One of the UK’s most popular brass bands is to play a special concert in the North East that will feature a highly respected rock band.
NASUWT Riverside Brass Band will perform at The Fire Station in Sunderland on the afternoon (3pm) of Sunday, April 21 when they will be joined by Field Music, hugely well regarded by fans and critics for their distinctive art-pop sound.
The world’s number one brass conductor, Nicholas Childs, will lead the band through a programme including brass classics and favourites.
Later, the band will be joined by their special guests, Sunderland’s own Field Music, playing music commissioned for last year’s Durham Brass Festival which resulted in the recording of a just-released album, Binding Time.
NASUWT Riverside Brass Band was formed in 1875 in the former mining village of Pelton Fell and had a purpose-built rehearsal facility built in the village in 2010.
The band was formed as Pelton Fell Methodist Brass Band, then became Pelton Fell Colliery Band, then Newcastle Brown Ale Band until 2008 when the band was sponsored by the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).
The band won the Grand Shield in 2019, appeared at the British Open Championships in 2019 and 2022, and qualified eight times in the last ten years for the finals of the National Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Respected conductor Duncan Wilson will also conduct sections of The Fire Station Spring Concert.
The band will be joined on stage by Field Music for a segment of the concert – ahead of their joint album release. Field Music’s core members Peter Brewis and David Brewis are highly regarded for their cross-genre collaborations and innovative, contemporary compositions.
Brewis said: “It feels really special that we'll get to have this mini-reunion in a venue which is very important to us and very important to Sunderland. It will actually be the first time we've met up with the band since we finished recording the album last year.”
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Andrew Dipper, of The Fire Station, said: “We’re delighted to have two such massive names in their own respective musical genres.
"The combination of pop genius and brass band brilliance will make for an eclectic and uplifting afternoon, and the unrivalled acoustics of The Fire Station means we’re a perfect venue for what will be a special afternoon.”
For more information or to book tickets, priced from £12, go to www.thefirestation.org.uk
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