The Unthanks curated Home Gathering Festival returns this September in Newcastle
The post-industrial, atmospheric Boiler Shop and the historic and beautiful Mining Institute are the venues
Now in its second year, Home Gathering is set to be one of the most talked about events in the region this year. Curated and headlined by one of Tyneside’s most celebrated bands, The Unthanks, the two-day festival takes place in two historic Newcastle venues on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th of September.
Home Gathering will welcome multiple Mercury Prize nominee Richard Hawley to its bill, along with locals Hyde & Beast and Richard Dawson, hot swing from Kitty, Daisy and Lewis plus leading lights from the jazz, classical, folk and poetry worlds, reflecting the many sides and influences of The Unthanks.
The post-industrial, atmospheric Boiler Shop and the historic and beautiful Mining Institute are the venues, both close Newcastle Central Station and to each other.
Following the success of his hugely acclaimed 2012 Top Three album, Standing At The Sky's Edge, Richard Hawley's eighth studio album, HOLLOW MEADOWS, has again received national acclaim. Once a member of Britpop band Pulp and now globally renowned for his rockabilly, bittersweet anthems, Sheffield’s bequiffed crooner will be headlining the Friday evening of Home Gathering.
Speaking ahead of the event, Adrian McNally, of The Unthanks, who will take centre stage on Saturday's installment, said:
"Musically, we’re honoured to have the sublime Richard Hawley headline the Friday night. The rest of the line-up not only reflects our tastes but our influences too. We don’t think music fans will find a more varied bill and we hope, most of all, you’ll like something you weren’t expecting to.
Home Gathering 2016 will be everything we like about life, not just music. Our favourite local beers and food artisans will feature, as well as stalls with local artists and makers, surprise dance ensemble moments, and flash-mob style singing from within the crowd by our singing weekend choir.
We’ll have a hand in every detail to ensure that despite our own largely miserable music, it will be a party from start to finish!
Having covered a lot of musical ground ourselves as The Unthanks, we know we are very lucky to have an open-minded and venturesome audience, ready to trust and join us on our journeys. We have treated the chance to host our own festival with the same multifarious, magpie-like approach. To paraphrase Mark Twain, it’ll be like the weather - if you don’t like it, just wait a few minutes."
The event will also feature spoken word from Liz Berry, folk royalty in the form of the otherly Marry Waterson, fearless musical maidens, The Moulettes, some serious swinging and jumping from Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis, plus a rare airing of Steve Reich’s Different Trains, which will be performed by the Liverpool String Quartet.
Steve Davis of SSD Concerts, added:
"It's amazing to be working with the Unthanks. Not only are they unbelievably talented musicians they are also great people. Their music knowledge and tastes are as diverse as they come, which has been a big contributing factor into how eclectic this year's line-up is.
The Unthanks set a great example to any new artist; self-managed, self-released and for a long period of time, they even booked their own shows which, at this level, takes a massive amount of dedication.
We got off to a sell-out start last year, which is really encouraging for us. To add someone with Richard Hawley's caliber to the bill as well as another venue in the form of The Mining Institute, makes the festival feels like a really big step up in the right direction this year."
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