A series of music events have been announced for Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Centre.
Whitehaven pop and rock outfit The Little Lies launches the Kirkgate’s summer selection of live music events next Saturday – a programme that includes an appearance by internationally-renowned pipes and fiddle player Kathryn Tickell.
Tickell, who specialises in the Northumbrian small pipes and fiddle, has recorded with Sting, Alan Parsons, The Chieftains, The Boys of the Lough and Jimmy Nail amongst others.
The Kathryn Tickell Trio appears as part of the Cockermouth Live! festival on Saturday, July 3.
Before that, however, local band The Little Lies kicks off the summer series of live events – part of the Kirkgate’s ‘Shine’ programme – with an appearance on Saturday, June 26.
Their unique brand of entertainment fuses pop-rock, featuring covers as well as original music, to offer a real sing along and dance experience.
Another highlight of the programme – and also part of the Cockermouth Live! festival – is an appearance on Friday, July 2 by Ian McMillan and Luke Carver Goss.
Poet, broadcaster and comedian McMillan, “poet in residence” to his hometown football club Barnsley FC, is familiar to many through TV appearances on programmes such as The Yorkshire Dales and The Lakes and Have I Got News For You.
Carver Goss has arranged music for choirs, song-writers, bands and theatres and his commissions include work for symphony orchestras, rock bands, musicals and the Olympics.
Other Cumbrian artists who’ll get the chance to perform at the Kirkgate this summer include Striding Edge, Mike Turnbull and The Safe Kings, Marblmoon, Coast Road and Pecker.
Kirkgate chairwoman Marion Bowman said: “Live music is the lifeblood of entertainment and a great night of socialising. Our line-up features some of our best local talent. They know how to send audiences home happy.
“Even with COVID restrictions extended, we’re tuning up for a lively summer of fresh and thrilling music and other fun outings.
“There’s free entry to watch all of England’s Euro matches on our big screen, with the bar open an hour before kick-off, and Friday nights are now pizza nights at the Kirkgate – order an exclusive Fermento pizza on our website with your drinks and tickets for Friday nights.”
Kirkgate Arts and Heritage, the charity that runs the Kirkgate, is also launching a special project over the Cockermouth Live! weekend to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Dorothy Wordsworth’s birth in the town.
Kirkgate Youth Theatre will be putting on street theatre inspired by the Wordsworths on Saturday, July 3, and Eden Poets will appear at a special event with films and poetry celebrating the great outdoors and Dorothy’s love of nature and the Lake District at the Kirkgate at 4pm on Sunday, July 4.
Events listings
- Live Music: The Little Lies – four-piece pop and rock band from Whitehaven. Their unique brand of entertainment fuses pop-rock to make you sing along and dance. Performing lots of entertaining covers as well as original music.
Saturday, June 26: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £10 (£5 concessions) - Live Music: Ian McMillan and Luke Carver Goss (as part of Cockermouth Live!) – Poet, broadcaster and comedian Ian McMillan and Olympic composer Luke Carver Goss present a hilarious night of words, music and breath-taking comedy, featuring songs, stories and a musical created out of thin air.
Friday, July 2: 7.30pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £15 (£12 concessions) - Live Music: Kathryn Tickell Trio (as part of Cockermouth Live!) – Kathryn Tickell is the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, a composer, performer, educator and successful recording artist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria.
Saturday, July 3: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £28 - Live Music: Striding Edge – Uplifting Cumbrian folk roots music: established as one of the North West’s foremost folk roots bands. Soulful ballads with four-part harmony vocals; relevant contemporary songs; lively jig, reel and hornpipe tunes on an array of instruments.
Sunday, July 18: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £10 (concessions £5) - Live Music: Mike Turnbull & The Safe Kings – Mike Turnbull is a multi-instrumentalist who has the knack for writing well-crafted songs with a story to tell. Influences are taken from his home region of the Lakes. Together with Suzanne Ambrose on double bass and David Pennington on cajon, they are Mike Turnbull & The Safe Kings – their sound and style is original modern folk ranging from melodic ballads to energetic foot stompers.
Sunday, July 25: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £10 (£5 concessions) - Live Music: Marblmoon – Ethereal, emotional alternative pop that’s as enchanting as it is experimental. A small-town girl, Ciara grew up in rural Cumbria. Her debut EP “Glitter and Gold” was released in May 2019. Marblmoon moves confidently between dream-pop, indie, folk and experimental sounds while staying true to her own personality and vision.
Saturday, August 7: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £10 (£5 concessions) - Live Music: Coast Road – An acoustic collective from Cumbria and the North East, The Coast Road is a revolving and evolving cast of folk/jazz musicians. Cumbrian singer and songwriter Dave Camlin is joined by Paul Susans (Baghdaddies) on bass, multi-instrumentalist Catherine Reding and Brendan Murphy’s arsenal of unusual percussion to weave acoustic beauty around songs from the heart.
Sunday, August 15: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £10 (£5 concessions) - Live Music: Pecker – A band of waifs and strays from the wilds of Cumbria. Inventive folk-tinged pop.
Saturday, August 21: 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets £10 (£5 concessions)
To book tickets, pre-order food and drinks and find out more about Kirkgate’s plans and how you can get involved, volunteer or donate, go to www.kirkgatearts.org.uk