Tree Press. She was writer in residence for the
Florence Nightingale Museum, London. She is delighted to have just
been appointed Poet in Residence for the Romantic Poet, John Keats’
House, in Hampstead, London.
“Led by the skilled and energetic Dave Evans they take on
grooves and at times semi-free excitement equally to create a thrilling
array of sounds. Tart and sweet by turn, but never syrupy, you’re
enticed to taste and enjoy” - Wakefield Jazz
|
|
West Yorkshire Youth Dance Festival
In collaboration with West Yorkshire Sport and Phoenix Dance Theatre,
Garforth Arts Festival is hosting a youth dance event at Garforth
Community College on Wednesday 30th June. The performance promises
to be a versatile and vibrant event, with talented school and youth
groups representing each of the five districts of West Yorkshire
in order to deliver a night full of a variety of dance genres. The
event is funded by the West Yorkshire dance hub.
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Wed 30th June
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £5/£3
|
|
Music Xtra Showcase
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Thurs 1st July
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £4/£3 – SOLD OUT!
Over the last two years, ArtForms Music Xtra programme has offered
high quality music experiences to students from over 20 high schools
across Leeds.
The Music Xtra Showcase is a wonderful opportunity for the participating
students to experience performing in front of a live audience.
Students from Garforth Community College, Boston Spa School and
South Leeds Academy will be performing 'Theme and Variations' -
an original composition devised over an 8 week period in class music
lessons. Pupils from all the three schools have been working with
the Music Xtra Team to come up with ideas for the piece.
In keeping with the 'debut' theme of the evening, the evening's
performance will also feature bands from the three schools and from
other high schools across the city. Please come along and support
this emerging talent.....you never know, you could be listening
to the next 'Kaiser Chiefs'!
Croshaw Family, Serious Sam Barrett & GCC Students -country/acoustic
night
Venue: Garforth Working Men’s Club
Date: Thurs 1st July
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £5/£3
The Croshaw Family
The Hee Haw Sessions proudly present The Croshaw Family for a
night of bluegrass, newgrass and Y'all-ternative country at this
year’s Garforth Festival. The band return to Leeds with even
more lovely tunes to break you heart following successful shows
in Leeds last year with The Duke & The King and Alasdair Roberts.
Based in London (and they really are related), they are passionate
about classic bluegrass, allternative country, old-time rock'n'roll
and showing an audience a great time.
The band formed in 2006, led by Emma (vocals) and Martin Croshaw
(guitar). Will then joined on guitar and harmonica. Since 2006 the
Croshaws have built up a real following in London and host the regular
“Look” night at Farringdon’s Betsey Trotwood.
‘...a set moving from cloud-floatingly delicate numbers
and the most innocent vocal lines, to nod along mid-west driving
music.’– Yorkshire Evening Post
Serious Sam Barrett
Serious Sam plays raw roots music. Born and raised in Yorkshire,
he sings the traditional music of his county and writes songs from
the heart. Yorkshirecana is the word everyone is using to describe
Sam's country/roots sound and it suits him down to the ground. His
debut album “Close To Home” was released in August 2009
and picked up rave reviews from the specialist folk/roots magazines
and elsewhere. Artrocker rated the album 27th in their top 100 albums
of 2009! He’s turned a lot of heads with his songwriting, guitar
playing and interpretation of traditional music and he has been
selected as a showcasing artist at SXSW 2010
“Yorkshirecana bluegrass brilliance from Serious Sam.
He plays a mean 12 string resonator, mixing songs about his home
county with traditional southern folk stompers. There’s authenticity,
there’s soul - someone to get very excited about.”
