Highlights:
- Recent Booker Prize winner, Canadian author Margaret Atwood in conversation about her latest book, The Testaments
- 80s legend Midge Ure presents his iconic albums, Vienna and Visage
- A Performance by Nashville star a Guinness World Record holder, Charles Eston
Folkworks: Marry Waterson and Emily Barker
Monday 21 October, 7.45pm
English folk royalty meets Australian soul in this new collaboration between Marry Waterson and Emily Barker with an album of fly-on-the-wall observations of the contradictions and disconnections of modern life.
No strangers to collaboration, Waterson and Barker discovered an immediate kinship when they started writing together. The intriguing combination of Waterson’s poetic lyrics and Barker’s eclectic musicality has been shaped in the studio by musical polymath Adem Ilhan, with recording contributions from two of Barker’s live band: Lukas Drinkwater (bass and guitar) and Rob Pemberton (drums).
Serendipity worked its magic in bringing Waterson, Barker and Ilhan together. The resulting collection of songs pushes the boundaries of Barker and Waterson’s renowned roots styles, venturing into a diverse union of genres – contemporary folk, country and soul nestles comfortably alongside lilting indie and playful blues.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/folkworks-marry-waterson-emily-barker/
Midge Ure – Vienna & Visage – The 1980 Tour
Tuesday 22 October, 7.30pm
Join Midge and his Band Electronica on this celebration journey back to 1980.
Both records, Vienna and Visage, were co-written, recorded and produced by one of the leading characters in British music, Midge Ure, and not only transformed the charts around the globe, but his life in the process.
Brought to life by Midge Ure and Band Electronica, this will be the very first time in the 40 years since it was made, that the Vienna album will be performed in its entirety. It is also the first time that many of the songs from the debut Visage album will be played live.
The music will be performed in a stage setting designed to reflect the atmosphere and ambience the albums deserve.
The 1980 Tour reminds us of everything that is possible. Both Vienna and Visage were the sound of the future, and yet still sound unearthly, romantic, impossibly beautiful and full of promise.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/midge-ure-2019/ – sold out, returns only
Tin Men and the Telephone Performance
Wednesday 23 October & Thursday 24 October, 6pm
Become a member of Tin Men and the Telephone using only your mobile phone!
Tin Men and the Telephone is a unique band at the cutting edge of live performance using mobile technology, pioneering ways to involve audiences in live improvisation using a specially devised app! The audience becomes members of the band for the evening, using their smart phone instrument to influence the show by swiping, shaking and texting.
Recognised as one of the top groups in the Netherlands, Tin Men and the Telephone have been selected for a three-year project to explore ways of building on their success using the technology and hybrid performance they’ve created. To do this, they need you – and others like you – to join in for free!
Sage Gateshead will be hosting two workshop performances with the band on the 23 and 24 October to try out new material involving audience interaction. This will be like a performance, but with more opportunities for questions and answers. Crucially, your involvement will help shape the band’s next show – and how audiences across Europe will play with them – using humour and stories together with jazz and improvisation to explore ideas around climate change.
Bring your friends and family along and become members of the band for the evening. Suitable for all ages. Tickets are free but places are limited so don’t miss out.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/tin-men-the-telephone-performance-workshop/
Charles Esten
Wednesday 23 October, 7pm
Known best for his role as Deacon Claybourne on the hit television show Nashville, Charles (Chip) Esten was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and grew up in Alexandria, VA. After starting his acting career in Los Angeles, he was pleased to make his theatrical debut in London, portraying Buddy Holly in the hit West End musical, Buddy. It was in that role, he was honoured to perform for H.M Queen Elizabeth in the Royal Variety Performance.
Since then, aside from Nashville, he has appeared on many other films and television shows including Whose Line Is It Anyway? The Postman, NYPD Blue, ER, Big Love, and the American version of The Office. He currently has a recurring role on TNT’s Tell Me Your Secrets.
It was Nashville that reopened Esten’s musical career, and over the course of the last six years he has performed hundreds of live concerts, including three sold out Nashville In Concert shows at the Royal Albert Hall. In January of this year, he completed his first solo twelve-city tour through a sold-out UK and Netherlands, and standing room only shows in Germany.
Esten recently made musical history when he earned a Guinness World Records title for his #EverySingleFriday campaign which yielded 54 original songs that he wrote, recorded, and released, once a week, for 54 consecutive weeks. The songs are all available on iTunes, and Spotify, where his music has already been streamed worldwide nearly 8 million times.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/charles-esten-2019/
Newcastle International Chamber Music Series
Divertimenti Ensemble
Wednesday 23 October, 7.30pm
- Divertimenti Ensemble
- Mozart Fantasia in F minor
- Sally Beamish “Divertimenti for String Quintet” (2018)
- Bax Lyrical Interlude
- Boccherini Rondo
- Schubert String Quintet in C
Quintets from the 18th to 21st centuries, ending with one of the greatest chamber works of all, which is among the three most popular works chosen by the castaways on BBC Radio Four’s fabled Desert Island.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/nicms-divertimenti-ensemble/
Folkworks: Rising Up, Peterloo 2019
Friday 25 October, 8pm
In 1819, the concept of freedom of speech, protest and democracy were tested when armed soldiers charged at peaceful protesters at Peterloo. Two centuries on, these principles are still under threat. This new commission tells the personal stories of two women linked across time and through experience as they struggle to rise up and find their voice.
Rising Up boldly combines dramatic narrative and song, with text written by Debs Newbold (King Lear Retold, Through The Seasons) and songs by Sean Cooney (The Young’uns). The songs and music will be performed by Sam Carter (False Lights), Lucy Farrell (Furrow Collective) and Jim Molyneux (4Square).
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/folkworks-rising-up-peterloo-2019/
Big Family Space Travel
Saturday 26 October, 11am, 1pm & 2:30pm
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Come along to the Northern Rock Foundation Hall at Sage Gateshead and join the friendly, live musicians/space travellers for an hour of music and dance that is out of this world!
Who knows where in space you will end up? Five…Four…Three…Two…One… Blast off!
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/big-family-space-travel/
In Conversation with Margaret Atwood
Saturday 26 October, 7.30pm
On September 10th, The Testaments, Margaret Atwood’s hugely anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, was revealed, and has now been named joint winner of the Booker Prize.
Fane Productions presents an evening with the Canadian novelist, poet, and literary critic to celebrate this momentous publication. The appearance of The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985 and the current, Emmy-award winning television series, have created a cultural phenomenon, as handmaids have become a symbol of women’s rights, standing against misogyny and oppression.
Interviewed live on stage, the conversation will span the length of Atwood’s remarkable career, her diverse range of works and why she has returned to her seminal story, 34 years later.
“Dear Readers: Everything you’ve ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we’ve been living in.”
Join Sage Gateshead for an unmissable and intimate evening with Atwood and her signature insight, humour and mind.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/margaret-atwood/ — sold out, returns only
Elliot Galvin Trio
Sunday 27 October, 8pm
Elliot Galvin is one of the rising stars of UK jazz.
A superbly gifted composer and pianist, whose maverick imagination and magpie-like ability to blend a disparate world of influences into his own unique musical vision has seen him compared to Django Bates, although in truth he sounds like no one except himself.
His critically acclaimed latest trio album featuring long term collaborators Corrie Dick on drums and Tom McCredie on bass was live-mixed and recorded direct to vinyl, each side in one continuous take, and is his most stripped back and honest album yet.
Book Now: https://sagegateshead.com/whats-on/elliot-galvin-trio/