The Garforth Arts Festival is an annual

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lit ...

that takes place in

Garforth Garforth () is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It sits in the Garforth and Swillington ward of Leeds City Council and the Elmet and Rothwell parliamentary constituency. As of 2011, the popula ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, England. The events take place over a two-week period in June and July, ending with a full-day ‘Playground Party’ on the final Saturday. The festival features a variety of art forms, including comedy, theatre, circus, music, literature, art and dance. Most events are commissioned educational projects involving children and professional artists.

Location

Events during the festival are held at the Garforth Academy, Garforth Working Men's Club, St Mary's Church and Garforth Miner's Welfare Hall. The ‘Playground Party’ is held in the ‘sunken’ playground outside Garforth Academy with some acts performing on Garforth Main Street.

Festivals

’05 The festival was launched in 2005 and took place over eight days. It saw collaborations between the SLP College and the Breeze International Youth Festival. The headliner was Shaun T Hunter. The festival had a musical procession from Garforth Main Street to the college, led by the Peace Artistes. The Zimbabwean dance group

Siyaya ''Siyaya'' (sometimes known as ''Siyaya Arts'') are a music, dance and theatre group from Makokoba, Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland regi ...

worked with local primary schools as part of the festival. ’06 In 2006 the festival was extended to nine days, with similar diversity throughout the festival and more acts.

Dennis Rollins Dennis Rollins, (born 1964) is an English jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co. Early life and career Dennis George Rollins was born in Birmingham, England, of Jamaican parents, and raised in Bentley, Doncaster, ...

’ Badbone & Co headlined the main event. Also appearing in the festival were: The Snake Davis Band;

Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving t ...

and

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enoug ...

. ’07 The festival grew to 11 days in 2007. Events included a master-class and a concert with innovative string quartet The Brodsky Quartet; The Sean Hargreaves Trio; the North Star Steel Pan Orchestra and poetry from broadcaster and poet Ian McMillan. The Playground Party saw performances from: Cara Robinson,

Eliza Carthy Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson. Life and ca ...

and the Ratcatchers; James Taylor Quartet;

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

and headliner

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

. ’08 Expanding again, the 2008 festival was 13 days long, and involved the opening of a 'Second Stage' for local groups such as folk group ‘Slania’ and Garforth choir ‘Blue Jeans’.There were talks by

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

and

Gervase Phinn Gervase Phinn (born 27 December 1946, Rotherham, England) is an English author and educator. After a career as a teacher he became a schools inspector and, latterly, Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Teesside. He graduated fro ...

. Also performing was Soweto Kinch, with support from the Garforth Jazz Rock Band, and the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. The Playground Party saw Leeds band Middleman; The KRM; 3 Daft Monkeys; Jazz Jamaica and Britain's Got Talent (series 2) stars Flava supporting headliner

Richard Hawley Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...

. ’09 The 2009 festival saw over 20 events held over the 13 days, more than three-quarters of which were educational projects. The event was host to 400 children who took part in an African music exchange project (with the help from Garforth Academy's Partner school: Mzuvele High School,

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa), and an Indian wedding ceremony that joined to complete that year's procession. The 2009 festival included: The Breeze international festival; Samay, Jazz trio the Fruit Tree Project, Coal Face, a theatre commission about

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

and guitarist, Jon Gomm. A highlight of the festival was

Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in '' Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in ''Cracker'' and Jim Royle in '' The Royle Family'', and playing the titular cha ...

's Laughter Show. The Playground Party saw the 'Second Stage' renamed 'The Everybody Loves Fabulous Music Stage' which hosted local bands such as, The Koodoos, A Fair Fight and headliners Myriad. The main stage saw Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain;

and the

African Children's Choir The African Children's Choir is a large choir made up of children ages 7 to 12 from several African nations. Since its inception, the choir has included children from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana. Many of th ...

support the headline act, 1970's punk band

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the indepen ...

. ’10 2010 saw 16 events take place over 13 days. The festival expanded on the African exchange project through its procession, with a song written by Mzuvele High School. The festival featured acts including: the Mighty Zulu Nation, slam poet Rommi Smith, Art Forms Music Xtra Programme, the Croshaw Family and Serious Sam Barrett, comedian John Hegley and the Alasdair Roberts Band. The Playground Party included a dance project and performance involving over 200 students working with the

Phoenix Dance Theatre Phoenix Dance Theatre is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, that has grown from small beginnings in inner-city Leeds to be one of Britain’s leading contemporary dance companies. The company tours nationally and internation ...

. The ELFM stage played host to local acts such as Maggie 8 and Gary Stewart. The main stage saw performances from Oompah Brass;

London Community Gospel Choir The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 198 ...

;

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly Sam Duckworth (born 1986) is an English musician who performs as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. He is also sometimes referred to as ''Get Cape'', ''Cape'', ''GCWCF'' and ''Slam Dunkworth'' (the latter title apparently first coined by Emmy the Great ...

and the 2010 festival headliner Seth Lakeman. ’11 The 2011 festival featured 15 events across the 13 days, including many educational projects. Highlights of the two weeks included: A 'Street Dance Spectacular', involving over 200 students; jazz vocalist Nicki Allan; Comedy Cabaret Heaven; 'Justice For All', an event working with young actors led by Red Ladder Theatre Company; 'Stories from the Street'; and blues band Mojo 57. The Playground Party hosted two educational projects including over 300 students working with Urban Strawberry Lunch and performing original compositions, and a dance project in conjunction with Phoenix Dance Theatre. The procession featured a collaborated song written by the Mzuvele High School and the Garforth Jazz Rock Band and involved over 400 children. ELFM's stage provided performances from acts such as Bramley Primary School Choir, Liz Reynolds and Tigers That Talked. The main stage saw

Salsa Celtica Salsa Celtica are a Scottish group that plays a fusion of salsa music with traditional Scottish instruments, including elements of folk and jazz. History Salsa Celtica was formed in 1995 by Scottish jazz and folk musicians. In 1997 they visit ...

and South African musician

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

support the headliner, singer songwriter

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music i ...

