The Town of Culture sponsored gig is the first in a new initiative, Live at St Mary’s, that will see the historic Market Place church transformed into an atmospheric and unique live music venue.
Two current New Order members will be showcasing their latest band Sea Fever at St Mary’s Church in Stockport this Friday (26 January) as part of a new initiative that will see the place of worship host live music acts as part of Stockport’s tenure as Greater Manchester Town of Culture.
The five-piece collective will see Tom Chapman on bass, guitars, synths and programming and Phil Cunningham on guitars, joined by frontman Iwan Gronow (Haven, Johnny Marr) on vocals and guitars, alongside singer Beth Cassidy (Section 25), while powering the band’s pulsing beats is Elliot Barlow. The band will be supported by Kate Gambhir.
The Town of Culture sponsored gig (doors open 7.30pm) is the first in a new initiative, Live at St Mary’s, that will see the historic Market Place church transformed into an atmospheric and unique live music venue.
It is the latest exciting gig bought to the borough by Stockport Council’s Town Of Culture, which has sought to bring eclectic new music to Stockport in existing and new music venues. This has resulted in three sell-out gigs so far – bringing the legendary Graham Gouldman of band 10cc for an exclusive Q&A at the War Memorial Art Gallery in November 2023, an intimate gig with breakbeat trio GoGo Penguin at South City Studios last Saturday (20 January), as well as bringing Mancunian punk reggae outfit Jeremiah to Stockport’s iconic Blossoms pub on 16 March.
Councillor Frankie Singleton, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Sport at Stockport Council, said: “Stockport has such a rich musical history and it’s great that as we celebrate being Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture, as part of the ‘Sounds’ strand our activities showcase not only what we have to offer now by bringing new music to the borough and giving a platform to the next generation of Stockport stars of the future, but also the best of the past.”
Other musical activities as part of Town of Culture, saw Stockport’s Music Service host the prestigious Benedetti Foundation, a music education charity established in 2019 by violinist and dedicated advocate Nicola Benedetti CBE, in Stockport, with workshops for Stockport’s primary schools and pupils of Stockport Music Service, as well as professional development sessions for schoolteachers and training for the service’s instrumental teachers.
We’ll also shortly be announcing a series of music workshops taking place in February and March where people can learn new musical skills.
There will also be music in Stockport throughout the final weekend of our Town of Culture programme from 22-24 March.
