Festival Music
For everything you need to know about all the Festivals visit www.list.co.uk/festival PROFESSOR GREEN Hackney rapper loves a Nandos
Professor Green knows how to party. When his debut album, Alive Till I’m Dead, charted at number two last month, the East London rapper let it rip: ‘I was so over the moon that I celebrated with a full chicken platter, two large sides and a refillable drink from Nando’s,’ he beams. The Prof – aka Stephen Manderson
– is at the vanguard of the UK’s urban-pop charge. The former battle MC’s fluid, wry lyricism might invite comparisons to Kanye or Eminem, but he’s studiously British: he’s worked closely with artists from Mike Skinner (who first signed him) to Lily Allen, via Aberdeen’s fantastic singer- songwriter Emeli Sande.
His INXS-recollecting hit, ‘I Need
You Tonight’, meanwhile, still dominates the airwaves, months after its release. Would Manderson agree that we’re amidst a home-grown hip- hop revolution? ‘UK urban is going global,’ he nods. ‘The likes of Tinie, Tinchy, N-Dubz and Example are doing their thing and making waves – and it’s a real family vibe as well. Finally we’re in a position to take on the Americans and show them what we do this side of the Atlantic.’ (Nicola Meighan) ■ Liquid Room, 20 Aug, 7pm, £10. Part of The Edge Festival.
SARAH CONNOLLY Mezzo soprano returns to jazz roots Among other things, 2010 is likely to be memorable as the year of the mezzo-soprano at the Edinburgh International Festival. Joyce DiDonato, Petra Lang and Christine Brewer, who replaces the indisposed Susan Graham, are just three of the famous
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58 THE LIST 19–26 Aug 2010
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Twonkeys Cottage He’s mad as a box of frogs, this one. Paul Vickers (the frontman of Dawn of the Replicants, a frequent collaborator with The Leg, a veteran of five John Peel
Sessions and now a stand-up comedian) is bringing a deeply absurd comedy show to this year’s Fringe, featuring tales from the charmingly entitled album Fucking Storys. Demented puppets, elephant chimney sweeps and a chap called ‘lovestruck Malcolm’ await you. ■ Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, until 29 Aug (not 26), 12.10pm, free.
music that you heard from a record or from a friend, as well as all the music that we hear on the radio today. In the old days we didn’t have marketing to separate them into bluegrass or blues or rock’n’roll. That’s all folk music.’
His own children are following that same route. He has four kids who are all folk singers, and his grandchildren are apparently showing similar inclinations, so expect the Guthrie name to be around for a while yet. (Kenny Mathieson) ■ Queen’s Hall, 668 2019, 19 Aug, 8pm, £18.
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concert.’ Connolly, whose ambition to be a classical artist overtook her toying with the idea of pursuing a career as a jazz singer and pianist, comes to Edinburgh with a programme of British and American song from the 1930s and 1940s, including songs from Ivor Novello’s Glamorous Night and Connolly’s own long-time favourite, George Gershwin. (Carol Main) ■ Sarah Connolly /John Horler, The Hub, 473 2000, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 9.30pm, £17.50. ARLO GUTHRIE Folk runs in his family
Following the same career as a famous parent can be a double- edged sword – a name can open doors, but it can also be a lot to live up to. Arlo Guthrie, son of folk legend Woody Guthrie, has carved out his own successful niche over four decades, but also has his own ideas on what constitutes folk music. ‘A lot of people confuse folk music with a genre. It’s really not. What it is, it’s the way that people learn the music they’re playing, the kind of
names appearing in recital, opera and orchestral concerts. One of Britain’s other great singers in the darker hued range of the female voice is Sarah Connolly (pictured), whose impressive catalogue of opera roles includes a brilliantly portrayed Octavian for Scottish Opera’s Der Rosenkavalier four years ago. Her late evening performances with pianist John Horler appear, however, not in the classical section of the festival programme, but under the jazz and contemporary music heading. They are, says EIF Director Jonathan Mills, a chance for her to ‘return to the origins of her career in a jazz inspired