Major jazz tour of the North pilots new model for sustainable touring
- The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, manchester jazz festival, and Music Meeting Festival join forces to programme two sustainable tours taking place in May 2024.
- 5-piece Jazz-rock outfit Sarāb and saxophonist Daniel Erdmann will both stop off at the venues on separate tours, both funded by European Jazz Network’s Green Pilot Tour Fund.
- Tickets for The Glasshouse and Music Meeting are on sale now, and tickets for manchester jazz festival are on sale 10am Friday 16th
The Glasshouse, manchester jazz festival, and Music Meeting Festival in the Netherlands have joined forces to programme two tours which will travel between venues exclusively by train. The tour serves as a pilot for a new model for sustainable touring and to help build local relationships. Flights are one the biggest sources of carbon emissions in the music industry. By taking the train, artists can significantly reduce their impact on the planet.
Taking place in May 2024, both tours stop off at the three venues, as well as travelling to other venues and festivals in the UK and the Netherlands. These will include Leeds Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scotts, Bimhuis (Amsterdam) and De Doelen Concert Hall (Rotterdam). The tours will set a positive example and gather useful data about touring by train that can be shared with other musicians and venues.
Fusing jazz-rock and Arab traditional music, SARĀB tour across the UK and Netherlands, visiting Music Meeting Festival (19th May), manchester jazz festival (25th May) and The Glasshouse (26th May). German saxophonist Daniel Erdmann will also present Thérapie de Couple, a new German-French sextet at Music Meeting Festival (20th May), manchester jazz festival (21st May), and The Glasshouse (22nd May).
The tours are funded by European Jazz Network’s Green Pilot Tour Fund which was created to support EJN members in organising tours based on the principles of sustainability, fair remuneration, inclusion, and gender balance.
SARĀB
One of the most popular bands in the Parisian jazz scene is SARĀB, meaning ‘mirage’ in Arabic. The 5-piece outfit was born from the meeting of Franco-Syrian singer Climène Zarkan and guitarist Baptiste Ferrandis. Their sound combines elements of rock, contemporary jazz and Arab traditional music.
Daniel Erdmann – Thérapie de Couple
German saxophonist Daniel Erdmann’s project Thérapie de Couple translates to Couples Therapy in English. In this instance, that refers to the relationship between Germany and France. The ensemble unites six musicians from these countries who perform in the wide territory that lies between composition and improvisation.
The Glasshouse have also recently launched their Green Rider, which is shared with all visiting artists and outlines the ways in which the venue and artists can work together to make their visit more sustainable. The venues are also taking other measures, such as limiting single-use plastics, saving paper by using electronic tickets, offering plant-based food options, and opting for local suppliers.
Audience travel makes up a large proportion of emissions, so the venues are encouraging audiences to play their part by travelling sustainably. The Glasshouse, who aim to be Net Zero by 2030, have partnered with the local transport network to offer ticket-holders free Metro and bus travel for two hours before and after concerts.
D’Accord!
As well as programming the tours, The Glasshouse and manchester jazz festival have also come together to launch D’Accord! – the pilot of their newest French-UK collaboration. The partnership, formed between mjf and The Glasshouse, with the support of Centre National de la Musique (CNM) in Paris, has selected two alumni artists from each country –one each from Manchester and Newcastle and two from Paris – to work together on a new music collaboration.
This will offer an invaluable opportunity for emerging artists to collaborate on new music, open up their international horizons and develop partnerships with overseas artists. Devising sessions will take place at The Glasshouse and this exclusive musical partnership will be premiered at The Glasshouse on 22 May and during mjf at Band on the Wall on 23 May.
Lucy Scott, Senior Producer at The Glasshouse said:
“At The Glasshouse we’re dedicated to exploring new models for sustainable touring, and to support artists on our stages to do the same. We’re hugely grateful to European Jazz Network for the support that has been the catalyst for this new project, allowing us to join forces with other likeminded international promoters and festivals to re-imagine the future of live tours. We can’t wait to welcome these exceptional artists to the North East.”
Steve Mead, Artistic Director of manchester jazz festival said:
“I’m delighted that mjf is partnering with our valued peers on these groundbreaking initiatives. With the ongoing challenges faced by artists, venues, international working and sustainable touring, the way forward is collaboration. With such empathic partners, our shared values ensure we stay relevant to our mission to bring powerful new music to audiences.”
