Band on the Wall are delighted to welcome The Unthanks to work alongside 12 of the UK’s most exciting new musicians and songwriters to create a special one off concert to launch our new Wall of Sound series.
For those who do not know, The Unthanks, fronted by the the extraordinary vocals of sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, are one of the most important folk bands to have emerged from the British Isles in the last 30 years. They’ve been wowing audiences and reaping in awards ever since their astonishing releases The Bairns and Here’s The Tender Coming woke the world up to their incredible sound. Indeed, accolades so far include a Mercury Prize nomination, Mojo Folk Album Of The Year (for debut Cruel Sister), The Guardian Folk Album Of The Year (for Here’s The Tender Coming) and no less than four BBC Folk Award nominations. The NME has described the Unthank sisters’ rich and plaintive harmonies as ‘..one of the true wonders of 21st Century music‘. Steeped in the English and Irish folk traditions but adding their own mesmerising modern take, their fragile, sometimes bare, arrangements have transformed them in recent years into a major international force while losing none of their pure adherance to the rich folk tradition from which they grew.
The Unthanks present… is the culmination of their specially-commissioned Wall of Sounds Artistic Directors residency which has seen the band working with 11 Manchester musicians on completely new work over an intensive 5-day period. Expect the unexpected from a band whose recent collaborations and projects have included compositions provided by Robert Wyatt and Anthony Hegarty, works focused around Tyne ship building, and Band on the Wall’s own sold-out presentation of them at Leeds Town Hall with Brighouse Ratrick Brass Band. Advance booking strongly recommended.
Artists performing with The Unthanks are….
