Music films by Alan Fentiman. I have worked with musicians, composers, orchestras, bands and singers to make films about music and the creative process.
This video captures a powerful performance of “Kiss The Bairns”, recorded live at Durham Cathedral as part of The Durham Hymns—a deeply moving musical work commemorating the centenary of the First World War.
Performed in the majestic setting of the Cathedral, the song blends original composition with historical testimony, drawing on letters and memories from the people of County Durham. “Kiss The Bairns” stands out as one of the most emotional moments in the piece, expressing the quiet heartbreak of parting and the enduring strength of love during times of conflict.
Filmed with sensitivity to both the music and the space, the video offers a glimpse into an extraordinary event that brought together composers, poets, musicians, and local communities to remember and reflect through sound.
As a filmmaker based in Newcastle, I was honoured to capture this performance and contribute to preserving such an important cultural moment in the North East’s shared history.
A filmed live performance can capture something that no rehearsal or studio version ever quite holds: the weight of presence, the energy of shared silence, the unrepeatable emotion of a specific moment in time.
Soldiers’ Hymn, part of The Durham Hymns, was one of those moments. Performed at Durham Cathedral in 2016 to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, this powerful composition was commissioned as a tribute to the people of County Durham during the First World War.
Written by BAFTA-winning composer Jessica Curry, Soldiers’ Hymn draws from letters, poems, and historical texts, many of them penned by local people during wartime. These words were curated by former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and set to music with depth, delicacy, and an emotional force that only grows when performed live. Filming this live performance meant finding a visual and sonic language that could hold that emotional space—honouring the music while never intruding on it.
Durham Cathedral is one of the most resonant and atmospheric locations I’ve ever filmed in. Its vaulted ceilings, stone pillars, and long nave create a sound environment that’s both intimate and immense. For a filmed live performance like Soldiers’ Hymn, the setting wasn’t just a backdrop—it was part of the composition. Brass echoed off ancient stone, choral voices floated upward, and the whole piece seemed to breathe with the architecture.
The Performance
As a music documentary filmmaker, I approached the project with sensitivity and restraint. The story wasn’t mine to tell—it was already being told through music, text, and performance. My role was to hold the moment, to frame it faithfully, and to bring a wider audience into that shared experience. I used multiple cameras placed discreetly throughout the cathedral, working with natural lighting wherever possible to preserve the ambient glow of the space. Long lenses captured the emotion on faces; wide static shots conveyed the grandeur and unity of the ensemble.
The Durham Hymns was commissioned by the Northern Regional Brass Band Trust and Durham County Council. It brought together musicians from around the region, creating a collective voice that paid tribute to the resilience and sacrifice of Durham’s communities during World War I. The result is music that feels both deeply rooted and spiritually expansive—haunting in the best sense of the word.
One of the things I’ve come to value most in filmed live performance is the way it invites repeat experience. While the concert in the cathedral happened once, the film allows others to connect with it years later, in different places and at different times. But that only works if the film respects the atmosphere of the original moment. In Soldiers’ Hymn, the pacing is slow, the cuts minimal, and the sound mix is carefully balanced to reflect the spatial depth and tonal layering of the cathedral acoustics.
Jessica Curry’s score builds with grace and intensity—brass and choir rising together in passages that feel both mournful and proud. The piece doesn’t sentimentalise; it remembers. Through the film, I wanted to preserve that tone: reflective, solemn, but full of human dignity. The faces of the performers, the close-ups of hands, the quiet swells of breath between notes—all of these became part of the emotional language of the film.
Looking back, Soldiers’ Hymn is one of the most moving projects I’ve worked on. It sits at the intersection of music, memory, and place—where historical research becomes performance, and performance becomes shared remembrance. It’s a testament to what filmed live performance can do: preserve not just a concert, but a communal act of honouring, feeling, and remembering together.
If you’d like to watch more of my work exploring community stories, creative resilience, and diverse subjects across arts, heritage, and the environment, you can explore all my films here: https://alanfentiman.co.uk/films-by-alan-fentiman/
Filming music performances can be a thrilling yet intricate craft, especially when it involves a piece as moving as Prelude on George Butterworth performed for The Durham Hymns. Recently, I filmed a short music video at Durham Cathedral, capturing this powerful work in one of England’s most historic and awe-inspiring locations.
It’s projects like these that fuel my passion for filming music performances and define my path as a videographer in Durham, where sound and story merge beautifully with place and history.