- ARTROCKER.COM <http://ARTROCKER.COM>
“An endlessly playable delight from beginning to end”
- VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE (USA)
Garforth Community College Students
Support will also be provided from Garforth Community College
students, who having worked with the featured artists in the run-up
to the event, will present their own showcase of alternative country
& acoustic music.
|
|
Matty’s Hand - play by Adrian McKay
Venue: Green Lane Primary School
Date: Fri 2nd July
Time: 4:00pm
Tickets: Free
World Cup Quarter Final Celebration
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Fri 2nd July
Time: 2:30pm
Tickets: Free
As part of the World Cup we are inviting the local community to
join us to watch two of the televised Quarter final matches. We
will show the games at Garforth Community College in the main hall
on a big screen. There will also be musical entertainment
to add to what will be a great atmosphere – suitable for families.
|
|
Cabaret Heaven featuring John Hegley
Venue: Garforth Working Men’s Club
Date: Sat 3rd July
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £8/£6 – SOLD OUT!
COMEDY, LIVE MUSIC, BURLESQUE, ANIMATION, SWORD-SWALLOWING, PLATE
SPINNING, DANGEROUS POETRY...
Since 1998 Cabaret Heaven has run glorious nights of comedy, variety,
surprises, dance bands and DJs at regular venues, festivals and
other celebrations. They have put on over a hundred nights to nearly
28,000 people - although most of them have come more than once!
"a phenomenal night" - Front Row, BBC
"A brilliant show that delights and astounds" - Dawn
Warriner - Arts Oldhamß
And from the punters...
"the best night out in Leeds" – Emily
"the best fun with my clothes on" – Jac
 John
Hegley
Mr Hegley was born in Newington Green, North London, and was educated
in Luton, Bristol and Bradford University.
His first public performance monies came from busking his songs,
initially outside a shoe shop in Hull, in the late Seventies. He
performed on the streets of London in the early Eighties, fronting the
Popticians, with whom he also recorded two sessions for John Peel,
and has since been a frequent performer of his words, sung and spoken,
on both local and national radio.
He has produced ten books of verse and prose pieces, two CDs and
one mug, but his largest source of income is from stages on
his native island. An Edinburgh Festival regular, he is noted for
his exploration of such diverse topics as dog hair, potatoes, handkerchiefs
and the misery of human existence.
“Not many shows feature family-friendly singalongs and
jaunty poetry as well as references to Max Beckmann, Mark Rothko
and Georges Braque; but then few performers have the ability to
talk so accessibly about any subject as John Hegley.” Steve
Bennett, Chortle.co.uk
Garforth Community College Students’
band Screamin G’s
A 20-piece rock’n’roll band, formed from G.C.C students
and lead by none other than Mr Richard Colley, showman extraordinaire
and powerful drummer. They will be performing rock’n’roll
classics from the 50’s, 60’s and beyond. These guys will
definitely get you on your feet so bring your dancing shoes and
get ready to jive!
|
|
Garforth Brass in Concert
Venue: Garforth Miner’s Welfare Hall
Date: Sun 4th July
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £5
Garforth Brass is a relatively new brass band and was formed in
January 2005 by local peripatetic brass teacher, and MD, Steven
Bailey. Although only in existence for 5 years, the band is
now in the 2nd section (2010) having won the 3rd Section Yorkshire
Area Championships in 2009 and has represented Yorkshire at the
National Finals on three occasions since 2005.
The band has around 30 players with a good mixture of young and
older players and is unique for brass bands, in that the band only
has one rehearsal per week on a Sunday evening. The band primarily
takes part in contests but performs at least two concerts a year
in the community with a wide selection of music including marches,
film music, classical music, popular music and traditional brass
band music.
Classical Recital
Venue: St Mary’s Church, Garforth
Date: Sun 4th July
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £4/£3
|
|
Sounds of the Silver Screen – SOLD
OUT!
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Mon 5th July
Time: 7:30pm
Tickets: £4/£3 – SOLD OUT
|
|
Helen Reid Piano Recital
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Tues 6th July
Time: 5:00pm
Tickets: £8/£6
 Helen
Reid first came to public attention when she appeared on BBC2 in
the National Keyboard Finals of the BBC Young Musician competition
in 1998. In 2000 she won first prize in the Karic International
Piano Competition. In 2006 she was hailed as a ‘rising star’
in The Independent magazine.
