Photo: Press
Indie darlings Belle And Sebastian and Hacienda Classical have announced details of their support acts for their forthcoming gigs at Live At Chelsea and Kew The Music respectively.
Belle And Sebastian are set to play a massive show at London’s Royal Chelsea Hospital on June 15, and they will be supported by Sheffield indie-folk duo, Slow Club. The show kicks off the 2017 Live At Chelsea Summer Concert Series that also features two performances by Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi on June 17 and 18.
Speaking of playing the prestigious environs of the Royal Chelsea Hospital, Belle And Sebastian’s frontman Stuart Murdoch said: “Belle and Sebastian have never fought in a war, we are not pensioners (not yet!) and we’re hardly posh enough for Chelsea. Yet, for one night we will be guests of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Please consider joining us, for what should be a fragrant evening of modern rock and roll. And let’s get dressed up! Stuart x”
The gig will be another in a line of special gigs played by the band who have previously played the likes of the Hollywood Bowl. Belle And Sebastian’s ninth album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, was released in 2015.
Elsewhere, Hacienda Classical have confirmed that Manchester legends 808 State have added to their bill in the somewhat lush surroundings of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, south-west London on July 14. The gig is part of the Kew The Music programme, a week-long festival of summer picnic concerts.
Other acts scheduled to take part are Passenger w/Stu Larsen (July 11), Razorlight w/ The Bluetones and Reef (July 12), All Saints w/ Melanie C and Sophie Ellis-Bextor (July 13), James w/ The Sherlocks and Paradisia (July 15) and Mary J Blige w/ Lauren Faith (July 16).
The Hacienda Classical project – the brainchild of former Hacienda DJs Graeme Park and Mike Pickering – takes dancefloor staples from the days of the Hacienda nightclub in Manchester and turns them into classical pieces. That must’ve been one hell of a moment of advanced refreshment when that idea was hatched.
Working with a 70-piece orchestra, the AMC Choir, and guest musicians, the project 'remixes’ the likes of A Guy Called Gerald's ‘Voodoo Ray’, Inner City's ‘Good Life’, Black Box's ‘Ride On Time’, Rhythim Is Rhythim's ‘Strings Of Life’, and Candi Staton & The Source’s ‘You Got The Love’ which features new vocals from Happy Mondays backing singer Rowetta.
Tickets for Live At Chelsea are available here while tickets for Kew The Music are available here.
