Highlights:
- James Brown’s MD, renowned saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis with singer China Moses
- Singer/songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich
- Multi-award-winning folk artists Clannad
Presented in partnership with GEM Arts and Asian Arts Agency
Hashmat Sultana with live band
Monday 2 March, 8pm
GEM Arts and Asian Arts Agency present Hashmat Sultana, the most sensational contemporary Sufi and Punjabi singers to emerge from India recently.
Propelled into the limelight in 2016 as part of a major Indian TV talent show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the duo received rave reviews from prominent Bollywood composers Pritam Chakraborty and Sajid-Wajid for their beautiful and electrifying vocal abilities.
Since then, Hashmat and Sultana have been winning the hearts of audiences in India and internationally with their refreshing contemporary twist on traditional Punjabi folk and ancient Sufi music. The talented Sufi Sisters have become a YouTube sensation and developed a huge online audience. Their song Rang has received more than 25 million views and more recent singles have also notched up millions of views.
Featuring Sufi poetry and songs from the great Punjabi Sufi poets, such as Baba Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain, the sisters are appealing to a new generation of audiences with their powerful vocal performances and incredible versatility that shows maturity beyond their years.
After their sensational debut UK appearance at WOMAD Festival 2018, which was described as one of the highlights of the festival, Hashmat Sultana are returning to the UK with a full live band on their debut UK tour in 2020.
Book now:https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/hashmat-sultana/
FUNK: A Music Revolution featuring: Pee Wee Ellis, China Moses plus special guest Omar
Wednesday 4 March, 7.30pm
Featuring: Pee Wee Ellis, China Moses with special guest Omar MBE
Led by James Brown’s MD, renowned saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and co-curated with singer China Moses, FUNK: A Music Revolution celebrates funk’s influence from its early days to latest sounds.
“From 1967 when Mr. Brown and I wrote “Cold Sweat” until today, Funk has been woven into the DNA of popular music. We want to tell that story.” – Pee Wee Ellis
Featuring ground-breaking songs Cold Sweat and Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud, the ten-piece band journey through six decades of music. Hear new arrangements of the funk classics, riffs and samples that have influenced popular music from disco to afrobeat to hip hop. UK street dance group The Locksmiths join the stage.
Bring on the funk.
Benjamin Francis Leftwich plus Amy Ellis
Wednesday 4 March, 8pm
Singer/songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich returns with new single, Elephant, and announces a tour of venues he’s never played before, including Sage Gateshead.
Elephant was the first piece of material to surface since his acclaimed album Gratitude, released in 2019.
Where Gratitude saw Ben embrace more electronic elements and bring darker production nuances into play, Elephant takes him back to his roots, as signature hushed vocals impact over an ethereal choir backdrop and delicate guitars.
His melancholic brand of acoustic folk-pop has drawn comparisons to the likes of Jose Gonzalez and Iron & Wine. Inspired by Elliott Smith and Bruce Springsteen, he taught himself to play the guitar aged 10, and fronted indie pop outfit the Nicoles in his teens before embarking on a solo career.
In 2011, his first single, Pictures, taken from his second EP of the same name, was declared The Hottest Record in the World Today by influential Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. Later that year he released his debut album, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm.
In 2016, Leftwich delivered his sophomore studio album, After the Rain, featuring the single Tilikum, which was recorded in the wake of his father’s death.
Plus Support from Amy May Ellis
Amy May Ellis grew up in the middle of the North York Moors. Her music has taken her around the UK and Europe playing headline shows and guesting for artists such as Micheal Chapman, Hiss Golden Messenger, Tiny Ruins, Rozi Plain, Ryley Walker and Willy Mason.
Amy’s first two Eps, Weathered By Waves and We Got Fire, explore a rich and intricate full band sound with a refreshing and ferocious honesty. They have both received support from BBC introducing, BBC 6 Music and Rough Trade.
Where My Garden Lies is Amy’s third release, a small collection of solo songs exploring ideas of home.
Book now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/benjamin-francis-leftwich/
Jon Hopkins – Polarity plus Hayden Thorpe
Thursday 5 March, 7.30pm
It is with great pleasure that Jon Hopkins announces Polarity – a new tour for 2020 – which follows on from the incredibly successful Singularity tour, where he performed sold-out headline live shows, festival dates and DJ appearances across the globe.
Polarity will, Jon says, tether together “the two disparate elements of harsh and fragile in my music.” He explains, “by going between the two, we’ll hopefully create some profound moments of stillness.”
