WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 7 JUNE 2025
- STEVE COOKE AATA
- Jun 7
- 8 min read
previews, reviews, interviews, and recommendations with Steve Cooke
WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 07 JUNE 2025
LAND AND BRASS
Preview by Steve Cooke
Land and Brass is an exhibition and body of work commissioned by the Culture Coop working with sound artist Sophie Cooper and Milnrow brass band to combine contemporary experimental sound and composition with the local Rochdale/Pennines tradition of brass music. The project idea originated with a community steering group who suggested introducing the two local music genres together for interest of the public in an immersive installation and exhibition.
The instillation, which will be in-situ in Rochdale Exchange from 21st June 2025, was originally inspired by a trip to Rath’s Trombones in Huddersfield where Sophie Cooper was treated to a tour around the workshop of the legendary company. During that visit, Sophie spotted a trombone so broken and bashed that it looked to be almost melting over the edge of a high shelf and it made her question - in a world where overconsumption is rife and common, is there a possibility to make instruments like this have one final blast at sounding again?
Sophie aimed to reuse and breathe life into a collection of brass instruments at the end of their career by coupling them with donated and borrowed audio equipment to create a bespoke sound system. The composition sounding through the system ‘Echoes and Reclamation’ is written for a brass quintet made up of members of the Milnrow Brass Band and was composed using concepts of recycling and reuse. The piece itself uses principles from traditional brass band composition as a central point and the work evolves from there. Musical ideas are chopped and elongated, creating a kind of echoed landscape of sound. Milnrow is referenced directly in its main melody line which follows the town’s boundary shape and through the use of field recordings.
In addition to the sound sculpture, Sophie has invited artistic responses to this project from fellow members of Ebor Studio in Littleborough.
Sophie Cooper
Sophie is a sound artist based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. Sophie produces project based works that are often positioned in community situated locations. She works across composition, sound design, spatialized sound, education and performance often using literature and site-specific narratives to inspire new pieces.
@sophiecooper_music
Stephen Cranston
Stephen is a visual artist located in Littleborough; a small town nestled in the Pennine Hills of North Manchester. With a background in drawing, painting, printmaking, and music, for the last twenty years he has specialised in hand cut paper collage, combining various subjects such as chaos, magic, semiotics, and impossible geometry.
Angela Tait
Angela is a sculptor and ceramicist from the North of England. She is interested in the fundamental form of the vessel and the relationships between ceramics practice and the domestic.
She holds a PhD in contemporary ceramics practice from the University of Sunderland. Angela is a lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Salford and works out of her own studio on the edge of the Pennine hills in Lancashire.
Ellie Waters
Ellie is a documentary photographer from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Her practice is centred in storytelling for which she uses photography, audio, video, text and archival material to portray her topic. She often works on long-term projects, collaborating with community groups on themes of home, place and identity.
@_ellie_waters
Nic Chapman
Portrait artist Nic Chapman's work explores her interest in people, their common interests, individualities and the environment in which they live. Through the art of photography, she creates collections of images, using personal items and places of meaning within the work to tell a story. From groups of collectors to someone who catches her eye in the street, over the years Nic's body of work includes a cross section of society with whom she finds most interesting and beautiful.
@nic.chapman.photographs
Opening 21st June 2025, 3pm-5pm
21st June – 27th June 2025
All Welcome, free exhibition
17 Market Place, The Rochdale Exchange, Shopping Centre, Newgate, ROCHDALE OL16 1BA
Line-up announced for Comedy Festival coming to the Octagon in July 2025
Preview by Steve Cooke
Following the success of the inaugural event last year, the Octagon has announced the return of Bolton Comedy Festival for 2025, bringing some of the biggest names in comedy to Bolton this summer.
The 2025 line-up includes headline shows by Daniel Sloss, Russell Kane, Dom Joly, Jenny Ryan, Lucy Porter and Tape Face, all performing in the Octagon’s main house.
The full line-up will also include events with Phil Chapman, Ryan Cullen, Sooz Kempner, Emmanuel Sonubi, and Dan Tiernan,
The packed programme promises a great opportunity for comedy fans to get up close and personal with some of the UK’s finest comedy talent from Sunday 6 – Sunday 13 July
Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing Bolton Comedy Festival back for its second year. After such a fantastic response to last year’s festival, with brilliant comedians and amazing audiences, it’s wonderful to see the festival growing and attracting such a brilliant line-up of talent. Comedy is such a powerful way to bring people together, and we’re proud to be hosting some of the UK’s finest comedic voices right here in Bolton. We can’t wait to welcome audiences for another week of laughter the Octagon.”
The opening night headliner will be internationally acclaimed and award-winning Scottish comedian and actor, Daniel Sloss on Sunday 8 July. To date, Daniel has created 13 solo shows, was the biggest ticket selling comedian in the world for most of 2021, has performed eight New York seasons off-Broadway, appeared on U.S. TV’s ‘Conan’ ten times, broken box office records at the world’s biggest arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His two hour-long specials, for Netflix, ‘Daniel Sloss – Live Shows’ DARK and Jigsaw, were released in 2018, streaming in 190 countries and 26 languages.
