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The Unthanks (23rd July) and Nadine Shah (24th July) team up with The Royal Northern Sinfonia as part of the North-East BBC Proms programme
The most exciting Proms collabs aren’t about classing up contemporary acts with orchestral zhuzh – they’re about exposing what’s already there. This year’s North East programme does exactly that, pairing Royal Northern Sinfonia with two artists whose music has always stretched beyond its supposed boundaries.
On July 23rd, The Unthanks grace the stage at Middlesbrough Town Hall with songs that carry generations inside them, where Rachel and Becky Unthanks’ close harmonies spin old stories into something startlingly present. Their partnership with the orchestra promises to amplify, not soften, that quiet intensity.
24 hours later, Nadine Shah makes her Proms debut at Glasshouse ICM, bringing emotional wallop of her songcraft into dialogue with orchestral scale. Shah has long written songs that feel cinematic without sacrificing grit, folding together politics, loss and desire into music that commands attention without demanding it.
These shows aren’t crossover events so much as revelations, showing how two singular North East artists can occupy the Proms on entirely their own terms while subtly expanding what the festival itself can be – you’d be a fool to miss either.
The Unthanks and friends with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Thursday 23 July
Nadine Shah and Royal Northern Sinfonia, Glasshouse ICM, Gateshead, Friday 24 July