Helen has given recitals all around in England, at venues including
the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Fairfield Halls and Blackheath Halls,
London, St. George’s, Bristol, Cheltenham, the Bridgewater
Hall, Manchester and the Aldeburgh and Buxton Festivals. She has
performed in Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Austria and the
Czech Republic. Recent performances have included Rachmaninov’s
second piano concerto with the Westmoreland Orchestra and Gershwin’s
Rhapsody in Blue with the Aurelian Ensemble at Blackheath Halls.
"It was clear we were in not only capable but rather
a special pair of hands…Reid's beautifully poised, tenderly
imagined and finely focused playing re-educated and refined the
ear." - Hilary Finch, The Times
|
|
Myths & Legends - drama showcase
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Wed 7th July
Time: 1.00pm
Tickets: Free
 Using
an exciting blend of storytelling and theatre, Garforth Community
College Year 8 Drama students present myths and legends from Africa
and England. From the legend of King Arthur to the tale of Makinde
the Riddle-Solver and the story of Sissi’s Quest, enjoy an
entertaining afternoon of traditional tales performed in unique
and original performance work.
|
|
Alasdair Roberts Band + Katriona Gilmore & Jamie Roberts,
Slania Project
Venue: Garforth Working Men’s Club
Date: Thurs 8th July
Time: 7:30pm
Cost: £7/£5
The Hee Haw Sessions proudly present Alasdair Roberts with full
band. Alasdair will be returning to Leeds but his first time at
the Garforth Festival and will offer up his ancient song at this
special event..
 Alasdair
Roberts
Long-time collaborator of Will Oldham, Robert’s songs revive
the tradition song and balladry of the British Isles to tell tales
of sweetly melodic tragedy.
He has toured and trodden the boards with such artists as Joanna
Newsom, Magnolia Electric Co, Bill Callahan/Smog, Waterson/Carthy,
Shirley Collins and many others Quotes
“Alasdair Roberts is a singing encyclopaedia. The
Scotsman uses words that other singers wouldn't dream of (or wouldn't
dare to use even if they knew them). He twists them into ambitious
lyrics and sets them to arrangements rooted in the folk tradition
but nicely skewed by contemporary, psychedelic weirdness.”
– Simon Cosyns, The Sun
“…a mix of lively jigs and dense fable… highlights
are the whirling storm ‘Hazel Forks’ and ‘Under No
Enchantment (But My Own)’, all strings and pastoral idyll.”
– The Observer
Katriona Gilmore & Jamie Roberts
Katriona Gilmore (Rosie Doonan & the Snapdragons, ex-Tiny
Tin Lady) and Jamie Roberts (Kerfuffle) have been performing together
on the folk scene since 2006. Their self-penned material ranges
from blazing instrumentals to ‘heart-wrenching’ songs,
to contemporary arrangements of traditional songs.
Jamie’s dextrous percussive and lap-style guitar work is
a visual as well as a sonic delight, while Katriona’s intricate
fiddle playing shifts seamlessly from sensitive to fiery and back
again in the blink of an eye.
Shadows & Half Light, the duo’s first full length recording,
has made waves in the national music press, being described as 'inspired'
by fRoots and awarded five stars by Rock'n'Reel .
“a pretty tasty debut album” - Folk n Roots
“‘White Lie’ recalls Seth Lakeman, one of the
many artists to tip the duo; Gilmore and Roberts are another young
act producing sharp contemporary songs with roots deep in the British
folk tradition.” - Rock’n Reel *****
Slania
An exceptionally talented youth folk ensemble, playing Ceilidh
and other traditional folk styles, Slania’s recordings have
been mistaken for the work of artists twice their age. Featuring
exciting instruments ranging from bassoon & bodhran drum to
fiddles, guitars & tin whistles this act performs a vibrant
and infectious selection of songs that will have you up dancing
in no time. Not to be missed!
|
|
Friday Night Live
Venue: Garforth Community College
Date: Fri 9th July
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: £4
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
Fruit
Tree Project