Multi-award-winning comedian, presenter, actor, author and scriptwriter Russell Kane will bring a headline performance on Tuesday 8 July. Russell is a regular on Channel 4, BBC, and ITV with recent TV appearances include The Apprentice: You’re Fired, The One Show, Live at the Apollo, The Stand-Up Sketch Show, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Antiques Road Trip, Stupid Man, Smart Phone, as well as regular appearances on Steph’s Packed Lunch.
This will be followed by multi-award-winning comedian and writer Dom Joly on Wednesday 9 July. Dom’s smash hit hidden camera series Trigger Happy TV re-defined the genre and was a primetime international smash- selling to over 80 countries around the world and had a spin-off series on Comedy Central USA. He has also made World Shut Your
Mouth for BBC1 and two series of This is Dom Joly for BBC3 as well as two series of Fool Britannia– a prime-time Saturday night comedy show for ITV1. He is a regular on TV panel and game shows including Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI, Celebrity Game Night and Who Wants To be A Millionaire.
Headlining on Friday 11 July is Lucy Porter. Lucy is a huge hit with comedy audiences up and down the country as well as internationally acclaimed with her stand-up. She is a regular on the festival circuit as well as tv, radio and quiz shows. She has also appeared on IQ, two Mock the Week, Have I Got News for You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and What the Dickens? On Radio 4, she has been heard on Life – An Idiot’s Guide, Heresy, The Personality Test, The News Quiz, Dilemma and The Unbelievable Truth, and is a regular guest on BBC 6Music on The Radcliffe & Maconie Show.
On Saturday 12 July, Bolton’s own Jenny Ryan – best known as The Vixen on the hit ITV quiz The Chase – will be making an appearance alongside Lucy Porter with a live podcast recording of their popular podcast Fingers on Buzzers – perfect for any quiz show fans or pub quiz fanatics.
Closing the festival, the silent comedy sensation Tape Face (Sam Wills) also features in this year’s line-up on Sunday 20 July. Known for his unique, wordless humour, Tape Face blends physical comedy with audience interaction, creating a fun and unpredictable experience for everyone. His act has garnered international acclaim, including his memorable appearance on America's Got Talent in 2016. Audiences can expect a hilarious and truly distinctive performance.
Octagon Theatre, Howell Croft South, Bolton BL1 1SB
Email:octagonbolton.co.uk
Phone: 01204 520661
Visit: https://octagonbolton.co.uk/
Popular Local singer, Louise Taylor at TLC
Review by Dr Joe Dawson
Popular local soprano Louise Taylor has always loved music but didn't begin singing solo until the age of 24. Since then, she has performed over 30 lead roles in light opera and musicals, sung the soprano solos in various oratorio and had great fun fronting a dance band. She fitted all this in while enjoying a career in newspaper and magazine journalism, most recently as editor of Cheshire Life for 11 years until 2020, when she decided it was time for a more relaxed pace of life. She brought a range of her musical interests together in a delightful programme at St Mary in the Baum.
The opening aria, Hear ye, Israel from Mendelssohn’s Elijah is one of the great soprano numbers, requiring high notes and commanding presence; a gentler approach was appropriate for O for the Wings of a Dove and On Wings of Song by the same composer, all of which was comfortably within her grasp.
Then a trip down memory lane with operetta songs My Homeland, and You Bring Back the Past from The Land of Smiles by Franz Lehar, a role relished along with the same composer’s Vilia, from The Merry Widow.
She was partnered today by award-winning pianist Jonathan Ellis who works extensively around the NW as soloist, accompanist, repetiteur, and chamber musician. Not only did he accompany superbly but also allowed himself some nostalgia with favourite piano solos of his early days - Valse in A Flat Major, Op 69, no 1 by Chopin and The Rustle of Spring by Sinding, played with affection and panache.
The final set was devoted to songs by George Gershwin. Someone to Watch Over Me, The Man I Love and Love Walked In, were all tremendous hits for Gershwin, not forgetting Summertime from his all-black opera, Porgy and Bess, which he never heard performed because of his premature death at 38. Louise and Jonathan clearly revelled in bringing this composer’s music to the concert stage … as did the audience.
A joyful encore I could have danced all night from My Fair Lady closed a splendid spring lunchtime concert from these popular artists.
The Queen’s Award-winning Toad Lane Concerts are every Wednesday at 12.30pm at the Grade 1 listed church of St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL16 1DZ. Entrance fee is £6. Contact 01706 648872 for further information.
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Get ready to dance, sing and be captivated by the powerhouse vocals of the queens who redefine the stage and bring the spirit of the 80s roaring back to life.
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Watch the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D3BADWpySg
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Organ Concerts at Rochdale Town Hall
Organist: Gordon Stewart
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Phone: 01706 924797
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Rochdale Town Hall, The Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AZ
Wednesday 18 June 2025
Toad Lane Concerts - Rochdale's Weekly Music at Lunchtime
This week we have - Ying Cheng piano (Tunghai University Taiwan, RNCM)
The concert series has been held at St Mary’s since 2001 and was granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020.
Running every Wednesday, Music at Lunchtime is a weekly live classical music concert series that has been going since the 1960s. The sessions were initially run at the old Rochdale Art Gallery by the local authority, but since May 2001 have been run by volunteer-enthusiasts and artistic director, Dr Joe Dawson.
celebrating creative arts and artists - an oasis of positivity supporting individual and community wellbeing.
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