Playing grand piano for parts of the show, he will be joined on stage by a small group of consummate musicians and long-time friends, consisting of acclaimed producer and guitarist Leo Abrahams, violinist and arranger Emma Smith and cellist Daisy Vatalaro.
Book now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/jon-hopkins-polarity/
Classical Season 2019/20 – COMA Festival
CoMA Festival of Contemporary Music for All
Friday 6 – Sunday 8 March
Following the success of our festival two years ago, we are once again partnering with CoMA for a weekend of new music.
A chance to hear Royal Northern Sinfonia perform music by the composers of today in different spaces, and the opportunity to participate in a day of contemporary music workshops at Sage Gateshead.
Get a combined ticket for both Friday Night and Sunday for only £20.
Book now:https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/coma-festival-of-contemporary-music-for-all/
CoMA Festival
RNS: Listening a World
Friday 6 March, 8pm
James Weeks conductor
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Cassandra Miller O Zomer!
Joanna Bailie Symphony-Street-Souvenir
Oliver Leith Craquelure
Laurence Crane Estonia
James Weeks Düsseldorf
Egidija Medekšait? Malakosha
A chamber concert featuring music by six of the best and brightest contemporary composers. Music underpinned by the idea of listening afresh to the world around us, environments, places and sounds.
Book now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/rns-listening-a-world/
CoMA Festival
Vocal & Instrumental Workshops with Royal Northern Sinfonia
Sunday 8 March, 12pm
An afternoon of vocal and instrumental workshops with members of Royal Northern Sinfonia, led by James Weeks and Grace Rossiter.
The workshops will cover a variety of repertoire from leading contemporary composers including Howard Skempton and Terry Riley.
Tickets include three workshops, with the first two being your choice of either vocal or instrumental options. The third and final workshop includes all participants for a performance of Terry Riley’s Olson III, a piece that is sure to raise the roof.
The instrumental workshops are suitable for players of all orchestral instruments. As guidance, participants should be able to play their instruments confidently, with an ability level of around Grade 5 or above (or equivalent).
The singing workshops are open to vocalists of all abilities.
All workshop participants should be aged 16 or over.
Choose from these workshops:https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/coma-workshops/
Samling Masterclass & Concert
Saturday 7 March, Masterclass: 1.30pm & Concert: 5.15pm
Led by Anna Stéphany, Caroline Dowdle and James Garnon, with staff pianist Somi Kim.
Catrin Woodruff soprano
Katherine Aitken mezzo-soprano
Ema Nikolovska mezzo-soprano
Liam Bonthrone tenor
Edward Jowle baritone
Nicholas Mogg baritone
Gary Beecher piano
Camille Lemonnier piano
Embark on a fascinating exploration through the world of song and opera with eight rising stars of classical music.
Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anna Stéphany, Royal Opera House vocal coach Caroline Dowdle and Shakespearean actor James Garnon will lead them in a public masterclass followed by a short concert showcasing the work of Samling Institute’s international Artist Programme.
Book now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/samling-masterclass-and-concert-march-2020/
Clannad
Saturday 7 March, 8pm
Having sold 15 million records worldwide and with eight Top 10 UK albums to their name, multi-award-winning Clannad have announced In a Lifetime – The Farewell World Tour.
The Grammy and BAFTA award winning quartet will also release a new anthology In a Lifetime box set to be released worldwide on 13 March 2020.
The multi-award-winning Clannad have, without doubt, done more than any other group to take Irish music and the Irish language to a worldwide audience.
Fusing elements of traditional Irish music with more contemporary folk, new age, and rock they have created a beautifully unique and ethereal sound which combines haunting melodies and mesmerising vocals to transcend the sands of time whilst appealing to a worldwide audience of all ages.
Book now:https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/clannad/
Folkworks
Martin Hayes
Sunday 8 March, 8pm
Martin Hayes is regarded as one of the most extraordinary talents to emerge in the world of Irish traditional music. His unique sound, his mastery of the fiddle and his acknowledgement of the past and his shaping of the future of the music, combine to create an astonishing and formidable artistic intelligence.
He has drawn musical inspiration from sources as diverse as the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, the Spanish viola da gamba master, Jordi Savall, and the jazz genius, John Coltrane, but remains grounded in the music he grew up with in his own locality, in Feakle County Clare where the music which he learned from his late father, P. Joe Hayes, the renowned founder/ leader of the long-lived Tulla Ceili Band, profoundly influenced his musical accent and ideas.
His latest performing project is with The Gloaming, a band which has burst on the music scene with a rare combination of Irish tunes, ancient sean-nós song, brave explorations and exhilarating and explosive medleys with a distinctive new sound.
Book now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/martin-hayes/