The Candlelit Christmas Guitar Concert Tour is now two-thirds of the way through and Richard Durrant and his team are playing to big crowds and getting the Christmas magic flowing through advent. So let’s catch up with all the action…
‘The new set list for this tour is a joy with the addition of the English song The Cutty Wren, an XTC track and several other surprises. I am also playing more cello than before – which sounds great with Nick Pynn’s fiddle, dulcimer and bass pedals and Amy Kakoura’s wonderful singing’.
Tickets are now sold out for the remainder of the tour except for the Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells and the afternoon performance in Wilmington Church.
The tour began at the start of December and included a trip up to The Toll Gavel, Beverley – a regular gig for Richard where he always draws a big crowd. Richard tells us:
‘Apart from meeting so many old friends at the show, this trip also reminded me just how much I enjoy travelling with Nick, Amy and company stage manager Matt Hodgson. Matt’s a great member of the team who makes a big difference to the show with his years of experience in music and theatre, both onstage and backstage – believe it or not he even played the Milky Bar Kid (a few years back…)’.
The day after our their too short visit to Yorkshire they travelled down to Baulking in Oxfordshire. The idea was to include a Christmas gig as close as possible to the Uffington White Horse. Big thanks to George Reade and team for hosting such a brilliant event. The candles flickered and the White Horse danced on the side of the hill. This gig was filmed and the plan is to publish highlights at some point.
On Saturday the team headed back to Sussex to a gig in the historic church at East Chiltingon. The following day they played a matinee and evening concert back home in Shoreham at the Ropetackle Arts Centre. The Ropetackle gig was recorded and the track are on sale now in MP3, FLAC or ALAC formats.
This week the tour concludes with performances at Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells, Findon Valley and the tour finale on the day of the Winter Solstice at Wilmington Church (close to another notable, English hill carving).
Look out for Richard’s 12 Days of Christmas which will soon be appearing on all Richard’s video and social media pages as well as on the successful Richard Durrant Academy…