The Durham Hymns: Echoes of History in Song
The Durham Hymns is a remarkable choral and brass project commemorating the centenary of the Battle of the Somme and the broader human cost of the First World War. It was commissioned by the Northern Regional Brass Band Trust, in partnership with Durham County Council, and was first performed in 2016. The work weaves newly written poetry with traditional hymns and music reflecting County Durham’s wartime experience.
Its performances, often staged in Durham Cathedral, have become poignant reminders of resilience and remembrance. The cathedral’s immense arches and centuries-old stones hold the echoes of generations—and they make an unforgettable setting for filming music performances that speak to the past while moving audiences today.
A Screenshot from the performance
George Butterworth: A Composer Remembered
The music I filmed, Prelude on George Butterworth, honors one of England’s most gifted early 20th-century composers. George Butterworth (1885–1916) was a composer and folk song collector whose career was tragically cut short when he was killed during the Battle of the Somme.
His compositions, especially his settings of A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad, blend pastoral beauty with a subtle undercurrent of melancholy—a reflection of a generation lost to war. Recording a piece connected to his legacy within Durham Cathedral added layers of meaning, turning the performance into both a tribute and a living act of remembrance.
Challenges and Rewards of Filming Music Performances in Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral is one of England’s architectural gems—and one of its most acoustically complex spaces. While the sweeping Norman arches and ancient stonework provide stunning visuals for any videographer in Durham, the vast space can create challenging reverberation and diffuse sound.
For this shoot, I carefully planned camera angles to highlight both the performers and the breathtaking architectural details. Natural light streaming through the stained-glass windows cast shifting patterns across the stone, adding texture and atmosphere. Capturing clear audio required meticulous microphone placement and testing, ensuring the purity of the performance remained intact despite the cathedral’s formidable acoustics.
Filming music performances here demands both technical precision and creative sensitivity—but it’s also incredibly rewarding. The cathedral becomes an active participant in the music, contributing its own resonant “voice” to the recording.
Orchestra and choir performing in Durham Cathedral
Why Filming This Performance Matters
Creating this short film of Prelude on George Butterworth was more than documenting a performance; it was about preserving a living link between past and present. The piece connects George Butterworth’s personal story and musical legacy to the broader narrative of the First World War, while The Durham Hymns anchors it firmly in County Durham’s own experience of loss and resilience.
As a videographer in Durham, I find these projects deeply fulfilling. They remind me that filming music performances can be a way of honoring history, celebrating artistry, and allowing audiences to feel profoundly connected to place and memory.
Durham Cathedral provided not just a location but an emotional resonance that elevated the entire project, turning it into something truly special.
To see more of my work capturing live performances and musical storytelling, explore my music performance films here: My Music Films
Over the past few months, I’ve been focused on filming composers at work, and one of the most fascinating projects has been my short interview with composer John Kefala-Kerr in his studio.
John is currently deep into composing music for his upcoming opera, Steamsong. As someone who loves filming composers and documenting creative processes, it was inspiring to witness his unique approach as he transforms the evocative sounds of steam locomotives into a modern operatic score.
Steamsong is scheduled to premiere at the Gala Theatre in Durham as part of the Brass Festival. At the time of our filming, the opera was still very much a work in progress, with John developing the score and refining sonic ideas drawn from field recordings. The performance is set for July 17, 2015. As John explained during our conversation, the piece combines recorded steam sounds, live choir, brass ensemble, and soloists to tell a story that bridges industrial heritage and contemporary musical expression—a perfect subject for anyone interested in filming composers exploring new creative territory.
John Kefala-Kerr talks about his creative process
One of the most compelling moments of our interview came when John described how a trip to York’s National Railway Museum sparked a crucial musical element for Steamsong. Standing about ten feet from a steam locomotive, he recorded the whistle as it gradually built pressure. Initially, the sound was weak, with “a kind of hiss” and buffeting wind noise captured in the microphone. As the locomotive reached full pressure, the whistle finally produced its powerful, haunting tone.
“So there’s quite a lot of wind noise in that. So you get the, you know, all that kind of buffeting sound. That was a windy day. And so the, the job really was to try and clean that up,” John shared. “The thing I was aiming for really was a kind of a serial sound. There’s a lot of hiss in it as well, which is the sort of propulsion of steam through the whistle itself.”
John detailed how he used software tools on his laptop to clean up the audio, reduce hiss, and transform the whistle’s pitch. From this raw steam sound, he extracted harmonies that became the building blocks for sections of the opera’s choral writing—a fascinating example of the hidden detail captured whenfilming composers in their workspace.
