One of the highlights of Northumberland's county town's events programme is set to return for the first time since before the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Morpeth Gathering's Grand Northumbrian Concert is a fundraising concert of local traditional music, song and humour ahead of the full Gathering event held over two days on Easter weekend this April. The concert on February 10 is one of many that was on the events programme which the pandemic interrupted, with organisers working on pulling together as much of that as possible.
The Morpeth Gathering weekend made a scaled-back return in 2022, cancelling the usual procession and hosting a full programme of online events with some punters still wary of the risk of Coronavirus at that time. It also celebrated the 90th birthday of the Morpeth Gadgy, Alex Swailes MBE, who will return for this year's Gathering weekend, but won't be at the Grand Northumbrian Concert.
This year's performers include headliner Alistair Anderson, who has taken Northumberland's music and his own compositions across the world; Tyneside singing trio JIB who specialise in songs of the sea and from the North East mining community; Coquetdale composer and poet James Tait; Northumbrian piper Sophie Fraser; and dialect poet Eileen Beers. Completing the bill are the Morepth-based band the Border Directors, while MC Ron Forster will keep the event in check.
Kim Bibby-Wilson, Chair of the Morpeth Gathering Committee, said: "The Gathering Committee is delighted to be able to start pulling together as many in-person events as possible after these three interrupted years. The effects of the pandemic have produced challenges for our manpower and venues, but we're determined to revive our wonderful celebration of the region's music and traditions, starting with the Town Hall concert and then in April reprogramming much of the activity we had to cancel in 2020."
The Morpeth Gathering's Grand Northumbrian Concert takes place on Friday February 10 at 7.30pm in the Morpeth Town Hall Ballroom. For more information or to get tickets, visit www.northumbriana.org.uk or contact kim@northumbriana.org.uk.
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