The Barbican Centre has been streaming live music performances online throughout much of 2020, and they have just announced a whole new lineup for 2021. These guys are supporting London musicians as much as they can these days, whole giving us the opportunity to experience live music concerts – even if it’s from home.
Expect the likes of Moses Boyd, This is The Kit, Shirley Collins, GoGo Penguin, Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason and so many more. But we are most pumped to see the BBC Symphony Orchestra take to the stage at Barbican Hall.
The orchestra and its Creative Artist in Association, Jules Buckley will be joined by legendary singer songwriter Paul Weller on Saturday 6 February for a concert reimagining Weller’s work in stunning orchestral settings as part of Live from the Barbican in 2021.
In Weller’s first live performance for two years, expect songs spanning the broad spectrum of his career from The Jam, to his yet unheard new material. Classic songs including You Do Something to Me, English Rose and Wild Wood along with tracks from Weller’s latest number 1 album On Sunset will be heard as never before in brand new orchestral arrangements by Buckley.
Weller, who takes cultural authenticity to the top of the charts, reunites with Steve Cradock for this one-off performance. Part of the acclaimed Live from the Barbican series which returns to the Centre in the spring, the concert will have a reduced, socially distanced live audience in the Barbican Hall, and it will also be available to watch globally via a livestream on the Barbican website.
While the concert will reflect on some of Weller’s back catalogue, as is typical of his constantly evolving career, it will look to the future with performances of songs from an album not released until May 2021, as well as welcoming guest artists to illustrate his work and the music that influenced him. These special guests will be announced in the New Year alongside broadcast plans across the BBC which will include BBC Radio 2, 3, 6 Music, BBC Sounds, BBC TV and iPlayer.
Jules Buckley says: “To be able to collaborate with Paul Weller and the BBC Symphony Orchestra is truly amazing. Weller’s genre-spanning tunes are timeless and working together to make these orchestral reworks promises to be something special. We are very glad to be able to bring music to people, especially in these crazy times.”
Tickets are £20 – £40 for live audiences in the Barbican Hall (if Government guidance permits live audiences) and £12.50 to access the livestream or to re-watch within a 48 hour-window, once the ticket purchase has gone through. Check out the full list of 2021 performances here too.
