Record sales at this year’s Swaledale Festival!

Swaledale Festival organisers are delighted that this year’s ticket sales have already exceeded last year’s record number, even before the Festival opens. The Swaledale Festival starts on Saturday May 28 and is regarded as one of the best of its type in Europe. Running for two weeks in venues across Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and Wensleydale, it brings together an eclectic mix of events with world class artists, local performers and rising young professionals.

Despite the record sales, Artistic Director Malcolm Creese points out that there are still plenty of tickets available for most events, including top jazz singer Christine Tobin’s concert of cool Brazilian songs on the opening night in St. Andrew's Church, Grinton.

The talented Heath String Quartet plays in Grinton on June 3, having first appeared there back in 2008 as part of the Festival’s Young Artists Platform. Now they can be heard in top concert venues all over the world and frequently on BBC Radio 3.

Multi award-winning folk supergroup LAU is appearing on 4 June at the Festival’s largest venue, the Garden Rooms at Tennants in Leyburn.

Violin virtuoso Adam Summerhayes makes several appearances in his role as Artist in Residence for the second week of the Swaledale Festival. A highlight will undoubtedly be his Magic of Vienna concert in Grinton on 9 June, in which he leads his own small orchestra in a concert of favourite Viennese waltzes by Strauss, Lehar and Tchaikovsky.

Bridging the gap between classical and folk with a touch of history thrown in, is Irish fiddle and concertina player Niamh Ní Charra who appears in Richmond’s Influence Church on 8 June, in a delightful show called The Island Lullaby. Traditional Irish musicians appear alongside a string ensemble and archive film footage recording the evacuation of the Blasket Isles, off the coast of Co. Kerry in 1953.

For those who want to take part themselves in an event, the Festival’s Big Sing Day at Richmond School on June 4 will be led by the composer Will Todd. Everybody who enjoys singing can come along and enjoy themselves without the pressure of a performance.

Artistic Director Malcolm Creese says “This is my most ambitious programme yet for the Swaledale Festival and I am delighted that more people will enjoy it than ever before!”

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Further information

•      The Swaledale Festival has a history of over 40 years bringing music and other arts to Swaledale, Wensleydale and Arkengarthdale. The full programme of over 50 events plus a series of themed walks, is available on the Festival website: www.swalefest.org

•      Approximately 50% of Festival audiences come to the area on holiday from all over the UK and other parts of the world, in many cases especially for the Festival. The Festival therefore makes an important contribution to the economy of the area.

•      In addition to its high quality and varied programme, visitors to the Swaledale Festival consider the locations and scenery to be important to its character. Similarly its friendly and informal atmosphere is appreciated by audience and artistes alike.

Contacts:
Malcolm Creese artisticdirector@swalefest.org  mobile 07802 183590

Janet Hall publicity@swalefest.org, home phone 01325 374112, mobile 07970 955705.

Swaledale Festival, Hudson House, Reeth, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL11 6TB
Box Office: 01748 880019