Bristol Workshop & Concert

There is also a concert and workshop in Bath the day before: https://tix.windbornesingers.com/events/windborne/2424468

Windborne are returning to Bristol to give a workshop and concert of songs from their American roots, songs of protest and freedom, and folk songs from other cultures collected on their travels. Windborne’s captivating show draws on the singers’ deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony, while the absolute uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old songs into the present. Known for the innovation of their arrangements, their harmonies are bold and anything but predictable.

Workshop 14.30-16.30. Concert 18.30-20.30, with interval. Tickets are available for the concert or workshop only, or for both together.
Doors open thirty minutes before the event.

We will be teaching a variety of material including Windborne's signature 4-part arrangements, with songs of social struggle, labor songs, Corsican, Occitan, Lithuanian, Basque, and more. Participants of all abilities will learn singing styles from a variety of countries and cultures as well as songs of social struggle from movements past and present. All songs will be taught by ear — no sight reading required, just enthusiasm and willingness to try new things!

Workshops are a great opportunity to connect with friends and make some new ones, learn music and improve your singing, as well as gather inspiration and energy. We will tell stories about the music and explain the characteristics and stylistic elements of the different traditions. We invite participants to learn some of Windborne's signature arrangements, improve vocal technique and health, and sing together in harmony.

Tea, coffee, and biscuits will be provided free of charge in the workshop. Refreshments will be available during the concert. The venue is fully accessible.

SLIDING SCALE

Windborne is grassroots, people-powered music! We don’t have a label or other organization backing us, and your generosity helps ensure that we can continue this work in a sustainable way.  The standard price for either the workshop or concert is £20.

However, we recognize that there are folks whose economic circumstances would prevent them from taking part if there were not a deliberate opportunity to attend at a cost reflective of their economic realities. No one turned away for lack of funds. Please pay what feels both generous and affordable to you.

If you can’t afford £20, that’s completely fine. We want the workshop to be available to everyone, you included. Choose the amount you can afford.

If you can afford more than £20, your generosity helps subsidize lower-cost tickets for other singers and helps make this a viable, accessible, and sustainable event. If you would like to pay less or more than the options listed, please contact us and we will make it happen!

If you are able to do so, and would like to make a voluntary donation when buying your ticket, this will help us to offer lower cost or complimentary places to those who need them. The suggested donation amount is £5, but you can set this figure to whatever amount you like.

About Windborne
Windborne specialize in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between dramatically different styles of traditional music. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions. Audiences and critics lavish praise upon the singers not only for their technical mastery, but for the passion, engagement, and connection with each other and the audience that imbues each performance with a rare power.

But there’s another, crucial dimension to Windborne that guides and roots their artistry. They are adherents to folk music’s longtime alliance with social activism, labour and civil rights, and other movements that champion the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised. Their songs burst with lyrics that, while penned decades or centuries ago, still ring true in modern times, and Windborne’s dynamic harmonies breathe new life into these songs.

"Spectacularly good, utterly brilliant...a hugely impressive album!"
Blues and Roots Radio
"Completely enthralled with them from the first notes...their harmonies are gorgeous..."
No Depression
"The best musical discovery of the year...Stunningly powerful vocal harmony in the tradition of the Watersons, The Voice Squad, and Coope, Boyes, and Simpson, Windborne sets a new bar for folk harmony singing today"
Brian O'Donovan, National Public Radio
"Some of the finest singers of protest and folk music that I have ever heard...One of the Best Albums of 2017!"
SingOut! Radio Magazine
"A quartet the likes of which I haven't seen since Coope, Boyes and Simpson, the Watersons, or The Voice Squad. Just absolutely phenomenal!"
BBC Traveling Folk