Apologies for the somehwat tabloid thread title; it's difficult to fit in enough to show what I'm talking about. This is very early notice of an event at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club. It's rather special and people might want to make a note of it. We're not taking formal bookings yet, but let me know if you'd like to go on the Interested list (valmaigoodyear [at] aol [dot] com).

STEEL SKIES with ALISTAIR ANDERSON

Saturday 19th. March & Sunday 20th. March 2011
TWO DAYS OF WORKSHOPS plus PERFORMANCE
Elephant & Castle, White Hill, Lewes, Sussex, UK BN7 2DJ
One day: £30. Two days: £50.
Steel Skies performance on Sunday March 20th: free admission with charity collection. Informal session to follow performance.
Alistair's Saturday evening performance at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club: £5 for workshop participants, £5 for non-participants.

Alistair Anderson's first major composition Steel Skies was described by the Guardian as "the finest recent original contribution to the tradition of English music". It is a suite of pieces based on traditional forms and inspired by the landscapes and townscapes of his native area of Newcastle and Northumberland. The CD has recently been re-released.

This is a very special opportunity to spend two days working on the music of Steel Skies under Alistair's direction, with a final performance early on the Sunday evening. Admission to this will be free with a charity collection. The full performance takes just under an hour, so there should be time for an informal session afterwards.

On the Saturday evening, Alistair will also be the guest performer at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club.

Alistair Anderson has been at the forefront of the performance of traditional music for over three decades. Internationally acknowledged as the leading performer on the English Concertina, he has taken the music of Northumberland to new audiences around the world, touring extensively throughout Europe and has no less than 35 tours of America to his credit. As well as championing the traditional music and musicians of the area, he has a growing reputation as a composer of new music rooted in the local traditions. He also plays the Northumbrian pipes. He founded the Newcastle University Traditional Music Degree course and remains one of the most uplifting and inspiring performers of the music.

Valmai (Lewes)