‘This is a lifelong dream,” says 32-year-old Grammy nominated singer-songwriter-producer Jordan Rakei, with the Royal Northern Sinfonia behind him. Performing with an orchestra has been his ambition since he started sampling strings over beats in his bedroom when he was 12, he says. Proms Gateshead makes such moments happen. Now in its second weekend residency in the north-east, the festival again seeks to widen the Proms remit and broaden its appeal.
It’s certainly hard to think of many better ways of bringing live orchestral music to a younger audience than the epic Fantasy, Myths and Legends. Together with the mostly under-30 Voices of the River’s Edge choir, RNS perform rousing renditions of themes from the likes of Harry Potter, Star Wars and World of Warcraft. With tickets only £8, the main hall is packed with a rapturous audience, which presenter Ali Plumb amusingly – but inaccurately – describes as “gamers, wand-wavers and quidditch champions”.
Still, the Proms’ traditional classical base hasn’t been forgotten. There’s Friday’s big opening RNS concert of Taillferre, Sibelius and Dvořák and, on Sunday, violinist Daniel Pioro and friends’ serenely beautiful exploration of Elizabethan music. Otherwise, three days of eclectic delights range from hours of free live music curated by BBC Introducing to Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Hannah Peel’s live incarnation of Radio 3’s genre-fusing Night Tracks.
Former Sons of Kemet man Theon Cross continues his mission to reinvent the tuba – even using it as a reggae bass – and fiery young Newcastle quintet Knats become the weekend’s surprise hit as they gleefully rewire jazz with a hard-as-nails rhythm section, drum’n’bass energy and punk aggression.
The main hall packs for Saturday’s big showcase. It’s nearly a decade and five albums since New Zealand-born Rakei relocated to the UK to chase those dreams, but following his acclaimed 2024 album The Loop and ahead of his upcoming two nights at the Royal Albert Hall this one-off collaboration with the Royal Northern Sinfonia feels timely and inspired. Rakei’s contemplative electro soul – think a Marvin Gaye/Stevie Wonder type soul man backed by James Blake – proves ripe for orchestration.
Conductor Robert Ames ensures that whether the arrangements are ethereally hymnal or powerfully dramatic, the singer’s sublime, troubled falsetto is always centre stage. Rakei cuts an understated, humble stage presence amid the massed orchestral players, but the audience adore him as he reveals that his wife and baby are in attendance (one of them in earmuffs) and his relatives are listening in Australia: “It’s 5am there, so go to bed after this one.” Understated earworms such as Borderline or the darker A Little Life creep up like assassins to increasingly loud cheering.
“This is one of my bucket-list moments,” he says, but at this rate he’ll tick off many more.
• On BBC Sounds until 12 October. Jordan Rakei plays Albert Hall, Manchester, 26 September; Beacon, Bristol, 27 September; then Royal Albert Hall, London, 1 and 4 October.
