Down for the Count's tour to the North of England
Our All-Stars band is back on the road, and earlier this month we ventured up to the North of England to continue our A Century of Swing tour.
We had an absolutely wonderful time performing for everyone who came to see us, and it made us even more excited to come back this Christmas with our Orchestra. Keep reading to hear all about our week up north!
Our tour started in Manchester at one of our favourite venues - The Stoller Hall. Whilst we often perform here with our Orchestra, we have never put on a show here with our 10-piece All-Stars band. It’s actually the first time we’ve performed with the All-Stars in a “concert hall” rather than a jazz club or a theatre, and it was a lovely experience - the acoustics are completely different in a concert hall and it’s also a lovely treat for Mike to play on a beautiful Steinway Model D concert grand piano!
We love coming to Stoller Hall, and are thrilled to be returning this December with our Orchestra - for our third show of the year at this venue. Tickets for this show are nearly sold-out, so grab them whilst you still can!
Following our fantastic show in Manchester, we retired to a charming Airbnb just outside of the city centre, which was to be our base for the week.
The following morning ushered in a series of ‘firsts’ for the band, as the remainder of the tour consisted of venues or places that we had never visited before. Our next stop was Lancaster, where we had the privilege of performing at the venerable Grand Theatre, the third oldest working theatre in England!
The audience's warmth and appreciation made for a night to remember and we’re already working on plans to return to Lancaster in 2024 - watch this space for more information!
The next day we headed to York - a city we’ve wanted to visit for years. We arrived early for a spot of pub lunch and then we spent the day sightseeing and taking in the city's beautiful historic sights and scenery with walks on the city walls and photos of York Minster cathedral.
Our performance that night was at the lovely Joseph Rowntree Theatre - a beautiful and almost entirely volunteer-run theatre just outside of the city centre. We had a lovely warm welcome from all of the staff and we can’t wait to return, either in 2024 or 2025.
Relaxing in the sunshine in York!
Backstage at Joseph Rowntree Theatre in York
Our final night of the tour was in Liverpool at The Tung Auditorium, which is a fantastic new facility on the University of Liverpool campus. It was a different experience for us from usual in Liverpool - all of our previous shows in this city have been in the Concert Room at St. George’s Hall, and it was lovely to be in a purpose-built concert hall this time round.
Before the show some of us opted for a lovely visit to Formby Beach, accompanied by delicious ice creams!
Ice creams on (well, close to) the beach
We always have a great time in Liverpool, and our night at The Tung Auditorium was no exception! Thank you to everyone who joined us - we can’t wait to return to Liverpool for two shows on our Christmas tour.
After our show in Liverpool, it was time to embark on the long journey back down south. We had a wonderful time on this small tour of the north of England, and it was great to bring A Century of Swing to some new venues, as well as visit one of our old favourite venues.
We loved speaking to loads of you at the concerts, and are so grateful for your enthusiasm about our Christmas tour with the 30-piece Orchestra. In the few days after this tour, we sold literally hundreds of tickets for the northern dates on our tour - some of which are rapidly selling out!
Our northern dates include:
Sat 16 Dec ~ HARROGATE ~ Royal Hall
Sun 17 Dec ~ LIVERPOOL ~ St. George’s Hall (matinée and evening show)
Mon 18 Dec ~ HUDDERSFIELD ~ Lawrence Batley Theatre
Thu 21 Dec ~ MANCHESTER ~ The Stoller Hall
Find out more here.
About the author
Ruby is Down for the Count's marketing and communications assistant. When she is not writing Facebook posts and making Instagram reels, she is often performing in short films or physical theatre shows.
