Gloucester History Festival’s Summer of Sound: Medieval Music to Radiohead

Gloucester is alive with music this year and, as part of the city’s Summer of Sound, Gloucester History Festival is adding its own unforgettable soundtrack.

From 5th to 20th September, music, song and dance weave through the Festival, taking audiences from the Middle Ages and England’s traditional song heritage to The Beatles, Portishead and Radiohead.

One unmissable evening brings Radiohead Meets Portishead to Blackfriars Priory. Radiohead drummer Philip Selway and Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley join Festival President Janina Ramirez to revisit the music and atmosphere of the 1990s before joining forces for a unique live set guaranteed to shake the rafters.

Travel back to another musical revolution with The Beatles & The Sixties, a story with a special Gloucester connection. On 18 March 1963, as Beatlemania was beginning to sweep Britain, the Fab Four played Gloucester’s Regal Cinema in King’s Square. Just over a year later came their first feature film, A Hard Day’s Night. Music journalist John Robb joins BBC Front Row presenter Samira Ahmed and historian Janina Ramirez to explore why The Beatles came to define an era and what their music and image reveal about a Britain transformed by youth and popular culture.

Step further back in time as Medieval musicians Ypotryll bring the Blackfriars Scriptorium to life with secular music from 1200–1500, combining voices with harp, dulcimer, psaltery, vielle and recorder. Elsewhere, Bygonz fill the Blackfriars courtyard with medieval music and reveal the history of their instruments.

Britain’s traditional music takes centre stage too. In Our Heritage of Song, Robin Burton explores how songs passed down through generations preserved the voices and experiences of working people, and the collectors who helped save England’s musical heritage. And this is a Festival where you can join in too. Lassington Oak: Fifty Years of Morris celebrates half a century of this much-loved tradition with stories, music and dance. Discover the history of Morris costumes and customs, learn some favourite steps and watch Lassington Oak perform outside Blackfriars Priory.

The world of Georgian entertainment comes alive too. Imagine an elegant evening of music, conversation and dancing as Dressing the Georgian Lady reveals what a fashionable woman might have worn to the musical soirées of the age. Angela Rendell uncovers the hidden layers beneath the silhouette before dressing a live model in a silk Polonaise gown.

From Morris bells and medieval strings to Georgian soirées, The Beatles and two giants of ’90s alternative music, visit the History Festival this September to discover the stories and the music that bring history to life.

Explore the full programme and book your tickets now: gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk