Musician embarks on zero emissions cycling tour

British viola da gamba player Sarah Small is embarking on a UK tour with a difference: she will be cycling 2,500 across the Uk to 26 venues in tour with almost no carbon footprint. Small’s Good Again? tour aims to address the environmental impact of musicians on tour.

Small performs across the UK, from the Home Counties to the furthest reaches of Shetland, cycling (and taking ferries when necessary) between venues with her viola da gamba with her strapped to her bike for a total of 69 days of travel. Small aims to connect with audiences in their own neighbourhoods, as well as to collaborate with musicians in their own environments.

Small said: ‘My aim is to demonstrate a new and sustainable way for musicians to tour, massively reducing the environmental impact of the traditional zipping between distant cities with no thought for the environmental consequences. This works for audiences, too, as they have shorter distances to travel as I visit numerous smaller venues along the way. Unfortunately, because of things like the cost of air fares vs train fares, along with the sense of pressure to reach certain well-established places in a short space of time, flying continues to be the norm. This urgently needs to change.’

With a programme featuring music by composers including Marin Marais, Antoine Forqueray and Sainte-Colombe, the tour takes its name from Good Againe, a work by the 17th-century English viola da gamba composer Captain Tobias Hume. Small’s next stop will see her perform at Sewerby Hall in Bridlington on 16 May, before heading to Northallerton and Durham, where Small will present the world premiere of Nothing Gold Can Stay. The new commission supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation will be performed by Small with composer and alto Kim Porter and lutenist Augustin Cornwall-Irving

Good Again? is supported by grant-giving charity Continuo Foundation. Founder Tina Vadaneaux said: ‘Sarah’s efforts to bring high-quality music to local community venues fits so well with our mission to unite and empower the UK early music scene to engage with wider, more diverse audiences. By showing how individual initiatives can create big impacts, I am sure Sarah will be an inspiration to many people from all walks of life.’

Small added: ‘I'm cycling between venues to show that the journey can be as meaningful as the destination. This tour is about slowing down, reflecting, and sharing music that resonates with our shared experiences. By cycling and playing, I aim to inspire broader thinking and encourage discussion about how and why we travel and tour the way we do – and how to make it considerably more sustainable and viable.’