The Unthanks at 20 (Matinee) - Sold out

As part of 20th year celebrations, The Unthanks scale back for some intimate shows, supporting today’s best small venues and including memorable ones from their early days. The shows will draw from all parts of their repertoire.

Using the traditional music of the North East of England as a starting point, the influence of Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Wyatt, Antony & The Johnsons, King Crimson and Tom Waits can be heard in the band’s 16 records to date, earning them a Mercury Music Prize nomination and international acclaim along the way.

The Unthanks are constantly evolving. They have scaled up for orchestral and brass band shows, drawing on the arranging and composing skills of self-taught band leader Adrian McNally, and

paired right back for the unaccompanied live record, Diversions Vol 5, drawing on the traditional singing backgrounds of Rachel and Becky Unthank and Niopha Keegan. They’ve created song cycles from Emily Bronte’s poetry, site specific theatre with Maxine Peake, soundtracks for Mackenzie Crook’s Worzel Gummidge, had music used on HBO’s True Detective, Peaky Blinders, Vera, and The Dectectorists, and a string of ‘Diversions’ interpreting the work of Molly Drake, Anohni and Robert Wyatt.

Their 15th record, Sorrows Away, was described as “a masterpiece of nuanced drama” (Uncut Albums of the Year), "a landmark album by an extraordinary band that will resonate for generations to come." (Record Collector).

“There are few times when you discover a band and they stalk immediately to the heart of everything you love and hold dear.” - Maxine Peake

“They run from the very root of folk music to the very tip of the branch.” - Elvis Costello

“It’s quite a rare thing now. They’ve really got everything you could want from music. And I’m very fussy.” - Robert Wyatt

“The Unthanks are capable of such beauty that sometimes I can hardly bear to listen to them.” - Martin Freeman

Host or Publisher The Foundling Museum