“The idea here is to try to make the whistle evoke something more than the train, something that sounds a bit like a voice, like a distant voice, something that comes out of the ether, almost.”
In the film, John demonstrates the translation of these industrial sounds into musical language. On the piano, he played a chord derived directly from the steam whistle’s harmonic content, explaining that the choir’s opening lines in Steamsong are built entirely from this motif.
“The whole passage of music for the choir is constructed out of that idea, just using the train whistle. The train whistle harmony and translating it into human voice.”
Composer John Kefala-Kerr manipulates sounds
This creative process reflects John’s signature style—something that makes filming composers like him so compelling. He seamlessly weaves environmental sounds, technology, and traditional instruments into experimental yet emotionally resonant music. In Steamsong, the train whistle is not merely a mechanical artifact but becomes a kind of ethereal, human-like voice, bridging past and present.
While filming composers like John, I’m constantly struck by the meticulous attention to sonic detail and the deep commitment to evoking place and history. The Steamsong opera seems poised to be a striking and immersive piece, fitting perfectly within the Brass Festival, which has long celebrated innovative collaborations between contemporary composers and brass musicians.
I’m looking forward to filming the live performance at the Gala Theatre and capturing how these studio experiments come alive on stage. For anyone interested in filming composers, new music, industrial history, or the creative processes behind large-scale musical works, Steamsong promises to be an unforgettable experience.
You can explore more of my films about artists and creative processes here: Artist Films
Filming live music often leads me into unique and unexpected spaces, and my recent project aboard ~Flow on the Newcastle Quayside was one of those special experiences.
As someone dedicated to filming live music and filming artists in Newcastle, I’m always searching for collaborations where music and place intertwine beautifully. This time, I had the privilege of capturing a powerful session featuring Lulu James and The Lake Poets performing a soulful cover of Spooky.
Spooky has a fascinating journey through music history. The track started life as an instrumental composed by Mike Shapiro and Harry Middlebrooks Jr. in 1967 under the name Mike Sharpe. It became a hit the following year when lyrics were added, and Classics IV took it to No. 3 on the US charts. Many listeners, though, know Spooky best through Dusty Springfield’s iconic 1970 version. Dusty infused the song with a distinctly British pop-soul feel, adding her smoky vocals to create a rendition that remains hauntingly timeless.
Lulu James & Lake Poets perform Spooky onboard ~Flow
It’s precisely this enduring allure that makes Spooky a perfect choice for reinterpretation. In this ~Flow session, Lulu James—renowned for her electrifying and soulful voice—and Martin Longstaff of The Lake Poets—celebrated for his poetic, folk-tinged songwriting—came together to deliver a fresh take on the classic. Filming live music in Newcastle has allowed me to witness many great performances, but this collaboration was particularly thrilling. Lulu’s commanding presence blended seamlessly with Martin’s intimate storytelling, creating a version of Spooky both powerful and tender.
The session unfolded aboard ~Flow, an extraordinary floating artwork anchored on the River Tyne. Part musical instrument and part art installation, ~Flow is powered by the river’s tidal currents. These currents drive mechanical systems on board, generating acoustic sounds and rhythms that weave themselves into the music. It’s a living, evolving piece of engineering and creativity, offering visitors the chance to explore sound and water as one interconnected experience. You can visit ~Flow for free on the Newcastle Quayside until September—a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in art powered by the river itself.
Both Lulu James and The Lake Poets are part of the 2012 Evolution Festival, one of the North East’s biggest music events, held across the Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides. Evolution is renowned for its eclectic mix of global stars and rising local talent. The 2012 line-up featured artists like Dizzee Rascal, Deadmau5, and Noah and the Whale, alongside North East talents such as Lulu James and The Lake Poets. The festival is a vibrant moment for Newcastle’s music scene, showcasing the city’s creative spirit and giving local artists the chance to shine on a big stage.
Lulu James
Filming live music in Newcastle continues to remind me how deeply music is woven into the city’s identity. From the buzzing crowds of Evolution Festival to the intimate ripples of sound aboard ~Flow, the Tyne is a stage where history, art, and music converge. These moments fuel my passion for capturing live performances that feel both immediate and timeless.
If you’re in Newcastle, don’t miss your chance to visit ~Flow before it leaves in September. And whenever you can, catch Lulu James and The Lake Poets live—they’re artists who bring remarkable soul and storytelling to every performance, whether in front of thousands or floating gently on the Tyne.
