'Cracking adlibbing... a joke-rich rallying call for a better Britain' The Guardian 'Coruscating live performer specialising in lacerating topical gags' The Independent 'It was 24th June 2016 and I found myself contemplating a supermarket meal deal. I only wanted a sandwich and I only needed a sandwich but given that I could get a snack and a drink for only 5p more it seemed financially irresponsible not to. I had spent so long pondering the EU Referendum result from the day before that I was now in a massive rush. The lad on the till scanned the first two items no problem but the third item he couldn't get to scan at all. I thought this is going to be a nightmare - there was a queue building up and he looked like he was going to call the supervisor. Then to his credit, he tried to scan it one more time, it wouldn't scan - so he went 'bip' himself and chucked it through. And it was at that moment I thought "oh we'll be alright as a country we will". "And we will be alright. Trust me. I'm not a politician." As seen on Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo, Q.I.

Combining timeless melodies with a contemporary folk-rock twist, singer-songwriter Ben Caplan is both the roar of the hurricane and the eye of the storm. He has an uncanny ability to channel both wild abandon and quiet introspection. Ben released his first studio album in 2011 and has spent the last ten years recording music and performing to ever growing audiences in music clubs and theatres around the world. For the ten-year anniversary of his first release, Caplan has recorded a retrospective collection of stripped back re-interpretations of songs from across his catalogue. The album, entitled Recollection, will be released in October of 2021 followed by an extensive European and Canadian tour.

If you are going to a Beth Nielsen Chapman concert get ready to laugh and cry and, well, just fasten your seat belt. One thing you can count on is one great song after another and some fascinating stories woven between them. Twice Grammy-nominated Nashville based, Beth Nielsen Chapman has released thirteen solo albums and written seven #1 hits and songs recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Michael McDonald, Keb Mo’, Roberta Flack, Waylon Jennings, Indigo Girls, & Faith Hill’s mega-hit This Kiss, ASCAP'S 1999 Song Of The Year. The fall of 2021 will bring the release of Beth’s 15th solo album along with a world tour starting in the UK. Working with legendary producer Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle) this one is going to be epic!

The multi-award winning duo, Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora maestro Seckou Keita have built a formidable global reputation since their partnership began in 2013. They delivered a triumphant second album with SOAR in 2018, charting inspirational common ground between seemingly disparate traditions and their intoxicating, often improvised synergy captures a magical meeting of minds and talents within a border-less musical landscape.

Get ready to dive into a rabbit hole of the best jokes in the world - star of Live at the Apollo and sell-out sensation Gary Delaney is back! One of the most sought after joke writers in the country and longstanding Mock the Week special guest, Gary has been through the laughing glass and he’s ready to bring you a brand new show with hit after hit of the kind of one-liners only a master could craft. If you’re hunting for snark, Gary’s got it covered!

Roll up! Roll up! Come and marvel at the greatest panto on earth! From the team that brought you ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ comes this magical adventure. Run away with TaleGate Theatre Productions to the circus this Easter. Help Goldilocks and her mum, Dame Dolly Donut, save their circus and rescue the three bears from the evil ringmaster. It's the big top family panto extravaganza featuring pop songs, magic and puppets. Book your tickets to Goldilocks – the pantomime that’s just right!

Holy Moly & The Crackers are the innovative and fiery folk-rockers from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, who bombastically mash together unique flavours of soul, rock, indie and Balkan folk. However you describe them, one thing is sure - Holy Moly & The Crackers put on a raucous and feel good party, where everyone is invited, and have become renowned for their blazing live shows.

Jeremy Vine is one of the UK's most successful broadcasters, who he has presented Newsnight, Panorama, Crimewatch, Eggheads and Points of View — as well as his daily Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and his daily Channel 5 show. Increasingly he finds himself asking "What the hell is going on?" as information and misinformation get mixed together and the sheer volume of news that gets thrown at us all is mind blowing. Get ready to laugh and cry as Jeremy tries to make sense of a world that increasingly makes no sense at all — where, as he puts it, "my listeners have better stories than I do." (Suitable for 12+)

