Thought I'd let you know about a great day out this Saturday:

FOLK AGAINST FASCISM: Come and support the cause.
St George's Day Celebration
Saturday 24th April 2010
The Sage Gateshead

Free afternoon programme on the Councourse
3pm Crossings - Multi ethnic band based in Newcastle blending several musical cultures in a big sound.
3.15-4.30pm - FREE RAPPER WORKSHOP by the award winning Newcastle Kingsmen
4.30- 7pm - various performances from Folk Degree students
7pm - The Young' Uns

Hall Two gig - 8pm
£10 full price £5 for students/most concessions

Hosted by Newcastle Kingsmen, possibly the current best rapper team in the world, and featuring the following incredible musicians and bands:

Three Sharp Knives (Matt Price and Stewart Hardy)
Paul Knox (Northumbrian Pipes)
Dogan Mehmet and the Deerhunters (Turkish/British fusions of folk)
The Young Uns (shanty vocal powerhouses from Hartlepool)

Tickets from our website www.thesagegateshead.org
Ticket Office phone 0191 443 4661
Or in person from The sage Gateshead Ticket office

For more information click the following links:
http://www.folkagainstfascism.com/
and
http://www.thesagegateshead.org/whats_on/event.aspx?e=&eid=634000200138722500_4&ts=634077360000000000&spid=16745&id=16746&df=634076640000000000&dt=634077503990000000&g=&p=&f=&ar=&keywords=&match=any

Apologies for any cross posting - we're trying to hit as many people as possible as its important to show the BNP they can't appropriate this type of music to promote their own ends.

It was much closer this year than it has been in previous years as Black Swan had upped their game and we had entered with an under-rehearsed dance that we didn't really know that well. Despite this, we drank a lot of beer and this enabled us to win.

I was also very pleased that Star and Shadow (based in the Central Bar, Gateshead) came 4th in the Premier, making them the highest placed women's team in the Premier class.

The thing that was odd this year (and which has indeed caused me to scribble down my thoughts) was that I don't think I enjoyed it as much as last year. This year, our skip made me No1 in the dance, making it my responsibiltiy to call the dance and keep everything in order. This was more difficult due to us doing a new(ish) dance. I think that because my concentration was on calling the dance right, I was not able to let myself go as much as I had in previous years. I wonder whether responibility saps enjoyment? - Usually, I love being No1 in a dance, but I think that when it is something as important as DERT and when it's the Kingsmen, and all of my best friends are relying on me, I think pressure (and all the stick I get from people!) caused me to close up a little socially. - Ho hum, no use worrying about it, we still won and everyone was very happy!

...Or maybe it was just 'cos last year was so good what with it being a home turf victory...

Next year we're off to Oxford where the lovely Mabel Gubbins are hosting the competition to try to make it 5 years in a row for the Kingsmen. I wonder who the skip will be then, and will I still get picked for the side? Fingers crossed.

Today I've had a brief meeting with other colleagues working on the weekend to make sure that all of the artists have dressing rooms when they need them, and also that there are enough Artist Liaison team members around to police the event. Sunday especially will be BUSY with the sold out Kathryn Tickell's Surprise Party featuring the man himself, Sting.

And then I've been confirming timings and set ups for some of the concerts such as the Fiddle Family Concerts on Sunday at 11am and 2pm in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall. This is a great concert which premiered at Fiddles on Fire in April and it shows a troubled composer writing a piece for string quartet. It was really fun to see and I hope will manage to inspire the next set of young musicians.

Still tickets left for Andy Sheppard's Five Sided Dream on Saturday night in Hall Two, this I think might well prove to be the highlight concert of the birthday weekend!

I can't wait!
Tom

Luckily, I was scheduled to be running a traditional rapper sword dance class down in the Music Education Centre and so the team was able to come into the building and watch the live performance; they were so excited!

Also yesterday, I had a trip out to the County Hall in Morpeth where I represented the Folkworks Hexham Gathering at a meeting of Northumberland Festivals. We were given a presentation on some research done at several festivals throughout the year as to what the economic impact is on local towns. The Hexham Gathering is a festival run by Folkworks and the Queens Hall Arts Centre in Hexham on the second bank holiday weekend of May. It is aimed at giving children and young people performance opportunites and a chance to meet other young musicians - a very worthwhile event!

Tomorrow I have the complicated task of collecting all of the artist riders for the 5th Birthday weekend (17th to 20th December) and putting together a shopping list to feed all artists and Technicians working that weekend - a massive task, wish me luck!

Today I've been wrestling with the logistics of putting on our Seasonal Music on the Concourse programme, 17 amateur choirs and bands over 22 days performing seasonal music to a busy Concourse before our packed out Hall One gigs in December.

Coupled with this, I'm also working on other upcoming concerts we have here at The Sage Gateshead, such as PBS6 on Saturday night and Steeleye Span on the 16th Dec. Not to mention the 5th Birthday weekend coming up on 17th-20th December where I have been tasked with the unenviable role of making sure all of the artists get fed!

Still, I love it when all the hard work pays off at the end of a good show and I'm ready to move on to the next challenge!

Tom