Noisenights: The classical concert series taking place in London clubs

Through The Noise have today announced the return of their distinctive Noisenights concert series this winter. After a summer series featuring members of the Chineke! Orchestra and BBC Young Musician Winner Laura van der Heijden, Noisenights’ winter series will include Sheku Kanneh-Mason alongside pianist Harry Baker in Space 289 and Abel Selaocoe’s blend of European and African musical traditions at The Jago, Dalston.

With an aim to take classical stars out of the concert hall and offer a new way to experience live classical performance. The Noisenight events will feature two identical short classical sets: an early evening rush-hour performance (7pm), and a late show (9pm) followed by live jazz, funk and afrobeat acts with a late-licensed bar.

Abel Selaocoe will appear on 4 December at the Jago, Dalston’s first ever classical night. Following on from his hugely successful ‘Africa meets Europe’ Prom featuring throat singing, virtuosic cello playing, audience participation and body percussion, his sets at the Jago will be followed by a series of afrobeat and jazz bands into the early hours.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist-composer Harry Baker will perform two sets on 15 January at Space 289, a converted railway arch in Bethnal Green, alongside a programme featuring Boulanger, Bach, and improvisations around folk songs and jazz standards. Baker’s jazz trio will also play an after-show set until late for anyone with tickets to the late show.

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason said: ‘I am really excited to be performing this programme with Harry Baker in such a unique venue. As performers we respond so much to the space we are in, not just acoustically, but the energy of the room and the people in it. This will be a special opportunity to share music we love in a new setting.’ Harry Baker added: ‘I’m thrilled to be taking our mix of classical, folk and improvised music out of the concert hall into Space 289. It’ll be really exciting to explore our programme in a new setting with a new audience.’

The concerts will be crowdfunded using Through the Noise’s bespoke crowd-funding platform, which was developed earlier this year. Members of the public are invited to become ‘backers’ in return for tickets to their chosen event, and priority booking for future events. Each event is confirmed when it achieves sufficient backing, and backing options for both events range from £13.50 for tickets to the early set to £17.50 for tickets to the late set.

Through The Noise co-founder and artistic director Jack Bazalgette said: ‘After an overwhelming response to the first two Noisenights, we’ve been compelled to go bigger with Noisenights three and four. Abel, Sheku and Harry have constructed ground-breaking programmes specially for these great venues. On top of that, we know how special it is to have an audience made up of crowdfunding backers: every member of Noisenight audience has made that concert possible, which is a beautiful thing to be a part of. We’re sure these two nights will be unforgettable.’

You can find out more about Noisenights (including dates and tickets) on the Through The Noise website.