Redhills. Durham Miners’ Hall

Durham Brass Festival hosts BBC Radio 4 The Verb
Simon Armitage & LYR performing “Firm As A Rock We Stand”
with Easington Colliery Brass Band
Plus poetry presented by Ian McMillan

Durham Brass Festival proudly presents a powerful restaging of Firm As A Rock We Stand, first presented at the festival at Durham Cathedral in 2022. Co-commissioned with the Durham Miners’ Association, this moving performance features LYR alongside the Easington Colliery Brass Band, brought to life through music and brass arrangements by award-winning composer Simon Dobson.

Firm As A Rock We Stand, reflects the tragic history of Durham’s ‘Category D’ villages. In 1951, local authorities declared 121 villages in County Durham economically unviable, cutting off their public funding. This sparked decades of hardship, with entire communities erased, and villages unjustly labeled as slums. Upon learning this history, Simon Armitage and LYR found immediate inspiration for the work.

LYR – featuring UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, multi-instrumentalist Patrick J Pearson, and singer-songwriter Richard Walters – has been a prominent force in contemporary music since 2009. Combining spoken word, soaring vocals, and harmonics, LYR has cultivated a devoted following with sell-out national tours and major commissions from the National Trust, Festival of Libraries, Barnsley Council and most recently, the 2025 BBC Proms.

This special performance will be held at Redhills Miners’ Hall, also known as The Pitmans’ Parliament, and recorded for BBC Radio 4’s The Verb. The event will include poetry performances presented by Ian McMillan.

New Victoria Centre, Howden le Wear

Durham Brass Festival proudly partners with the North East Theatre Organ Association and Stanhope Silver Band to present a one-off, commissioned show entitled Brass and Pipes. This special show will bring together the unique sounds of the iconic Wurlitzer organ and brass band music at the New Victoria Centre in Howden le Wear, home of the NETOA’s Wurlitzer.

Stanhope Silver Band, with a proud history dating back to 1823, will perform alongside the stunning Wurlitzer organ. Known for its orchestral sound, the Wurlitzer is a one-man orchestra, featuring pipes, percussion instruments, and a grand piano, all played from a single console.

Originally installed in 1930 at the New Victoria Theatre in Bradford, the 3-manual, 10-rank Wurlitzer entertained cinema audiences until 1968. After being acquired by the NETOA, it was restored and is now housed in the New Victoria Centre, recreating the atmosphere of a bygone era.

For tickets, please visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/netoa/brass-pipes-howard-beaumont-at-the-mighty-wurlitzer-with-stanhope-silver-band/e-pvkzdy

Redhills Miners’ Hall Durham

The Futureheads’ frontman Barry Hyde, brings his deeply personal and evocative new solo album, Miners’ Ballads, to life in a special live performance. The album, commissioned by Sunderland City Council and Paul Emerson, is inspired by the rich coal mining heritage of the North East, with a particular focus on Sunderland and Washington.

At the heart of the album is The Miner’s Life, a stirring lead single that Hyde describes as “a traditional collier’s song about the dangers, hardships, and bravery of those who worked underground.” Drawing inspiration from JS Bach’s Cello Suite in G, Hyde weaves classical influences into the raw, storytelling tradition of folk music.

This project took on even greater significance when Hyde uncovered a personal connection to its themes. While researching his family history, historian and musician Keith Gregson revealed that Hyde’s own ancestors – Thomas (13) and Joseph (14) – tragically lost their lives in the Trimdon Grange mining disaster of 1882. The album’s final track, Trimdon Grange 1882, pays tribute to them, inspired by The Trimdon Grange Explosion, a poem by the renowned Pitman’s Poet, Tommy Armstrong.

Rooted in history yet deeply personal, Miners’ Ballads is an unforgettable musical journey through the stories, struggles, and resilience of the North East’s mining communities. The performance itself takes on an even deeper connection being performed together with the Durham Miners Association Brass Band and taking place in the incredible setting of Redhills Miners’ Hall – also known as The Pitmen’s Parliament.

The Gala Durham

Bill Ryder-Jones first rose to prominence as a founding member of The Coral, achieving number-one albums and earning a Mercury Prize nomination. Since then, he has carved out a remarkable solo career, releasing five critically acclaimed LPs, from his debut – an orchestral score inspired by Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller – to 2024’s stunning chamber-pop masterpiece, Iechyd Da.

Following Bill’s recent collaborations with the BBC Concert Orchestra, this show will bring a bold new reimagining of Iechyd Da to this year’s Durham Brass Festival. Adding to the magic in this exclusive festival commission we are delighted that JF Abraham of Public Service Broadcasting will arrange the brass for this special one-off performance.

Performing alongside Durham’s own NASUWT Riverside Brass Band, this will bring new sound and intensity to an album already hailed as his most ambitious work to date.

Don’t miss this unique performance – an unforgettable milestone in the album’s journey.

The Gala Durham

A standout highlight of the Brass Festival, celebrating the incredible versatility of brass music by re-imagining it in fresh and exciting ways.

This unique programme pairs Northeast artists with talented brass ensembles to create new music and take part in a unique and unforgettable performance.

This year’s Brassed On artists include Liz Corney, musician and singer-songwriter from the Northeast and founding member of alt-pop band The Cornshed Sisters, Faithful Johannes & Neocia who write and perform rap music, live in Durham City and have released three albums, a string of EPs and singles and received multiple radio plays on BBC 6Music, and Amateur Ornithologist whose neurodivergent members have found a home for their musical expressions; fusing pop, orchestral, jazz and rock influences to create a grand melodic sound.

In partnership with BBC Music Introducing and NARC Magazine.