Martyna van Nieuwland, Artistic Director of Music Meeting said:
“We are happy to join forces over this great initiative of Europe Jazz Network. These days collaborations are everything, especially regarding environmental sustainability. Being members of EJN gives us a lot of opportunities, but also encourages us to implement better, newer solutions.”
Tickets for all performances are on sale via: The Glasshouse, manchester jazz festival, and Music Meeting Festival websites.
-ENDS-
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Please find images here.
Tour Dates
SARĀB
Tour dates:
18th May: de Doelen Concert Hall, Rotterdam, NL
19th May: Music Meeting Festival, Nijmegen, NL
25th May: mjf, Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK
26th May: The Glasshouse, Gateshead, UK (co-promoted by Jazz North East)
27th May: Ronnie Scott’s, London, UK
28th May: Howard Assembly Rooms, UK (as part of Leeds Jazz Festival)
Supported by European Jazz Network’s Green Pilot Tour Fund
Daniel Erdmann Therapie de Couple
Tour dates:
19th May: Bimhuis, Amsterdam, NL
20th May: Music Meeting Festival, Nijmegen, NL
21st May: mjf, The Carlton Club, Manchester, UK (co-promoted by Brume and Carlton Jazz Club)
22nd May: The Glasshouse, Gateshead, UK (co-promoted by Jazz North East)
Supported by European Jazz Network’s Green Pilot Tour Fund
D’Accord!
Tour dates:
22nd May: The Glasshouse, Gateshead, UK (co-promoted by Jazz North East)
23rd May: mjf, Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK
Supported by CNM
About The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
Thee Glasshouse International Centre for Music is a home for live music lovers.
It’s a place where you can hear rock legends or pop icons on the same night as folk trios or string quartets. Where new musicians are nurtured and showcased on the same stages as platinum-selling performers. And where youth choirs and tambourine-shaking toddlers practise in the same spaces as its acclaimed orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Because as an international centre for music they’re focused on creating and celebrating outstanding music – whether that’s unearthing or growing talent from the region or bringing the world’s best artists to their stages. And as a charity they’re focused on making sure all of that is available to anyone – no matter where you’re from, how old you are, how much money you have, or what challenges you face.
Which is why every year more than 2 million people are able to join for top-notch gigs, concerts, and classes – in their venue at Gateshead Quays, out in communities across the North East, and through livestreamed performances and digital lessons.
Whether you’re making it up or taking it in, you’ll find music lives and grows there.
More about The Glasshouse
International Centre for Music
- From global stars to artists starting out, The Glasshouse has hosted 10,022 performances, totalling 4.7m tickets. To have seen every performance would have meant seeing one show every day for 27 years.
- It’s hosted over 220,000 music lessons for North East folk. The region’s young people have learnt to play, sing or produce with us, on over 1.7m occasions.
- Royal Northern Sinfonia perform at The Glasshouse, tour the region, and have played to international audiences on four continents, with livestreams reaching people across five.
- Like stepping stones, artists like Ward Thomas have worked their way from their free stages to selling out its big hall and getting global recognition.
- The Glasshouse regularly opens its doors to a wide range of conferences and events. Since 2004, they’ve welcome over 400,000 delegates from the likes of Greggs, NHS and British Engines, and many, many more.
- The charity is one of Gateshead’s biggest employers, and so far it’s generated £500m of economic value to the region.
- The charity has been the proud guardians of The Glasshouse for almost 20 years, safeguarding it when live music was put on hold during the pandemic.
- The centre has 630 panes of glass, and stands 40m tall.
About manchester jazz festival
- manchester jazz festival is the city’s longest-running music festival and is unlike any other on the jazz festival circuit. mjf champions regional artists and celebrates musical innovation. Accessible to all, mjf features ten days of contemporary jazz from the north and across the UK, with national premieres of original work and a range of free events.
- manchester jazz festival takes place from 17 – 26 May 2024. All the latest news, tickets and booking information can be found at manchesterjazz.com
- Winner of the 2016 Europe Jazz Network Award for Adventurous Programming.
- UK’s first festival signatory to Keychange, supporting a 50/50 gender balance across our stages. Founder Member of the Black Lives in Music charter, 2020.
- Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and PRS Foundation Talent Development Partner.
About Music Meeting Festival
Music Meeting Festival cuts across styles, genres and cultures and has been offering a stage to the best artists worldwide for over 35 years: musicians who have rarely or never performed in the Netherlands before, with exciting new projects or in surprising formations. The festival will take place from 18 – 20 May 2024.