Posts Tagged ‘artists’
NORWICH ARTS CENTRE WINS NME BEST SMALL VENUE IN EAST ANGLIA FOR SECOND YEAR RUNNING
Wild Beasts performing at Norwich Arts Centre.
Thousands of people voted via NME.COM to choose their favourite small venue (under 500 capacity) in the UK, and based on these votes a list of the most beloved venues in each region was announced today.
In the Eastern region, Norwich Arts Centre has received the most votes and gone forward to the final national round.
Marketing Manager Jenny Allison explains “We are really proud and honored to be included in the final shortlist for the NME poll. Once again there are some great venues listed and it will be a tough decision for the judges. Norwich has a really vibrant music scene and hopefully our inclusion for the second time will continue to inspire young musicians in the area to take to the stage and will attract more bands to play in our fine City”.
Stuart Hobday, Director of NAC feels “It’s a real boost for everyone at the venue and it’s support of new music. It’s great to receive this national recognition for the second year running and we have our fingers crossed for the final result”.
The regional winners are:
South East: Tunbridge Wells Forum
South West: Bristol Thekla
Wales: Bridgend Hobos
Midlands: Stoke Sugarmill
London: 100 Club
East Anglia: Norwich Arts Centre
North East: Leeds Brudenell Social Club
North West: Hebden Bridge Trades Club
Scotland: Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh
Northern Ireland: Belfast Limelight
The shortlist will now be put to a panel of judges, with the winner revealed a week today (May 8).
The judges for this year’s search to find Britain’s Best Small Venue are Frank Turner, T In The Park and Glasgow King Tuts Wah Wah Hut promoter Geoff Ellis, Reading And Leeds Festivals main man Melvin Benn, head of UK Music Jo Dipple, Radio 1′s Huw Stephens and NME’s own Krissi Murison, Mike Williams and Luke Lewis.
As part of our campaign to find Britain’s Best Small Venue, NME has partnered with JD Roots to support local music.
J.D. Roots will stage a series of three shows across the UK that takes alternative music acts back to their hometowns for one-off gigs during May. The Cribs, The Horrors and Twin Atlantic will all be performing in intimate settings in their respective hometowns.
Marina & The Diamonds at Norwich Arts Centre.
Norwich Arts Centre.
St. Benedict’s Street, Norwich, NR2 4PG.
Tel: 01603 660352 (Box Office).
Speed Up! is a new programme for 2012 of exciting international bands. With Norwich Arts Centre as the hub venue and events popping up elsewhere plus an installation in Fusion at the Forum, Speed Up! will be fast, loud, energetic and fun – a great addition to this year’s Norfolk & Norwich Festival.
Stuart Hobday, Director of Norwich Arts Centre says:
“We’re really excited to be bringing this new programme to Norwich as part of the Festival in May. These events will be experiences not forgotten by those attending, they promise to be immersive visually and sonically. It’s been great working with the Festival to develop this new initiative and we really think it will bring an extra dimension to the festivities in May. Whilst aimed at a younger audience i’d urge everyone to come along to at least one of these events and sample the energy and excitement of new music that is out there.”
The Fusion Gallery in the Forum will feature a specially made Speed Up! installation showcasing the brilliant DIY videos and visuals created by the bands appearing in the Speed Up! programme. The installation will include band members describing the creative process for their films and videos.
The programme kicks off with I.R.O.K on Friday 11 May at Norwich Arts Centre. I.R.O.K (the Intergalactic Republic Of Kongo) create psychotropic afro-punk. Contagious and violent, this is the sound of chaos, of ecstasy, of joy and of panic.
Mantra-happy Portland dance duo YACHT (Sunday 13 May at Norwich Arts Centre) will be flaunting their irresistible grooves, beguiling beats, sparkling synths and hooks so sharp they will pierce even the hardest of hearts.
Contemporary music group ESMERINE will be live on Monday 14 May at Norwich Arts Centre supported by Eric Chenaux. Co-founded ten years ago by percussionist Bruce Cawdron (Godpseed You! Black Emperor) and cellist Rebecca Foon (Thee Silver Mt. Zion, Mile-End Ladies’ String Auxiliary), they have one foot in the new music/experimental terrain and the other in the more visceral and lyrical landscape populated by the likes of Dirty Three (and GY!BE themselves).
Ready to unleash their debut album, HOLY STATE (presented by Norwich Sound & Vision on Friday 18 May at Norwich Arts Centre) have created a sonically inspired vision, an example of their passion to create honest, driving songs.
Both hailing from Norfolk, NATHAN FAKE & LUKE ABBOTT have been making significant waves in the electronica world via the Border Community Label. Nathan’s latest works have evolved into a much harder take on the electronica brief with a shift away from straight techno towards a more melodic sound. Luke’s live show is an eminently danceable creature. His hypnotic entrancements connect with something deeper seated within, and have already been rolled out to universal effect across Europe and the Far East. This joint headline show takes place on Saturday 19 May at Norwich Arts Centre.
