A Darwen events venue has been working hard since it re-opened under new management to bring the best in grassroots music back to East Lancashire and continue the legacy of its previous owners.
Sunbird Records, which was previously run and owned by the late Jonathan Lindley was taken over by Nathan Howard and Danny McDonough earlier this year and re-opened in April following a brief period of closure.
Now, the venue, located on The Circus, has a jam-packed summer programme of events for 2023, culminating with a special gig featuring band Witch Fever as part of the United By Music tours funded by The National Lottery and The Music Venue Trust to support grassroots music and venues.
Darwen band Stil Life will make their debut at the venue with their own soundscapes influenced by bands such as The Cure and The Amazons before a weekend full of new music from ones to watch, Fruit Tones, who are due to play at this year’s Kendal Calling festival.
READ MORE: Darwen’s Sunbird Records to reopen under new management
Later, an EP launch event will be held by Darwen’s The Mardigras Bombers.
Jamie Carter, who handles promotions for the venue, said: “This is another important night for the venue as we are supporting a local band releasing new material and highlighting the importance of grass roots venues for such events.
“The beginning of August sees us introduce more DJs including Russ Winstanley and his Wigan Casino Roadshow.
"Russ was the main DJ at Wigan Casino during its heyday and will be playing the finest Northern Soul records around that evening until the early hours.
“In between sets we will also be treating customers to a vocal performance by Darwen’s very own Paul Stuart Davies performing a special Soul set of classics by Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, and a great many classics from the scene.”
Jamie says the venue’s event on August 5 is set to be the “hottest and most talked about night out in Darwen”.
Entitled Soiree, the night follows previous performances at Glastonbury and Beatherder Festivals and is the summer edition of a DJ set described as “a sleazy house party for the disco kings, the house queens and the funky in-betweens”.
READ MORE: Darwen's Sunbird Records could have long-term future protected thanks to £3.5m initiative
Jamie went on: “Later on in August we will see sets from Design Rewind, English Outback, Motel Sundown, Sequoia and Waltz Away, which shows the breadth of talent we have locally and further afield and how Sunbird Records is helping to promote grassroots music to a growing audience.
“The Summer programme culminates with a very special gig from Manchester band Witch Fever as part of the United by Music tours being funded by The National Lottery and The Music Venue Trust.
“This is the third year The National Lottery has partnered with Music Venue Trust to help support the grassroots music sector by underwriting the full touring and production costs of the artists taking part.
“The announcement takes The National Lottery contribution to grassroots venues through the United By Music Tour to £1.5m and comes at a crucial time when many venues like Sunbird are still suffering the fallout from the pandemic and the impact of the cost of living crisis.
“The Witch Fever gig takes place on Friday September 8, and this is a great one for us, as the band actually played the venue back in 2018 and also featured at Confessional Festival before they broke onto the professional scene full time, so their success really shows the importance of grass roots venues to support artists and the local community.”
For a full event schedule, head to sunbirdrecords.co.uk or visit their socials.
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