In ‘An Evening With’, Julian will share amusing anecdotes from his veterinary work in North Yorkshire. These true stories bring to life the drama as well as the humour in the daily routine of a rural vet. Following in the footsteps of James Herriot, Julian has captured the hearts of the nation and far beyond the North Yorkshire market town of Thirsk, where he has spent most of his working life in the practice which was formerly where Herriot worked. He has enjoyed television success, featuring in Channel 5’s hit series The Yorkshire Vet, currently in its twelfth series. The popular show follows the day to day work of vets in rural North Yorkshire, where the connections to the Herriot ethos cannot be overlooked. Julian is also an author, having written six best-selling books about his life as a vet in North Yorkshire. His latest book is All Creatures: Heart-warming Tales from a Yorkshire Vet, published by Hodder and Stoughton, in March 2021. Join Julian for a fun and fascinating evening, sometimes sad, often funny, yet always warm and compassionate. This show is an inspiration for anyone who loves animals; with Julian’s passion and commitment always at the fore.

A songwriting legend loved by generations of music fans for his uniquely joyful songs. He is one of music's eternal survivors, alarmingly prolific and always revered for the way humour and dignity shine through his work in a recording career which has produced 23 albums. Joined by family members Suzzy and Lucy, together they'll be performing their our own songs plus the work of songwriters they admire including Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks and Baker Knight.

We've all had some pondering to do about the fragility of life recently, but don't worry, skinny national treasure Mark Watson has it covered. At 41, he's halfway through his days on earth, according to the life expectancy calculator app he paid £1.49 for. That life is in the best shape in living memory... but one problem remains, and it really is a huge one. Spiritual enquiry meets high-octane observational comedy as the 'Taskmaster' survivor, multi-award-winner and “No More Jockeys” cult leader attempts to cram a couple of years of pathological overthinking into an evening of stand-up. Maybe we'll even solve the huge problem. Doubt it, though.

Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night. April 2019 saw him win a “Wales Folk Award” for “Here Come The Young”, the title track of his most recent album, of which Uncut magazine said “He’s never sounded more potent than he does here” In 2018 he was honoured with a ”Spirit of Folk” Award by Folk Alliance International in Kansas USA and he also received Fatea magazine’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” here in the UK. He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning 30 years, 32 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances. Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerizing live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he's a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen” Concerned with making music that is relevant and vital to his audience, he engages with challenging narratives tackling the complexity of the human condition, underpinned with a promise of hope. In his own words “Really what I do is to try and write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time. A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.” He is hailed as a raconteur weaving tales on topical concerns, as well as stories on the fragility of love, with a magical ability to reach out to his listeners through his passion and humour. Stunning reviews single him out as an unmissable solo performer whose music stays with you long after the show has ended.

Ireland’s most foremost jazz & blues female singer and performer makes a welcome return to PAC. “Dubbed as Ireland’s Billie Holiday, Mary is a jazz & blues singer whose life story gives weight to the truth that the best singers are the ones with the most painful lives” (The Guardian). Whether into folk, blues or jazz, no one can fail to be moved by the emotional depth, expression & power in her voice, forged from an extraordinary life. As the Observer newspaper rightly said, “Mary Coughlan’s talent is awesome.” Come & witness Mary for yourself - one woman, one amazing voice, and the truth.

One of Britain's freshest and most original comics. Known for his legendary stand-up performances, Omid is intelligent, sometimes provocative and always entertaining. His stand-up is a hugely energetic and captivating comedy masterclass. With a career in comedy spanning across three decades, Omid Djalili's legendary performances on stage and screen have won him fans and plaudits the world over. Renowned for his razor sharp wit, boundless energy and expertly crafted cultural observations, his original material continues to explore the diversity of modern Britain and he remains one of the most exciting entertainers on the circuit.

The remarkable intimate solo performances Martin gives go from strength to strength - every gig is a masterclass. He travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving rapt audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty through his playing. “What’s it like being the best guitar player in the world…?” Martin’s modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer’s question recently, but the facts speak for themselves. 40 years after he recorded his first album, Golden Vanity, in 1976, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest finger-style guitar players in the world. Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, his solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game. Katie Spencer is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Yorkshire who writes songs imbued with the Northern landscapes of her home. Originally from Hull, East Yorkshire, the grainy imagery of the industrial docks and sea-fronts seep into her deeply personal songs of nostalgia, loss and love. The music, and most notably her guitar playing stems from a time when the steel-stringed instrument was truly finding its voice. Artists like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and perhaps most evidently John Martyn, flow into her sound, carrying with them the warmth and idealism of the early 70’s folk and songwriter movements.