If you’d like to watch more of my work exploring community stories, creative resilience, and diverse subjects across arts, heritage, and the environment, you can explore all my films here: https://alanfentiman.co.uk/films-by-alan-fentiman/
This past month has been one of the most inspiring moments in my work as a music videographer in Newcastle.
I’ve just finished filming a live session with The Lake Poets onboard ~Flow—a floating tidal mill that’s become one of the most fascinating new spaces on the Newcastle Quayside. The video features the band performing their song “Friends,” and it’s part of a collaboration between Evolution Festival and ~Flow.
Being able to film music on ~Flow has been a unique experience. The mill itself is a piece of art and engineering, gently floating on the tide, creaking softly as the river moves beneath it. The Lake Poets’ acoustic performance felt perfectly at home in this environment. There’s something about the combination of music, water, and the wooden interior of the mill that makes the whole performance feel incredibly intimate and honest.
Filming The Lake Poets onboard ~Flow
As a music videographer in Newcastle, I’m always searching for places that bring a story or atmosphere to a performance. On ~Flow, the natural light pouring in through windows created beautiful highlights and shadows across the performers. The gentle rocking of the mill added a subtle, organic movement to the footage. Rather than trying to eliminate that motion, I embraced it—it felt like part of the performance, part of the river.
I filmed, produced, and edited the video myself, with additional camera work from Oliver Smith and sound captured by Rich Bate. It was a pleasure working with both of them, sharing ideas and figuring out how best to capture the space and the music. Projects like this remind me why I love working as a music videographer—it’s not just about filming songs, but about creating films that capture a feeling, a place, and a moment in time.
The ~Flow mill is open to the public on the Quayside until September, and it’s well worth a visit. It’s part boat, part sculpture, and entirely an experience. I can’t think of a better setting to highlight Newcastle’s creative energy, especially during Evolution Festival.
Evolution Festival has always been a highlight for the North East, bringing incredible artists and huge crowds to the Quayside. This year feels extra special with projects like these happening alongside the main festival stages. The Lake Poets are also set to perform at the festival, and if this session is anything to go by, they’re definitely worth catching live.
I’m excited to share this video with everyone and to keep exploring the creative possibilities around music and film in the North East. For me, being a music videographer in Newcastle means constantly discovering new ways to combine music, place, and story—and this shoot on ~Flow has been one of the most rewarding examples yet.
If you’d like to see the video or check out more of my music films, you can visit my music films collection. What made this particular shoot even more memorable was that Lulu James was also onboard ~Flow that same day. Her incredible voice and magnetic stage presence brought a completely different energy to the space. Filming both The Lake Poets and Lulu James back-to-back was a brilliant reminder of how diverse and vibrant the North East music scene is, and how a single location can transform to suit such different artists.
Capturing those performances in such a unique setting is exactly why I love being a music videographer in Newcastle. Each shoot brings new challenges and creative rewards, blending music, place, and atmosphere into something truly special.
Evolution Festival 2012
And if you’re at Evolution Festival this year, come and experience ~Flow for yourself—it’s open to the public and full of surprises. It’s the perfect chance to see how music and art can come together on the Quayside.
As a music videographer in Newcastle, I’m always searching for moments where music and place come together to create something unforgettable.
One such moment arrived recently when I recorded an intimate live performance by North East singer Lulu James onboard ~Flow—the unique floating tidal artwork on the River Tyne. This particular video captures her acoustic rendition of “Carry On John,” recorded as an outtake during her session performing Be Safe onboard the same vessel. It’s moments like these that truly inspire my work as a music videographer in Newcastle.
A Unique Floating Venue: ~Flow
~Flow isn’t your typical venue. Created as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad and moored on the Tyne, it’s a floating tidal mill transformed into a public artwork and performance space. Powered by the river’s tidal currents, it blends art, sustainability, and engineering into a space that feels alive.
Recording video onboard ~Flow is one of the highlights of working as a music videographer in Newcastle. The shifting light, the gentle rocking of the boat, and the striking industrial skyline of Newcastle and Gateshead create a cinematic backdrop perfect for live music video production in Newcastle. There’s something about being surrounded by water that draws authentic performances from musicians and offers visuals you simply can’t replicate in a traditional studio.
An Outtake That Became Its Own Video
Originally, I was filming Lulu performing Be Safe onboard ~Flow. Between takes, she began playing an acoustic version of “Carry On John.” Though this wasn’t part of the planned shoot, her performance was too powerful not to capture. It became a beautiful outtake—a spontaneous moment deserving its own video.
This acoustic rendition of “Carry On John” strips away studio production, revealing another side of Lulu’s artistry. Her soulful voice, paired with minimal guitar, fills the intimate space. The quiet rhythm of the river and the subtle sounds of the boat became an organic part of the performance, enhancing its raw, emotional feel. As a music videographer in Newcastle, moments like these remind me why live music video production in Newcastle can be so rewarding—the unexpected often becomes the highlight.
A Screenshot of Lulu James performing onboard ~Flow
Capturing Live Music Video Production in Newcastle
Recording live music in an unconventional space like ~Flow presents both challenges and joys for any music videographer in Newcastle. The acoustics can be unpredictable but, when captured right, deliver a truly authentic soundscape. For this video, I aimed to maintain an intimate visual style, letting the camera move gently with the boat’s natural sway, keeping the viewer close to Lulu’s performance.
Natural light played a crucial role. The ever-changing skies over the Tyne offered a soft, shifting palette that brought an ethereal quality to the footage. As a music videographer in Newcastle, I know how important it is to use these small atmospheric details to elevate live music video production in Newcastle from simple documentation into something deeply engaging and emotionally resonant.
Why These Moments Matter
As a videographer specializing in live music video production in Newcastle, I’m passionate about capturing artists in environments that add depth and meaning to their music. Recording Lulu James performing “Carry On John” onboard ~Flow wasn’t just about documenting a song—it was about preserving a fleeting, unplanned moment where music, place, and emotion intertwined.
These spontaneous performances often become the most compelling parts of my work as a music videographer in Newcastle—the unscripted moments where true artistry and authenticity shine. The quiet intimacy, combined with the river and cityscape, shows how live music video production in Newcastle can blend storytelling with visual beauty.
You can watch the video and experience how ~Flow’s gentle movement and Lulu’s soulful vocals merge into a performance that’s both intimate and cinematic—a unique slice of magic floating on the Tyne.
On Sunday 25th March 2012, the River Tyne hosted the striking public launch of ~Flow, a floating tidal-powered artwork created by Owl Project and Ed Carter.
As part of Artists Taking the Lead—a major initiative from the UK Arts Councils for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad—this ambitious structure brought together art, engineering, music, and sustainability. This video montage represents a distinctive example of artist video production, designed to document and reflect the creative pulse of large-scale public art in action.
Positioned just upriver from the Tyne Bridge, ~Flow was both a functioning vessel and a responsive musical instrument. Powered by the tidal energy of the River Tyne, it converted real-time environmental data—like flow speed and salinity—into sound through bespoke wooden machines created by Owl Project. These handmade devices translated river conditions into constantly shifting musical compositions, giving visitors a unique experience of nature interpreted through art and sound.
The launch event offered a full day of public engagement and hands-on participation. Hundreds of visitors explored the floating structure via guided tours, took part in interactive workshops, and met the artists and engineers behind the project. The atmosphere along the Newcastle Quayside was energetic and open, a joyful blend of science fair, performance, and festival.
Documenting Public Art in Action
As a filmmaker, I specialise in artist video production that captures these kinds of shared cultural moments. For me, this wasn’t just about recording an event—it was about sensing its rhythm, observing its details, and preserving its atmosphere. My approach focused on keeping the camera unobtrusive while highlighting the interaction between people, environment, and sound.
This approach is especially important when documenting public art, where the setting, audience engagement, and atmosphere are integral to the artwork’s success. ~Flow wasn’t designed to exist in isolation—it needed people to step aboard, listen, explore, and play. Capturing those real-time responses gives the artwork a second life, enabling it to reach audiences far beyond the banks of the Tyne.
But the most memorable moment of the day came in the evening, with a live, improvised performance by world-renowned saxophonist Andy Sheppard and Mercury Prize-nominated drummer Seb Rochford. Performing from the deck of ~Flow itself, they responded in real time to the evolving sounds generated by the river-powered instruments. The result was an extraordinary, one-off collaboration where human improvisation met environmental feedback.
A screengrab from the video showing one of the handmade speakers onboard ~Flow
Witness the Performances
You can experience that live performance in the video above. The interplay between Sheppard’s soulful saxophone and Rochford’s inventive percussion was rich, exploratory, and beautifully restrained—both artists responding not just to each other, but to the ambient tones generated by the river’s flow. Their set made ~Flow come alive as a collaborative instrument, fusing technology, nature, and improvisation into a single, compelling experience.