DEATH GRIPS (live on Tuesday 22 May at Norwich Arts Centre) aggressive, dark, experimental hip-hop has been garnering much praise for it’s raw power and punk attitude. Expect their debut album to redefine hip-hop in 2012.
BALACLAVA KID & DAD will debut a brand new show for NNF12 at St Lawrence Church on Thursday 24 May supported by Transept. The two-piece, consisting of baritone guitar, drums, various live looping and bass effects, have been working on a new show to create an offbeat thunderous live experience within the intimate site of a disused church in the centre of Norwich. Inspired by feelings of nostalgia for their Welsh roots, the show seeks to explore the contrasts between beauty and bleakness, industry and dereliction and will apply the use of surround sound, 3D visuals and animations to evoke a wild frontier atmosphere.
The second joint headlining show in this programme features ZUN ZUN EGUI and TV BUDDHAS on Friday 25 May at Norwich Arts Centre. Zun Zun Egui are a band with a penchant for rocking the outer reaches. Live, they tune in and then explode, taking the audience with them urging every foot to dance.
Israeli punk pop trio TV BUDDHAS bring their own blend of alienation-drenched garage-punk. Their music is reminiscent of The Wipers and Dead Moon, with a heavier, Stoner guitar sound, and minimalistic drumming played on a stripped down kit.
As a music and graphic duet, GANGPOL UND MIT work in a peculiar world of digital pop, inhabited by colourful and geometrical characters. On Saturday 26 May at Norwich Arts Centre they will be performing ‘The 1000 People Band’ show, where the cartoon characters play live. The music jumps from synth assaults, woody flute, to mondo beats and cinematic harpsichord keys.
An exciting new exhibition of immersive digital prints and glitching video work by DAN TOMBS will run alongside the programme of music from Friday 11 May to Saturday 9 June. Dan’s work explores the cracks in video technology, building-in defects and looking for ways to pry apart the technical stability of an image. He physically corrupts circuits, creates short circuits, and exploits the code of systems, with wild and unpredictable results. This FREE exhibition will be open to the public between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Saturday.
The Fusion Gallery in the Forum will feature a specially made Speed Up! installation showcasing the brilliant DIY videos and visuals created by the bands appearing in the Speed Up! programme. The installation will include band members describing the creative process for their films and videos.
For ticket prices and more information on Speed Up! or to book tickets for these events please visit www.norwichartscentre.co.uk/speedup
SPECIAL OFFER! See the Norfolk & Norwich Festival shows I.R.O.K, Zun Zun Egi and Gangpol Und Mit for just £5!
Just quote ‘ENJOY NORWICH OFFER’ when booking tickets at the NAC box office 01603 660352.
Until twelfth night (5 January 2012), Norwich city centre is home to 21, individually designed, 7.5ft high wooden Christmas trees. The Tree Art Trail will increase the level of festive fun in Norwich this year, helping children and families to explore our beautiful city throughout the Christmas period.
Families are being encouraged to follow the child-friendly trail over the festive season. Trail maps and activity sheets are available at each of the tree sites, and at the Tourist Information Centre at the Forum in Norwich, to guide visitors around the locations. At each tree site there is a stamp. Trail followers that collect ten or more stamps on their trail map can enter a prize draw to win some exciting prizes, all donated by local businesses.
Each enormous tree is decorated with eye-catching designs, based on traditional Christmas themes. Local artists have been painting, sculpting and crafting to create individual designs that range from fun and quirky to simple and striking.
Decorating the huge wooden Christmas Trees.
Stefan Gurney, Norwich City Centre Partnership Manager, said: “The event is a true example of partnership working in Norwich. The Tree Art Trail has been organized by Norwich City Centre Partnership as part of NORWICHRISTMAS. All the wooden templates for the trees have been provided by Chapelfield Shopping Centre with prisoners from Norwich prison building the wooden trees. Norwich Arts Centre have delivered the project with local artists.
“Each of the host sites have paid for their trees but Mills and Reeve, Alan Boswell Group and Howes Percival have kindly sponsored the trail. Without them and the support from Archant, Chapelfield, Norwich Arts Centre, City Centre Partnership, Norwich Theatre Royal and Norwich Prison Service, we wouldn’t have a Tree Trail” concludes Stefan.
In keeping with true Christmas spirit, money donated by each of the businesses hosting a tree will go to Norwich Open Christmas which provides lunch and entertainment for those who are homeless or on their own on Christmas Day.
DOWNLOAD the Tree Art Trail Map.
Tree decorating in progress...
- 18/05/2012 - Victorian Shell Artistry May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Shipwrecked! Back to 1897 May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - A Walk Through Time: The Victorians May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Norwich 20 Group – Looking into 20 – paintings and sculpture at The Forum May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Tony Foster Paintings/Angela Harding Prints May 18, 2012