An evening of intricate and absorbing soundscapes, gentle psychedelia and off-kilter folk music in the atmospheric surrounds of the Samuel Worth Chapel in Sheffield General Cemetery.
// BOB DRAKE //
Born and raised in the Midwest USA and now resident in the South of France, Bob was a founding member of avant-rock heroes Thinking Plague in the 1980s, has been a member of the 5uu’s, The Science Group, Vril, the Peter Blegvad Quintet and many others, but it is with his series of solo recordings between 1994 and the present that he has really found his voice as a pedlar of individual, avant-garde, but always highly melodic tales of anthropomorphic animals, hauntings, geology, holy wells, astronomy… the list goes on, all performed by himself.
“an alarmingly fertile basin of creativity and collaged, kitchen-sink songcraft.” Pitchfork Media
https://bdrak.com/
https://bdstudio.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@bob-drac
// VÄLVĒ //
What is VÄLVĒ? Folk lullabies re-imagined by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Found-sound collages interrupted by Welsh language orations and sudden outbursts of fuzz bass. Gleaming synthpop workouts that collapse into swirling dreamscapes of sax and harp. Tiny sounds opening out onto the epic. Hi-tech and no-tech, deployed with equal measures of discipline and abandon. Carefully sculpted disorder. Uncanny geometries of noise and melody. Dizzy and gleeful and drawn in notebooks. That is VÄLVĒ.
VÄLVĒ started out as the outlet for composer/performer Chlöe Herington’s compositional work using text and image as the starting point for scores. She collects sounds and diagrams, composing predominantly for bassoon, saxes, electronics and found sounds to explore synaesthetic memory and collective experience.
“The performance is mesmeric and improvisational, ranging from Aphex Twin abstractions to childlike songs with arresting lyrics, in the vein of Brian Eno’s vocal works” – Prog
https://valvemusic.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/valvemusic
www.valve.cloud
www.chloeherington.com
// ARCH GARRISON //
North Sea Radio Orchestra’s musical director, composer and accomplished guitarist Craig Fortnam brings his weird folk solo project to Sheffield once again. Exploring his fascination with England’s ancient landscape and singing intricate songs about Roman roads, ditches and mounds, Thames Fluvius. Utterly bewitching.
“Arch Garrison prove that less can be more, and that our limitations are often the very things that set us free.” The Quietus
Craig has spent the last 20 years composing, performing and producing albums; whether as North Sea Radio Orchestra, as Arch Garrison or under his own name. All these projects have Craig’s strong and unique personal sound: virtuosic nylon-string guitar with a strong emphasis on melody and chord, be it with strings/wind/percussion/organ (North Sea Radio Orchestra), the psych-folk of Arch Garrison with it’s wobbly synths/organ and guitar, or his solo material which combines all these elements.
Craig’s music is described as ‘English’ in sound with reviewers comparing him to Robert Wyatt, Vaughan-Williams, Cardiacs, Syd Barrett, and Vernon Elliott. Craig’s most recent release was the new studio album from North Sea Radio Orchestra ‘Special Powers’, available now from Bandcamp.
Arch Garrison on Facebook
https://archgarrison1.bandcamp.com/
https://northsearadioorchestra.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@craigfortnam8602
// About the venue //
The Samuel Worth Chapel is a beautiful and intimate venue set in the heart of the Sheffield General Cemetery nature reserve. Designed by Samuel Worth in 1836, the building was completely restored in 2016 winning a Georgian Group Award for its restoration. The Chapel has a fully licensed bar.
The Chapel can be accessed from entrances on Montague St (S11 8FQ), Cemetery Rd (S11 8FS) or Cemetery Ave (S11 8NT). Please see the map for further details.
https://gencem.org/venue-hire/the-samuel-worth-chapel/
https://gencem.org/visit/map/
// Accessibility //
There is a short walk through the Cemetery to reach the Chapel. The main Carriageway from the Gatehouse on Cemetery Avenue (S11 8NT) to the Samuel Worth Chapel has step free access and a handrail to guide you to the venue. The path is around 200m long and is a moderate slope up to the venue. The Chapel has ramped access and an accessible toilet.
Full accessibility details including parking here: https://gencem.org/visit/accessibility/
Bob Drake, Arch Garrison and VÄLVĒ play at the Samuel Worth Chapel on Thursday 2nd October 2025. Doors open at 7pm with performances starting from 7:30pm.
Tickets are £12 standard or £6 low / no waged.
Free carer tickets available on request, please contact info@budsandspawn.co.uk or samuelworthchapel@gencem.org