Capturing this performance on film required responsiveness and restraint. I wanted to convey the emotional subtlety of the music while keeping the focus on the artists’ dialogue with the vessel. This is the core of artist video production: to witness creative process in real time and reflect it faithfully for others.
The ~Flow project was curated and produced by Beth Bate and Tom Higham, who brought together artists, musicians, and communities to develop a bold, interdisciplinary programme. Their vision ensured that ~Flow was not just a static sculpture, but a hub for creative experimentation, dialogue, and exchange.
Why Projects Like This Matter
For me as a documentary filmmaker, ~Flow exemplifies why I do what I do. It’s a perfect blend of art, environment, music, and community—all areas I’m passionate about. Working on projects like this reminds me that filmmaking isn’t just about cameras and edits—it’s about bearing witness to creative encounters and giving them space to resonate long after the moment has passed.
Whether I’m working on research collaborations, artist commissions, or environmental installations, I approach each project with the same mindset: to elevate the voices and experiences that might otherwise be missed. ~Flow is a lasting reminder of how public art can connect people, place, and purpose—and how video can help carry those connections into the future.
Filming live performance at festivals often reveals magical, unexpected moments—and this unreleased gem from BRASS 2011 is one of my favourites.
It features a wonderfully cheeky slow-motion routine by Spain’s Always Drinking Marching Band, filmed during one of their unforgettable sets in Durham.
This clip didn’t make the official highlights reel or the BRASS Festival YouTube Channel—but that’s exactly why I’ve chosen to share it here, as a kind of unofficial ‘outtake.’
What I love about this moment—beyond the brilliant costuming and slow-motion choreography—is how it captures the joy and mischief which ran through so much of the the BRASS Festival programming in 2011.
It’s not just about music. It’s about atmosphere, experimentation, and letting loose in the streets of Durham.
I’m sharing this now in celebration of the announcement of BRASS Festival 2012, which will once again bring international brass acts to Durham this July. Keep an eye on brassfestival.co.uk for full programme details as they’re released.
🎬 Watch the clip above to experience what didn’t make the official edit—but remains unforgettable.
The Always Drinking Marching Band performing outside Durham Gala Theatre at the Brass Festival
Filmmaking Note:
As a filmmaker, it’s moments like these—unpolished, spontaneous, unrepeatable—that remind me why I love documenting live performance. This clip was shot handheld, in the thick of the crowd, with no second takes. The energy and reaction are real.
Durham BRASS Festival 2011 and Its Legacy
BRASS 2011 was a standout year for Durham’s now-iconic music festival, which blends traditional brass band heritage with wild experimentation, street theatre, and international flair. Alongside Always Drinking Marching Band, audiences in 2011 were treated to appearances by eclectic acts including Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, and Mardi Gras-style street bands that brought colour and carnival to the heart of the city.
The festival’s ability to surprise and delight has been a hallmark since its inception. In 2010, audiences may remember the unforgettable appearance by the legendary Youngblood Brass Band, whose energetic fusion of hip hop and New Orleans-style brass left crowds buzzing. That same year, Oompah Brass put a tongue-in-cheek spin on pop classics, and there were intimate performances by the Fairey Band and other local favourites across Durham’s smaller venues and public spaces.
Going back to 2009, BRASS was already pushing boundaries with performances by Mnozil Brass, the Austrian group known for their virtuosic playing and deadpan theatricality, and Red Hot Chilli Pipers, who turned traditional pipe band music into a rock-infused spectacle. There were also family-friendly parades, music education workshops, and surprise pop-ups that transformed Durham’s squares, parks, and cobbled streets into musical playgrounds.
The BRASS Festival isn’t just about showcasing talent—it’s about how that talent transforms place. Each year, the sound of brass redefines Durham’s public spaces, turning stairways into stages and marketplaces into dancefloors. The spontaneity, humour, and cultural fusion are part of what makes the event unforgettable. Whether you’re seeing a world-class band or stumbling across a pop-up street performance, BRASS delivers musical moments that feel deeply rooted in community and surprise.
The festival has grown each year not just in scale, but in ambition—welcoming acts from across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, while supporting new commissions and local talent. It has built a community as much as a programme, bringing residents and visitors together to experience brass music as something vibrant, accessible, and alive.
For those who’ve never attended, BRASS is much more than a music festival—it’s an immersive, city-wide celebration of sound and spirit. And for those of us lucky enough to film it, every year offers moments that are joyous, spontaneous, and worthy of the archive.
If you’d like to watch more of my work exploring community stories, creative resilience, and diverse subjects across arts, heritage, and the environment, you can explore all my films here:
