Event type: Concert

Hejira is an outstanding 7-piece band set up to celebrate and honour the masterpiece works of Joni Mitchell, mostly from the late ‘70s. Having released the albums The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus, Joni then toured briefly with a band formed from the crème de la crème of contemporaneous musicians (Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Michael Brecker, Jaco Pastorius and Don Alias). The tour was recorded, producing the much-lauded live album, Shadows And Light; it is from this work that the band Hejira is drawing the spirit and body of its repertoire.

Comprising highly experienced, world class musicians, Hejira is fronted by the brilliant Hattie Whitehead who not only has – in her own way – assimilated the poise, power and beauty of Joni’s vocals, but also plays guitar with Joni’s stylistic mannerisms. Expect an evening of the ‘great’ songs from Mitchell’s back catalogue!

Throwing Muses return to the stage, having released their new album, Moonlight Concessions. Going back to basics, Throwing Muses bring their esoteric off-kilter best, courtesy of Kristin Hersh’s pin-sharp sketches and their suitably abrasive musical arrangements.

Moonlight Concessions is a collection of snippets from everyday life writ large – think overheard conversations, recounted happenings and telling one-liners, all sewn together to illustrate the times as they slowly mature, fully peppered with original Muses’ vim and vigour.

Jake Xerxes Fussell is a singer, guitarist, and composer based in Durham, NC. His intuitive creative process often draws from traditional music and archival field recordings – incorporating elements of songs from the past into new work. He is, according to Ann Powers of NPR, “maybe the leading interpreter of American folk music right now…” 

Fussell’s album When I’m Called was released to critical acclaim by Fat Possum Records in the summer of 2024. The album was produced by James Elkington and features Blake Mills (guitars), Ben Whiteley (bass), and Joe Westerlund (drums), along with additional vocals from Joan Shelley and Robin Holcomb.

Fussell and Elkington also wrote and recorded the music for Rebuilding, a new feature film directed by Max Walker-Silverman that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Bella Hardy, the voice of modern folk, established her reputation as a songwriter when her first original composition ‘Three Black Feathers’ earned a BBC Folk Award nomination in 2008.

Bella has since become a regular on radio and television, notably singing solo in a sold-out Albert Hall at the Proms. She’s written and recorded with everyone from Beautiful South founder David Rotheray to folk luminary Eliza Carthy, and performed with the great Mary Chapin Carpenter on her UK tours. She learnt the songs of Chinese farmers during her time as British Council Musician in Residence in Yunnan Province, spent a year in Tennessee as a ranch hand, and sat on the moors of her beloved Peak District with only her fiddle for company.

With the ability to conjure and twist stories that call straight to the heart, her themes of displacement and home, lost and found love, heartache and joy, are delivered with her unique, disarming honesty, and the acclaimed crystalline voice that won her BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Singer of the Year 2014.

The Liverpool Shanty Choir comprises a group of ship mates berthed at Liverpool John Moores University singing a cappella sea ballads and traditional work songs from the great age of sail.

With members from a variety of fields and backgrounds, they are a mixed choir specialising in songs (traditional and original) associated with the great port of Liverpool.

Shanty-singing is a communal genre, so come along prepared to sing, to blow the man down, and to mull over the question that has plagued humankind since they first went down to the sea in ships: What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

Following numerous sold-out Spinners Legends shows and the final show from Hughie Jones, ‘Son of a Spinner’ Danny Jones keeps the ball rolling when he returns to the Music Room for another unforgettable evening of music and fun inventively called In My Liverpool Home.

Danny will be joined once more by talented musicians Emma Scarr on fiddle, guitar and banjo, Paul Cook on guitar and of course local legend ‘Count’ John McCormick on double bass. There might even be a special guest.

Expect songs old and new, nautical and landlocked, local and overseas, plus all the old favourites that will have you singing in your seats and smiling all the way home.

Drawing from their mutual love of classic rock, pop, country, jazz and blues, Christine and Dave dive head long and full throttle into the songs they love. Their combined passion, talent and fun-loving personalities bring a natural warmth and great charm to their performances.

Dave Kelly is a founder member of The Blues Band and a stalwart of the British blues scene. He cut his teeth in the backing bands of Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker, and has played with Buddy Guy, Son House and Muddy Waters. The Blues Band have released about 20 albums, and Dave has 15 either solo or with his own Dave Kelly Band. Christine Collister came to prominence in the UK folk scene in the eighties, singing the title song for the BBC drama series Life & Loves Of A She Devil. She was in Richard Thompson’s touring band as vocalist and acoustic guitarist, and has released five acclaimed albums with Clive Gregson. She’s collaborated with many varied artists, and released a further 15 albums of solo and duo work.

The musical partnership between the world-renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music –and continue to thrill audiences at festivals and concert tours internationally with their virtuosic playing, a near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

A 2011 inductee into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, Fraser has a career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on movie soundtracks. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought-after cellists in traditional music today, and has performed and recorded with a who’s who of the fiddle world. Together, the duo blend a profound understanding of Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations, and, in addition to performing, they both have motivated generations of string players through their teaching at fiddle camps across the globe.

A breath of fresh air, Ellis Murphy has amassed a cult following with his timeless brand of storytelling, through his songs that are both current and fresh but also reminiscent of a time when troubadours were the voice of a generation.

Ellis has played in coffee shops, live music clubs, castles and concert halls around the UK since his debut performance in 2022, most recently undertaking a string of bi-monthly shows entitled See What I See alongside a glittering supporting cast, as well as various other appearances in between.

A live performance from Ellis Murphy is not one to miss – with cutting edge, forthright lyrics that shine a veridical light on the modern world as well as Ellis’ own life and experiences.