The Brighton Festival is now underway, with a fantastic three week programme of theatre, comedy, art, dance, talks, debate, cabaret and music, music music. CMU's sister publication, ThreeWeeks, is covering it all, and you can check the coverage at http://www.threeweeks.co.uk, with music reviews here each day in the CMU Daily. Look, here's some now.
Brighton Festival Youth Choir, with Glen Capra piano
Brighton Festival Youth Choir
A highly enjoyable performance from a collection of superb singers was offered by the group of talented young people that make up the Brighton Festival Youth Choir. The witty choice of music ranged from Purcell to Sister Act, making use of some fine soloists and entertaining ideas throughout. A surprised and delighted audience chuckled with pleasure at a finger-clicking rendition of 'Lollipop', whilst the choir's take on 'Blue Moon' proved to be a fun and cleverly constructed version of the popular song. Juliette Pochin conducted with a light but expert touch and the choir shone under her guidance, spanning the genres of folk, jazz and classical over several centuries. The vocals were impressive and the piano accompaniment added warmth and character. Mixing the traditional and the modern, this was up to date and youthful fun for all tastes and ages.
Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 7 May, 1:00pm, £7.50, festival pp14.
tw rating 4/5
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Saidi Kanda - Percussion Sounds of Africa
Brighton Festival (Company)
Saidi Kanda brought the exotic sounds of Tanzania to Brighton in this thoroughly entertaining and likeable show. Ensuring that the audience received the full Tanzanian experience, Kanda strolled on to the stage accompanied by two other band members, all dressed in eye catching African clothes and amulets before launching into a rhythmic tune with traditional instruments. Switching from conventional laid-back guitar sounds to more unusual instruments - including a nifty little device called a 'finger piano' - the band clearly enjoyed themselves, and their infectious enthusiasm rubbed off on the audience who were persuaded to join in a sing-along in stuttering African. This colourful show felt genuinely uplifting, an hour in the company of a charismatic and talented band.
Pavillion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 5 May, 1:00pm, £7.50, festival pp14.
tw rating 5/5
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ThreeWeeks in Brighton is only possible because of the kind support of Latest 7 - check it out at http://www.latest7.co.uk - plus tune into the Latest 7 radio show, every afternoon on Radio Reverb, listen online via http://www.latest7.co.uk/radio