. ’12 The festival in 2012 featured 13 days of events, expanding in diversity through its educational projects. Highlights included: Chocolate Story; Camerata Vocal Musica Aurea; a tribute to

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

album, with Leeds musician Gary Stewart;

Hannah James and Sam Sweeney Hannah James and Sam Sweeney were an English folk duo, comprising Hannah James ( piano accordion, vocals, clogs) and Sam Sweeney (violin, viola, octave viola, English bagpipes, nyckelharpa, Hardanger fiddle). History Hannah James and Sam Sw ...

and Rock 'n' Roll band Louis Louis Louis. The festival also featured an Urban Arts Project, with children learning skills in the arts of Skateboarding and Beat boxing culminating at The Works Skatepark. The Playground Party saw the opening of an indoor arena hosting performances from children working with

and Mugenkyo

Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...

Drummers. The Playground Party also featured a performance from the Mzuvele High School Choir, travelling from

for their first performance in the UK. The main stage saw Shlomo and The Lip Factory and

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian a ...

support headliners,

The Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, " I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

. ’13 The 2013 festival featured ten events across 13 days. Highlights of the festival included: 'The Great Big Paint'; Garforth based folk band Jacobean Ruff; Hayley Gaftarnick; a tribute to

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

'' Please Please Me'' album, with Rock 'n' Roll band Hot Foot Powder;

Simon Lindley Simon Lindley (born 10 October 1948) is an English organist, choirmaster, conductor and composer. He was Leeds City Organist from 1976 to 2017 (named City Organist Emeritus in Summer 2017) and is Organist Emeritus of Leeds Minster, having been ...

and Spanish guitarist

Eduardo Niebla Eduardo Niebla is a Spanish guitarist. Besides his work with jazz and Spanish flamenco guitar, he has collaborated with trance group Juno Reactor and early in his career played in Spanish progressive rock band Atila, and the Franco-British progres ...

. The Playground Party hosted three stages including the ELFM Stage and an indoor arena, which saw performances from children working with Zulu Tradition and

. The main stage featured performances from Leeds-based bands Love Society and Hope and Social alongside

;

Lau Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...

;

Ruby Turner Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Ame ...

and 2013 headliners

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical styl ...

. ’14 The tenth Garforth Arts Festival saw nine events take place across its 13-day programme. Highlights of the fortnight included: Leeds based Jazz ensemble Dread Supreme; Kippax Brass Band; an evening celebrating the music of

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...

; folk trio

Lady Maisery Lady Maisery are an English folk vocal harmony trio composed of Hannah James (vocals, piano accordion, clogs, foot percussion), Hazel Askew (vocals, melodeon, concertina, harp, bells) and Rowan Rheingans (vocals, fiddle, banjo, bansitar). ...

; The Eva Quartet from Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares; The Stephen Frost Improv Allstars and The Bad Shepherds. The Playground Party hosted a number of educational projects featuring Rockschool UK. The second stage was hosted by Hee Haw sessions and included performances from local acts such as Maia and Hunting Bears. The main stage saw performances from Ellen and the Escapades;

Vieux Farka Touré Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré (born 1981) is a Malian singer and guitarist. He is the son of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré. Biography Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981 to Ali Farka Touré. Despite his father's discouragement and his ...

;

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

; The Wonder Stuff and headline act,

Levellers (band) The Levellers are an English folk rock band formed in Brighton, England in 1988, consisting of Mark Chadwick (guitar and vocals), Jeremy Cunningham (bass guitar), Charlie Heather (drums), Jon Sevink (violin), Simon Friend (guitar and vocals), ...

. ’15 The 2015 festival saw 12 days of events, with a strong emphasis on community projects and artists. The programme featured Garforth Brass; Micklefield Male Voice Choir, My Generation: A celebration of 50 years of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

; Manasamitra; Borealis Saxophone Quartet and Tom Gee Band. It also included an evening dedicated to Frances Bernstein's story Sing Freedom, featuring songs from Alexander L'Estrange's Zimbe!. The Playground Party hosted various educational projects including a 60 piece Samba band, body percussion workshops and pom pom bombing. The second stage was hosted by Chapel FM and featured performances from artists such as Arcarode and Samuel S. Parkes. The main stage saw performances from Garforth Jazz Rock Band and Ubunye alongside

BBC Big Band The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band, previously run under the auspices of the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC). The band broadcasts exclusively on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long ...

featuring Clare Teal; Seth Lakeman;

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's ri ...

& The Positive Force and headliners

The Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New He ...

Organisation and sponsorship

Garforth Arts Festival is promoted by the School Partnership Trust, a charitable non-profit making organisation and is curated and organised by festival director Dave Evans. Proceeds from the festival are re-invested into the community. Additional Funding comes from the School Partnership Trust,

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

, arts@leeds and Outer East Area Management Team.

References

External links

*http://www.garforthartsfestival.co.uk/ {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718042212/http://www.garforthartsfestival.co.uk/ , date=18 July 2014 Arts festivals in England Festivals in Leeds Garforth