Noisenights… club night for classical music fans hits town

Through The Noise, a club night for classical music, has announced that its crowdfunded concert series, Noisenights, will make its first appearance in London Bridge tomorrow (October 8) at OMEARA.

Its new star-studded autumn season features Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Her Ensemble, Alexandra Whittingham, Esther Abrami, Plínio Fernandes, Roberts Balanas and Harry Baker performing in clubs and gig venues around the country.

The season opens with virtuoso violinist Roberts Balanas performing a solo set in iconic gig venue OMEARA.

Set up by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons in 2016, OMEARA has hosted the likes of The Pretenders, The Maccabees and Biffy Clyro, but Noisenights will be the first classical performance in the venue.

As part of a new movement to take classical stars out of the concert hall, Noisenights have brought performers from across the globe to grass-roots music venues.

After crowdfunding 10 shows in London over the past year, audiences around the country will now get the chance to see award-winning musicians in their local club, pub or music hall.

Inspired by London’s great underground club scene and thriving jazz venues, Noisenights offer an alternative way to experience live classical music.

They feature two ticket options: either an early-evening rush-hour set, or a late show which is followed by live jazz, funk and afrobeat acts.

The two-sitting format allows shows to be in more intimate venues than would normally be feasible with major artists.

Their platform allows the public to become ‘backers’ in return for tickets to their chosen event and priority booking for future events. Each night is confirmed when it is fully funded, ensuring that only concerts that are popular go ahead.

Through the Noise co-founder and artistic director Jack Bazalgette said: “Following a tough few years, it’s encouraging to see how excited audiences are to support live music.

“After crowdfunding 10 London Noisenights in the past year, we’re grateful to our growing base of backers for enabling us to take our model for classical shows to more local venues in London and around the country.

This is a huge step for us.”

Pictured: Roberts Balanas, one of the performers Picture: Aiga Ozo