Ensemble to barge in to Reading

The Dead Rat Orchestra will be pootling along to Reading via the canal The Dead Rat Orchestra

Water way to arrive in Reading! An ensemble group will be making a beeline to the town for the latest leg of their tour – but they’ll be using water power to get here.

The Dead Rat Orchestra will be visiting the Rising Sun Arts Centre on Saturday, August 2, having travelled up the Kennet and Avon canal to get here.

The barge-bound boys are said to be one of the UK’s most challenging and innovative folk ensembles and as part of their desire to push frontiers they are currently undertaking a 273-mile sojourn along the waterways of Southern England, stopping off at clubs to give gigs along the way.

Their show, The Cut, is an exploration of the musical heritage of the waterways. Unconventional, always engaging and interpreted as only they can, organisers say that their music will enthral audiences from Tower Bridge to Bristol’s Arnolfini while travelling at a steady 2½ miles an hour.

Widely respected for their original and inspiring approach to music, they have not only performed across Europe, the Middle East and North America, but also composed works for the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Ukrainian Conservertoire, and collaborated with The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

Folk Radio UK say that they are “one of the most moving and visionary pieces I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in a long time, it embodies the rawness of a centuries old seafaring world with that of the modern.”

The Dead Rat Orchestra will be at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Silver Street, Reading on Saturday, August 2 from 8pm. Tickets cost £5 on the door. 

For more details, log on to the Rising Sun’s website. 

Last modified on Tuesday, 22 July 2014 13:33