Concerts
Monday, 7th April with Rosie Brownhill
By Our Hands We Make Our Way, Nottingham
Thursday, 17th April with Resonant Bodies
Samuel Worth Chapel, Sheffield
Step into a world where folklore, magic, and music intertwine – Witching Hour is a spellbinding live performance that merges classical, contemporary, and folk music with storytelling.
In the mystical forests of Leanachan, Scotland, a woman accused of witchcraft escapes into the wild, encountering faeries, will-o’-the-wisps, and ancient magic.
Featuring a brand new commission by Samuel Kane alongside music by Donald Grant, Missy Mazzoli, Caroline Shaw, Barbara Strozzi, and Radiohead, tales from British folklore are brought to life by string quartet, lever harp, and singer/narrator, alongside striking visual projections by Will Burns and Miriam Bean.
+ rory green
Tuesday 8th April,
The Yard, Manchester
Internationally acclaimed Senegalese percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Dudù Kouate (Abel Selaocoe, Moor Mother, Art Ensemble of Chicago) joins forces with award-winning Manchester ensemble, NOMAD (Iona Kaye, Elena Orsi, Ailsa Burns, and Hoda Jahanpour). After first collaborating in France last September, the five musicians present their first UK performance, showcasing original music fresh from the recording studio. Their sound merges Celtic folk, jazz, and African influences - drawing from Dudù’s vast collection of over 200 instruments - with classical strings and voice. The result is a vibrant and dynamic celebration of culture, collaboration, and improvisation.
Thursday, 10th April
Feather Star, Nottingham
This performace will take place alongside an exhibition of abstract paintings by Karolina Ptaszkowski in the Haarlem Art Space
Karolina Ptaszkowska’s work weaves a literal and metaphorical tapestry of layers, offering fragmented bodies and organic forms that morph into architectural motifs, patterns, and radiant sources of light. These elements function as conduits for interconnectedness—between humans, machines, space, and time. Ptaszkowska’s practice constructs a body that not only embodies structural design but also serves as a support system for events, both micro and macro. Her pieces delve into the space where the visible and invisible converge—suggesting that reality is shaped by the dynamic exchange between tangible forces and unseen, spiritual energies.
Monday, 21st April
By Our Hands We Make
Our Way, Nottingham
Jesse Barrett is a percussionist and collaborator known for a highly expressive and inventive approach that draws on his background both as a jazz drummer and a student of tabla.
Channeling a deep and dedicated study under his Guru Sirishkumar Manji with experiences collaborating and composing, Jesse has arrived at a totally personal take on the meeting point between these diverse fields of lyrical percussion, carving a new path into worlds of tonal variety and the subtle permutations of Tabla, Jazz improvisation, ambient electronics and sampling.
The trio features bassist Owen Morgan and multi-instrumentalist Peter Beardsworth. They blend propulsive rhythmic compositions with atmospheric soundscapes and dynamic improvisations, drawing from a wide range of sounds, influences and modalities.
Born into a family of griots, the Kouatè—singers entrusted with preserving and passing down the traditions and stories of their people—Dudù Kouatè embraces the role assigned to him by tradition and breathes new life into it through a modern, multicultural lens. His concert is shaped by a symphony of instruments, a polyphony that creates magical and evocative atmospheres: from the Berber lute (xalam) to the kanjira, traditional African wind instruments, water gourds, and talking drums, which symbolically transport the listener to an unexplored and captivating dimension.
Driven by the need to explore culturally distant worlds—
African and European—Dudù takes the listeners by the
hand and, with his vision, guides them on a virtual journey through African sounds, reinterpreted with style and originality. The shifts in rhythm and harmonies elevate emotions to new heights. This perspective offers a vivid glimpse, almost a tangible experience, of Dakar's suburbs, natural landscapes, the savanna, the desert, villages, and stories of humanity.
From June through to September 2024 we hosted a series of summer concerts at the Watts Russell Arms in Hopedale, supported by the Arts Council. Ranging from the sweet sounds of the West African kora, to the mysterious and mesmerising voices of Ukraine… from traditional English and Irish folk music, to intimate and experimental multimedia experiences, the series pulled in acclaimed and up-and-coming musicians from far and wide. We'll be announcing a new programme for 2025 soon, but for now, check out some films of the highlights of 2024, produced by the Samsara Collective.
Click on the link above to check out some of the amazing music we've put on over the last couple of years...