The Dunwells are an acclaimed Leeds based Indie-folk / Americana band with strong vocals, powerful melodies and heartfelt lyrics. Their debut album “Blind Sighted Faith” was released in 2012 following which they have released a further 6 albums/EP’s and toured globally including SXSW in the USA and sold out dates at PAC and Platform Festival. Supported by: Rachel Croft’s songwriting is cinematic, moody and classic; atmospheric backdrops champion her powerful, dramatic vocals, smoothly blending folk, rock, and soul styles. Her abilities have landed her in the spotlight of many UK festivals and tours across Europe, catching the attention of BBC Music, csgm blog, POPMUZIK and Liverpool Sound and Vision. Rachel’s much anticipated EP “Reap What You Sow” drops this summer, and explores a more potent, bluesy style.

We all could do with a bit of good news right now, and here it is. After years of speculation, English folk's best-loved duo are back together and working on new material. Described by The Guardian as ‘the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene’, John Spiers and Jon Boden rocketed onto the scene in 2001. As Spiers & Boden they won a clutch of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards - the Horizon Award for best newcomer in 2003, and the Best Duo Award in 2004 and 2006. A sojourn in Eliza Carthy & the Ratcatchers included a performance at the Mercury Music Prize Awards. And after years of successful touring, in 2011 they headlined their own star-studded show at London's Shepherd’s Bush Empire to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Meanwhile they had used their early success as a duo to found the ground-breaking folk big band Bellowhead, fronted by the duo, which went on to Royal Albert Hall sell-outs, Proms In the Park successes, multiple awards, signing with Universal Records and over 250,000 album sales. Inevitably Bellowhead increasingly dominated their time and in 2014 Spiers & Boden made the difficult choice to rest the duo. It was a tough decision. Spiers & Boden had earned a place in the hearts of the folk audience that few could rival and the disbelief at the dissolution of the duo was only matched when in 2016 Bellowhead itself took a final bow. Since then Jon Boden has carved out a career as both a solo performer and with his own band, Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings, while continuing to work on his creative trilogy of albums exploring a post-apocalyptic world and his work writing music for theatre. John Spiers went on to form successful performance collaborations with Peter Knight (Steeleye Span, Feast Of Fiddles) and separately Jackie Oates, and is a member of the recently formed Gigspanner Big Band. Then discussions in late 2019 broached the idea of reforming Spiers & Boden, new recording, new touring. By Christmas it was agreed that the duo would be back in 2021 and preparations began... Spiers & Boden will be back on stages in 2021. Watch out for more details soon.

As one decade ticked over another, 1970 would prove to be a vintage year for music and the start of an era that would change the world. For Steeleye Span – formed the year before – it would mark a major milestone. The band released their debut album Hark The Village Wait, a record that would not only launch one of the most enduring stories in the folk world and beyond but also come to influence further generations of artists. Five decades on and the band, led as ever by the iconic vocals of Maddy Prior and with a seven piece lineup, featuring some of the most skilled musicians on the UK folk scene, their 50th anniversary tour will be a celebration of the key tracks from that famous album as well as favourites and gems from their long and famous career.

Teddy Thompson is an acclaimed singer-songwriter with a career that has consistently garnered critical praise. NPR proclaims that he’s “the musical equivalent of an arrow to the heart,” while The New York Times calls his work “beautifully finessed.” Teddy will be supported by Roseanne Reid.

The Delines, aclaimed for their unique retro country soul sound, are led by vocalist Amy Boone (The Damnations TX), alongside the keyboard work of Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists) as well as fellow Portlanders Sean Oldham and songwriter/novelist Willy Vlautin (Richmond Fontaine) and on pedal steel, Tucker Jackson (Minus 5). Vlautin is no stranger to critical acclaim in the UK, enjoying cult success and stellar reviews from the like of Uncut, The Observer, The Times and Q Magazine as the frontman of Portland alt-country outfit Richmond Fontaine. Thursday 6th August at 2.30pm

Ian and James Felice grew up in the Hudson valley of upstate New York. Self taught musicians, inspired as much by Hart Crane and Whitman as by Woody Guthrie and Chuck Berry, they began in 2006 by playing subway platforms and sidewalks in NYC and have gone on to release nine albums of original songs and to tour extensively throughout the world. Following the release of Life in the Dark, The Felice Brothers served as the backing band for Conor Oberst's 2017 release Salutations and the subsequent tour. In 2019 they released their latest album 'Undress' to critical acclaim and will be performing songs from this and their extensive back catalogue accompanied by Will Lawrence (drums) and Jesske Hume (bass).

