FROM medieval madrigals to down-town blues, from swing era classics to a revival of Handel’s Messiah; that’s the exciting musical menu being planned for the autumn season by Friends of Silsden Town Hall.

This melodic extravaganza gets under way during the weekend of September 14th/15th. On Saturday 14th September, the Tom C Walker Band bring their brand of blues to the town.

Born in Birmingham, in 1995, Tom’s virtuoso performances from a young age stunned audiences, with his guitar playing quickly earning him respect and admiration from and the opportunity to play alongside much older musicians. Since then Tom and his trio have headlined major UK venues, including Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, The Birmingham Symphony hall and a residency at Jools Holland’s The Jam House, as well as an American tour and has shared a stage with the likes of Paul Jones (Manfred Man), John Lodge (The Moody blues), Devon Allman, Mungo Jerry and British soul legends Kokomo.

More recently the group has expanded to a four-piece band, already building on their impressive reputation as a class live act on the British blues scene, and were nominated UKBlues Challengers in 2018. Tickets are £13 in advance and £15 on the door, bar from 7pm and music from 7.30pm.

The following afternoon – Sunday 15th September – will see a very different musical group take to the stage. Quodlibet are a group of four vocalists who specialise in singing music from the sixteenth century onwards, ranging from the spiritual to the bawdy. They also use instruments of the period (including lute, dulcimer and hurdy-gurdy) and their programme is spiced with plenty of anecdotes.

For this very special concert, the group will perform a programme of music from the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Quodlibet have performed in the Leeds International Concert Season and at many National Trust properties, including Fountains Abbey and Bolsover Castle. The event will begin at 2.30pm, and refreshments will be available.

Tickets for both events are available now from Twiggs Newsagents in Silsden, and online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/friends-of-silsden-town-hall

Events across the coming months, include a dance with Two Rivers Swing Band, the acclaimed one-woman show by historian Irene Lofthouse “Forgotten Female Voices of the Great War”, and KVU’s presentation of Handel’s Messiah on 14th December, reviving an old Silsden tradition which began in 1875 and lasted for over 100 years.

The venue is also available to hire for private events. Visit www.silsdentownhall.org.uk