Celebrate Folkworks 20th Anniversary!
Sunday 9th November
Join in the festivities on Sunday 9th November at The Sage Gateshead as Folkworks celebrates its 20th Anniversary in typical roof-raising style! The all star line-up includes performances by Rachel and Becky Unthank, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Kathryn Tickell, Flook, the New Rope String Band, Seckou Keita and Alistair Anderson to mention but a few.
It's an opportunity to celebrate the inspirational contribution that Folkworks has made to the musical life of the region and beyond over the last twenty years as well as look forward to what promises to be an exciting future.
There'll be a whole host of events and activities to join in with throughout the day, which gets underway with a Song Workshop led by distinguished folk musician and Folkworks tutor Sandra Kerr. What better way to celebrate this very special birthday than with an opportunity to take part in and listen to some exceptional singing?
The party atmosphere continues with an afternoon of free folk music on the Concourse featuring some key local and national performers including our outstanding youth band Folkestra (described recently by The Times as "the irresistible teenage band" following their storming BBC Proms performance) plus surprise guests!Folkworks has built up strong links with schools in the region over the years and the afternoon culminates in a free early evening ceilidh providing performance opportunities for ceilidh bands from three of those schools - Walker Technology College (Newcastle), The King Edward VI School (Morpeth) and Coquet High School (Amble). This showcase proves that producing great dance music with strong melodies and rhythms is certainly being passed down through the generations - something Folkworks is particularly proud of.
Sunday's tea-time concert sees the recreation of one of Folkworks national tours, Sharper than the Thorn, first seen across the UK to great critical acclaim in 1998 featuring leading ballad singers. This is a rare opportunity to see folk legends Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, plus Alyth McCormack and Kevin Mitchell reprising their original performance, once more captivating the audience with melodies and stories.
The celebrations continue with the unmissable evening anniversary concert featuring another chance to enjoy world renowned folk musician and Folkworks Artistic Director Alistair Anderson's composition 'Clog on the Tyne', incorporating exciting new writing by Alistair and special guest Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell - each performing material composed by the other.
Not to mention performances by Mercury Music Prize nominees Rachel and Becky Unthank, master kora player Seckou Keita, the brilliant and imaginative Flook, plus the multilayered musical lunacy of the New Rope String Band. The concert is followed by a ceilidh on the Concourse.
" Folkworks was established in 1988 by Ros Rigby OBE and Alistair Anderson, and quickly became England's leading folk music development agency. Folkworks was a lead partner in the development of The Sage Gateshead, which opened in December 2004 and is now fully integrated into its management structure. Alistair Anderson is now Artistic Director of Folkworks and Ros Rigby is Performance Programme Director at The Sage Gateshead. The Sage Gateshead, through its Folkworks programme, develops interest and practical involvement in traditional music, song and dance. This is done through various activities, including regional and national tours, one-day workouts, weekly classes, weekend courses and three week-long Summer Schools, for all ages. In 2001, Folkworks and the University of Newcastle launched England's first ever Folk and Traditional Music degree, which is taught at The Sage Gateshead."