Signed to Decca Records (discovered a mere 30 mins after uploading their first track to Soundcloud), the London-based band had a whirlwind 2018. They won the coveted Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award at the UK Americana Awards before heading out on a sold-out album tour. The Deluxe edition of Wild Silence, featuring eight new recordings of new, live and reimagined tracks, is out now. After being personally invited to the US by music legend Marty Stuart, The Wandering Hearts became the first UK band to debut at two of the most prestigious venues in Nashville - The Ryman Auditorium and The Grand Ole Opry - in the same week. Receiving a rapturous welcome and standing ovations, the band were invited back to the Opry the following week, after a trip to Memphis to support Marty Stuart at Graceland - live recordings from this show feature on the Deluxe album. A busy summer of UK festivals followed, including Latitude, Black Deer and BST Hyde Park, before the band whipped back to Nashville for Americanafest, then returned home to finish the year with their second sold-out UK headline tour. Breaking all genre boundaries, The Wandering Hearts didn't set out with a sound in mind and nor do they have one now. They'll take the Americana tag because it encompasses their influences - pop, rock, blues, folk and country among them, filtered through their British roots - but they write songs for fun and that shines through. "We love a dark lyric," laughs AJ. "We have so many of them that we sometimes play what we call our death set - all songs with sad subject matter like break-ups and dying. Most of them are upbeat, so it's fun, but if you listen closely, you'll hear we're obsessed. Why? Because we enjoy writing about deep feelings but couching them in catchy tunes."

Thea Gilmore takes to the road in October 2021 for her first EVER tour performing completely solo. Following her 4th successive chart album, 2019’s “Small World Turning” (‘the most soulful, confrontational music of her career’ said The Mirror) and rapturously received performance at the recent BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards,Thea will head out on tour later this year to perform material from all stages of her career. Accompanying herself on guitar, keyboard and loop station, Thea will give audiences a chance to hear some of her most special songs exactly the way they entered the world - raw, unadorned, delivered intimately by that long revered, hauntingly beautiful voice. As anyone familiar with her acoustic catalogue will testify, the results are set to be spine tingling and the shows promise to be some of the most affecting and personal of Thea’s career. In that career of over two decades Thea Gilmore has long secured a place as one of the UKs most gifted and celebrated singer/songwriters. Since first stepping out aged 18 she has released 18 albums, 6 EPs, been lauded by titans (Bruce Springsteen, Neil Gaiman) and collaborated with roots royalty (Billy Bragg, Joan Baez, Waterboys).She recently performed on BBC Radio 2 with Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, contributed songs to the soundtrack of BAFTA winning film “Bait” and continues to explore new musical boundaries.

Thunk-It Theatre, in partnership with PAC, presents a third term of youth theatre workshops online via Zoom. The sessions will focus on using objects from the home to create characters and explore puppetry skills! The sessions include fun games and exercises that encourage confidence building, life and social skills, as well as creating a positive environment for the young people to express themselves. You will receive a registration form, by email, when you purchase a ticket and this must be returned before the first session. This is to ensure that we are able to keep you, your child and our community safe. For further information please email [email protected]

Since 2016, Women In Rock have been wowing audiences across the UK & Europe with their high energy performances. Featuring soaring vocals, choreography, audience interaction, striking costumes and backed by a band of world class musicians, Women In Rock has built a reputation as the leading rock show around. Having performed to audiences of up to 120,000, these women are ready to take you on a spectacular journey through five decades of female rock leaving you cheering for more. Featuring the songs of Cher, Blondie, Janis Joplin, Republica, Belinda Carlisle, Bonnie Tyler, P!nk, Suzi Quatro, Tina Turner & many more, Women In Rock are guaranteed to get you on your feet. Grab your tickets and let’s get ready to sing, dance and ROCK!