Events Calendar

Contemporary folk/acoustic duo Gilmore & Roberts combine award-winning song writing with astounding musicianship and their trademark harmonies to create a powerful wall of sound.

Nominated three times at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Katriona Gilmore (fiddle, mandolin) and Jamie Roberts (guitar) met while studying at Leeds College of Music and released their debut album in 2008. Since then, the duo has toured Canada and mainland Europe, played some of the UK’s biggest acoustic festivals, toured with folk rock legends Fairport Convention and won countless accolades for their genre-spanning work.

Back by popular demand, the duo will perform tracks from their new album A Problem of Our Kind, which contains some of the most stripped-back arrangements of Gilmore & Roberts’ career so far.

Inspired by a true story, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is the new hit musical for today. Jamie New is sixteen and lives on a council estate in Sheffield. Jamie doesn’t quite fit in. Jamie is terrified about the future. Jamie is going to be a sensation. Supported by his brilliant loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight.

John McCrea, Rebecca McKinnis, Shobna Gulati, Lucie Shorthouse and Lee Ross with Michelle Visage lead a twenty-four-strong company and an eight-piece band that will ‘sweep you away on a tide of mischief, warmth and exuberance. With ‘songs that have the wow factor’ led by singer-songwriter of The Feeling, Dan Gillespie Sells, this funny, fabulous, feel-good, musical sensation has been wowing audiences and critics alike. Join us for this performed recorded at The Apollo Theatre in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue.

Tickets are £13 Adult, £12 Courthouse Friends.

To book please call our box office on 01943 467466 or go online at otleycourthouse.org.uk

Otley Singers and the Courthouse Choir are joining forces for an evening of melody and harmony to raise funds for Singing for the Brain. This group meets fortnightly at Otley Courthouse and connects people with dementia or alzheimers to the memories created by song.

RURA are a multi award-winning act and one of Scotland’s most sought-after folk-based bands. With two heralded albums, a third released in June 2018, and extensive international touring, RURA affirm their position as one of Scotland’s leading groups. Their exquisitely rugged yet refined blend of fiddle, Highland pipes, flute, bodhran and guitar has won a devoted following in many corners of the globe, amongst audiences and critics alike. Back by popular demand, this promises to be another sell out gig from this highly talented quartet.

Tickets are £15
To book please call 01943 467466 or go online at otleycourthouse.org.uk

Siobhan Miller is recognised as one of the shining stars on the Scottish folk scene. She is the only three-time winner of the Best Singer at the Scots Trad Music Awards (2011, 2013 and 2017); a trio of successes that was topped off earlier last year with the accolade of Best Traditional Track at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. That track was Banks of Newfoundland, from Siobhan’s second solo album, Strata; a beautifully rich compendium of traditional and contemporary folk song.

Mercury, Siobhan’s third solo album, was released on 2nd November, and this time she’s presented us with a fine collection of self-written songs that skilfully merge the folk traditions that have inspired, and nourished, her work since an early age, with her own contemporary approach to music. Siobhan has recently been touring with Eddi Reader, so we are delighted that she has found time to come to Otley and play a gig as part of her latest UK tour.

Simply put, The Robin Nolan Trio are one the world’s best known and most admired Gypsy Jazz acts of the last 20 years. Robin has been lauded for his musical genius and sensibilities by the late Beatle, George Harrison, Willie Nelson, and Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. Legendary in the Django Reinhardt world, Robin has played with every major Gypsy Jazz artist and headlined every major Gypsy Jazz festival across the globe.

Recent highlights include a sell-out show for Jazz FM at London’s The Royal Albert Hall, a standing ovation from a packed-out Lincoln Centre audience in New York, and a current record deal with the George Harrison family label – HOT records. The trio features top Dutch double bassist Arnoud Van Den Berg and UK guitar virtuoso Chris Quinn on Rhythm, one of the tightest rhythm sections in the business. Expect some of the finest, hottest guitar playing you’ll ever hear.

In April 2018, Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin) retreated to a remote cottage in Ulpha, western Cumbria. They breathed in the mountain view, banked up the fire, and took their instruments out of their cases. Then they sat down, and wrote. In escaping the everyday chaos of busy lives, they realised how caught up in the misery of the 24 hour news cycle they were; absorbed in the heartbreak of the world, they had lost sight of its beauty. Tired of the navel-gazing tendencies of sad song writing, and the terrible events frequently depicted in the folk ballad tradition, they decided to turn their attention to an oft overlooked but vital facet of our lives: hope.

Swiftly, a set of songs and tunes emerged. Stories of wonder from the natural world; tales of rejoicing and long lost returns; and simple thanksgiving for their own surroundings and place in the landscape. Informed by world rhythms, British folk roots, and the duo’s penchant for making as much noise as possible with only two people, the album is an upbeat celebration, an incitement to hope.

From the World’s Most Spectacular Opera series, experience the love, laughter and loss of La Boheme at the magnificent Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour. Puccini’s beloved classic – the original bohemian love story – has long captivated audiences around the world. His music swells with love, soars in ecstasy, crackles with jealousy and cries with heartache. With lavish sets and costumes transforming the harbour-top stage into a romantic Paris winter, Opera Australia’s glittering production will be an unforgettable delight.

A Band Called Malice has quickly taken the tribute world by storm in their quest to become the number one choice tribute-act to The Jam. With over 70 gigs booked during 2018, the talented trio are the real deal and guarantee to take you back to ‘When You’re Young,” with an evening of single releases & album tracks from The Jams early Fire & Skill years, through to their very last release.

As Jam fans themselves, A Band Called Malice will not disappoint and guarantee a show full of high octane energy, angst, aggression, passion and soul of their idols.

The venue is open 45 mins prior to the event start time 8pm. Performance room opens 7.45 pm.

The Otley Folk Festival takes place over a weekend in September at various venues throughout the town. It attracts a wide range of well-known folk artists and demand for the tickets is always high.

Otley has many pubs (all serving cask conditioned ale) most of which are used by the folk festival over the weekend. All of the folk festival venues have real-ale bars except for the Methodist Hall which serves excellent cakes, buns, tea, coffee, soft drinks and savoury snacks. There is a campsite available for the weekend for anyone wishing to stay in Otley for the duration of the festival.

Date: Friday 20 to Sunday 22 September 2019

For further information please visit: www.otleyfolkfestival.com