There was obviously something unusual going on in Hebden Bridge. Why else would there be such a queue outside the Trades Club at 11.30 on a Monday morning?
It was clearly something special when those queuing were seen to be issued with wristbands, whereas normally audience members just wander in and have their hands stamped. And why was the bar serving only soft drinks? The occasion was a lunchtime concert by Africa Express, who are touring the country by chartered train, and had stopped off at Hebden Bridge en route for their evening concert in Middlesbrough.
The project, which comprises more than 80 performers, is part of the cultural Olympiad, raising awareness of African music, with western and African musicians playing together at both scheduled and pop-up venues. You can read rolling coverage in the Guardian here.
Half-a-dozen musicians from the collective, headed by Reeps One and Afrikan Boy, with Krar Collective, and Tamar Osborn on sax, jammed with members of the Hebden Bridge Junior Brass Band in a packed room. Luckily, the local schools had not yet returned for the autumn term, so it was an ideal and unique end-of-the-holidays treat.
Since there had been no opportunity to rehearse, the programme relied on the considerable improvisational skills of the performers. Can this work, asked Tim Jonze on the Guardian blog:
a bunch of kids playing euphoniums while Reeps One attempts to beatbox over the top of it?
Well - yes! It was really great. At the end, a group photo was taken. The Junior Brass Band are no strangers to unusual gigs, performing annually at the Mytholmroyd Dock Pudding contest and also dressing in Victorian costume for carol concerts in the local beauty spot of Hardcastle Crags, but this was the first time they have been called upon to give a black power style salute.
All too soon, it was time for Africa Express to catch their train on to another pop-up event, down in Bradford, and probably time for the local kids in both the band and the audience to think about getting ready for the new term. We've had plenty of challenges in Hebden Bridge and the upper valley this year, but our summer holidays here have ended on a high note.
