Alt-country band Divorce announced as support, and extra tickets released for Self Esteem’s collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia at BBC Proms festival at Sage Gateshead

Tickets on sale at https://sagegateshead.com

Sage Gateshead and BBC Proms are set to release extra tickets for the sold-out Proms debut of 2023 Mercury Award nominee Self Esteem, in a collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia and conductor Robert Ames. The opening event of the first ever weekend-long Proms festival in the North East, also sees support act Divorce added to the line-up.

Having sold out in a matter of hours, organisers are delighted to be able to make extra tickets for the opening event available for sale from 12 noon on Friday 23 June on the Sage Gateshead website, advising people to be quick to be in with the last chance to snap these up.

The Proms festival at Sage Gateshead (21-23 July) features a programme made in the North East, including family, orchestral, jazz and chamber concerts. Royal Northern Sinfonia, the orchestra of Sage Gateshead, are at the heart of this landmark event, along with other musicians from the region.

On Friday evening (21 July) Self Esteem returns to Sage Gateshead after her incredible recent gig there, this time in a contemporary collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia and conductor Robert Ames. The vibe will be much more acoustic and orchestral in feel, showing a different side to her artistry. The alt-country, grunge-fuelled Nottingham band Divorce joins the line-up as support act. This high-flying quartet – Kasper Sandstrom, Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, Tiger Cohen-Towell and Adam Peter-Smith – has an infectious sound gaining them a strong fan base sparked by their debut single Services in 2022.

Also appearing across the weekend is a late-night special of extraordinary music performed by two leading lights of the British jazz scene.

Soaring melodies. Hypnotic rhythms. transcendental textures. All will be delivered by British-Asian clarinettist, composer and bandleader Arun Ghosh and his quintet. Arun’s musical style combines numerous strands of jazz with a myriad of musical influences: from jungle to punk, blues to Bollywood…and beyond.

British-Bahraini trumpet player Yazz Ahmed and her quartet blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as ‘psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and compelling’. She’s previously recorded and performed with the likes of Radiohead, Lee Scratch Perry, Transglobal Underground, Arturo O’Farrill, and Natacha Atlas.

Principal Conductor Dinis Sousa and Royal Northern Sinfonia bring audiences a lively programme of Missy Mazzoli, Mozart and Brahms with one of today’s most exciting pianists Kristian Bezuidenhout on Saturday evening.

The power of the human voice is front and centre for another late-night Prom on the Saturday, featuring 300 amateur singers from the chorus of RNS to the youth choir created a year ago to take part in Sage Gateshead’s first BBC Prom, VOTRE. The theme of night includes the world premiere of a new BBC commission by Kristian Arakelyan, set to poetry by Katrina Porteous, rooting the evening firmly in the North East.

Rounding out the weekend on Sunday 23 July, the shimmering-voiced counter-tenor Reginald Mobley, who recently sang at the King’s coronation, and pianist Baptiste Trotignon take audiences on a journey through the African American spiritual. And CBEEBIES Ocean Adventure with RNS, conducted by Kwamé Ryan brings together a varied selection of music with video and presenters to introduce many young people to their first live music experience.

In line with the Royal Albert Hall Proms experience the seats at stalls level will be taken out to allow bonefide promming to take place.

“I’m delighted to be returning to Sage Gateshead to play the first ever BBC PROMS FESTIVAL WEEKEND outside of London and to work with Royal Northern Sinfonia on some arrangements of my songs!” Self Esteem

“We’re deeply grateful to our true monarch, Self Esteem, for bringing us along for what is sure to be a glorious evening.” Divorce

“I’m delighted to be returning to the iconic Sage Gateshead, playing music from my latest album Seclused in Light. We’ve performed here many times over the years, and always get a fantastic welcome. We’re a Northern band, playing an Indojazz style, a universal sound…and I feel honoured to be bringing this vibe to the BBC Proms.” Arun Ghosh

“I am absolutely thrilled to be performing with my band at the Sage Gateshead as part of this year’s BBC Proms and the Masala festival, especially as my previous concert at the venue took place during the 2020 lockdown where I presented my music to an empty hall! So I am very much looking forward to engaging with a real life audience this time! I am also delighted to be sharing the sounds of my mixed heritage, and telling the stories of the women I find inspiring, at this unique festival celebrating South Asian arts.” Yazz Ahmed

“The North East is an area incredibly rich in musical talent and we are hugely proud to be showcasing this in partnership with BBC Proms from Arun Ghosh and Yazz Ahmed, to Self Esteem, to our resident orchestra Royal Northern Sinfonia and our choirs. From pop to jazz to orchestral to our CBEEBIES Ocean Adventure, we want to make sure there is music there to appeal to everyone and to invite them through our doors to join in this celebration.” James Thomas, Director RNS and Classical Music at Sage Gateshead

“There is no other classical music festival in the world to match the range and breadth of the BBC Proms. It is the place where so many discover orchestral music for the first time – whether through a cornerstone of the classical repertoire, ground-breaking new work or collaborations with some of today’s most exciting artists. Our musical range in 2023 extends from Bach to Bollywood and geographically from Gateshead to Great Yarmouth as we continue to build on Henry Wood’s vision of ‘the best of classical music for the widest possible audience.” David Pickard, Director, BBC Proms