Tickets £18.25 (£17 + £1.25 booking fee) and more details here..
A celestial journey through light, sound & setting...
John Haycock performs his new album What Remains with Dan Bridgwood-Hill in the historic Portico Library in Manchester.
Blending the practices of Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening, and local lore in the most notable buildings, these happenings use the natural reverberation of their environment and acoustic architecture to create a multi-dimensional adventure.
Also featuring music and poetry from Calderdale with Sam McLoughlin (Folklore Tapes, Hood Faire), poetry by Zaffar Kunial and an introduction and insights from Dr. Debbie Challis.
Join us for an evening invoking the magic of the Calder Valley with its history, lore and mysticism.
John Haycock
One of the most accomplished kora players to emerge in recent years, John trained with Gambian griot and kora master Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh. His musical journey led him to embrace the fusion of electronic and woodwind elements in his compositions and live performances to create captivating and emotive soundscapes. John was the founder musician with resonance at their inaugural event at the former Post Office Sorting House in Todmorden in January 2023 and again at Hope Baptist Chapel in April of the same year. His new album What Remains will be on sale at the event.
Dan Bridgwood-Hill
Dan, sometimes known as dbh, is a Todmorden based composer, violinist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, recently touring and contributing with artists Bridget Hayden and Jim Ghedi.
Along with his solo work, his ability to improvise around other musicians is a remarkable asset. He recently played violin on the acclaimed albums 'Cold Blows the Rain' by Hayden and 'Wasteland', by Ghedi. He is part of the unique duet, a meeting between traditional folk and West African kora. Dan tours with this album with John throughout 2026.
Sam McCloughlin
Sam McLoughlin (Folklore Tapes, Hood Faire, Bridget Hayden and the Apparitions, Sam and the Plants, Universal Veil) is a songwriter and electronic artist from Todmorden. His music takes a cut and paste aesthetic, piecing together short sketches and home-recorded ideas into full tracks, mixing everything from wyrd folk, Kraut, tropicalia, experimentation and a strong DIY aesthetic. He is part of the Folklore Tapes collective and often plays with Bridget Hayden, Otis Jordan and in innovative and surprising solo performances. He is also a seasoned harmonium player and singer.
Zaffar Kunial
https://www.rcwlitagency.com/authors/kunial-zaffar/
https://www.instagram.com/zaffarkunial/
Following his resonance performance at Harmonicon and The Clavie, Hebden Bridge poet Zaff brings spoken word imagery and magic to the evening of music and reflection. He is the author of collections such as Us and England's Green, and is known for his poems that explore themes of identity, language, heritage and local landscapes.
Debbie Challis
Portico Library Creative Producer Debbie Challis has worked in archives and museums, including the National Portrait Gallery, the BBC Archives, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL and the Library of the London School of Economics (LSE). She is a cultural historian, Honorary Fellow at the University of Liverpool (Milesian Tales) and Fellow of the Royal History Society. She has published on the history of archaeology and the legacies of the ancient past in the modern world as well as on the emotional impact of working with historical archives and objects.
Doors from 6.30