Maldon Festival 2025 Programme
'500 Years of Music'
The 2025 Maldon Festival programme of events has something for everyone from Contemporary to Classical, Rock to Jazz.
Join us for magical evenings, afternoon sessions and more. Bookings can be made online or through Maldon Books.
The Festival opens with afternoon Blues at Hemlocks, evening with St Mary’s Choir at St Mary’s Church and Superheads Grunge Rock at Madison Heights.
This year’s festival theme is “500 years of music”, as we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Palestrina. This Renaissance man developed a style of music that is still inspiring modern composers half a millennium later. It is fitting for this year’s Festival to showcase all the rich variety of music that has cascaded down the centuries since Palestrina’s music was first performed.
Saturday 21st, June 2025
Fox Cub and the Big Red
15:00-18:00
Hemlocks, 185 High Street Maldon, CM9 5BU
Liam and Hollie Clancy’s music meets at the crossroads between the Delta Blues and Janis Joplin. Making songs for those long summer days and the cigarette smoke haze of the jazz club. Fresh off the release of their new EP “The Mirror” the duo are now out on the road and working hard to bring their sound out to the world.
St Mary’s Choir
19:00-22:00
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
The 2025 Festival starts with the relaunched St Mary’s Choir
Join us for a magical evening the relaunch of The St Mary’s Choir more details to follow.
SUPERHEADS
19:30-22:00
Madison Heights, Park Drive, Maldon, CM9 5JQ
Local Maldon Band Superheads are a power trio making psychedelic grunge rock. Just released their second album of new sounds. Having played at venues and festivals all over the country they’re back to play a rare home town gig. Expect a heady exciting blend of Radiohead, Nirvana and Syd Barrett. Currently recording their third album. Superheads are guaranteed to get the room going and entertain with lively unique songs and sounds.
ASH CARR
Ash Carr is an upcoming Suffolk singer songwriter and has recently released his latest Official single ‘Little Small Town’ which has been getting increasingly popular.He has made several local radio appearances including on BBC Suffolk with Wayne Bavin and Caroline Coastal.He has played many open mics and gigs across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, Norfolk and London also a number of festivals including Folk East and Cambridge Club Festival supporting the likes of Chaka Khan and Mel C. He also recently represented his local town of Ipswich by playing at the Cornhill for Suffolk Mind.He had recorded his first EP back in 2023, and has since as mentioned independently, written, recorded and released his first Official single. Which he is particularly proud of as it speaks about his journey but also features and supports the local town (especially great as we’ve been promoted). The song also features another artist who he collaborated with alongside an original version with just himself.
He is currently working on writing more material and is aiming to collaborate with other artists.
Ash’s music has a very unique sound and draws the listener in with emotive and raw lyrics. There are influences of Folk, RandB and Pop.
You can follow Ash and check his music out on social media pages, YouTube and Streaming platforms.
https://www.youtube.com/@ashcarrmusic
https://www.instagram.com/ashcarrmusic/profilecard/?igsh=NzVuZDEzNjFvNDZx
https://www.facebook.com/share/8LY7UfqPpAGGcSR7/
Sunday, 22 June 2025
TripTych
14:00-17:00
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Christopher Weston is a concert pianist, composer and educator. A graduate of Clare College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music, he performs regularly throughout the UK and on BBC Radio. Christopher is collaborative-pianist with The BBC Singers, Triptych and The Soloists of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Christopher has taught composition at Cambridge University and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His original compositions populate examination syllabuses worldwide and are published by Camden Music.
Composer Jeffery Wilson studied at the Royal College of Music, Cambridge University and Paris Conservatoire, and numbers among his teachers John Lambert, Herbert Howells, Gordon Jacob and Olivier Messiaen. His performances and recordings range from pop and jazz to classical and contemporary. Jeffery is creative director of Release, the countrywide composition competition, workshop leader for Guildhall Young Artists and Professor of Composition at Junior Guildhall. He was the last serving Professor of Saxophone at the Royal Military School of Music, until its closure in 2021.
Tap Room Session
16:00-19:00
Tap Room, 10 High Street. CM9 5PJ
Join us at the Might Oak Tap Room for an informal afternoon featuring local musicians, real ale, and roast potatoes in a relaxed atmosphere.
Wednesday, 25th June 2025
Barrie Jaimeson
19:30-2200
Hemlocks, 185 High Street, Maldon, CM9 5BU
Tales From Maldon
An evening of stories including research into The Essex Witch Trials; an MR James Ghost Story; The Battle of Maldon (in modern English) followed by JRR Tolkien’s play about the aftermath of the battle.
Barrie was born in Leicester and moved to London to attend Drama School. Many years of treading the boards in theatres including Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, both the Old Vic and the Young Vic and across the country followed, as well as TV and film roles, including Bergerac, Tales of the Unexpected, The Bill and Pie in The Sky. He met his wife whilst appearing in Woody Allen’s ‘Play It Again, Sam’ in Keswick and before long, they had moved to the Essex countryside, both still carrying on their acting careers. They started a theatre company, ‘macTheatre’ when they arrived in Maldon, producing many shows including Maldon’s annual ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ for over a decade, as well as musical shows written for Christmas and Burns’ Night and a show with songs inspired by paintings called ‘Songs from the Art’
Barrie has been writing fiction for some time and published his first novel, ‘The Commercial’ in 2014. Since then, he has published a further nine books. In 2021 he started the Anne Edwards Series about a detective based in Maldon, Essex.
Friday, 27th June 2025
The Mighty Bosscats
Madison Heights, Park Drive, Maldon, CM9 5JQ
Local band – The Mighty Bosscats will be releasing their 16th album at this incredible event which will also be filmed and recorded for a live album release as a new offering for the fantastic Maldon Festival.
Richard Townend is a well respected and superb song writer who plays nationally and internationally. He has been nominated for several song writing awards and has had 5 top 3 albums in the British Blues Charts, he has travelled extensively with his music, album 13 was recorded live in Moscow. This is an event you should not miss.
http://www.youtube.com/c/richardtownend
The Austen Trio
19:00-21:00
St Mary’s Church, Mundon
At this unique location the friends of friendless churches have given permission for us to hold this unique event.
The Austen Trio is made up of pianist Samantha Carrasco, Harpist Kate Ham and Soprano Helen Neeves; all professionals who are very much in demand in their chosen fields. Between them they have many years of experience performing as soloists and in ensembles, both in the UK and around the world. They have appeared in some of this country’s top classical concert venues and with highly acclaimed groups such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, I Fagiolini, and the BBC Singers.
This recital is a selection of music loved and played by Jane Austen, and it delivers a fascinating insight into her musical world which has come from a detailed exploration of the Austen Family Music Books. This research was undertaken by Samantha Carrasco as part of her PHD “Jane Austen and the Winchester Connection”. Featuring solo items, duets, and songs; utilising family letters, historical documents and Jane’s own writing, the trio transports the listener to the heart of the Austen family drawing room.
https://friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk
St Mary’s is cared for by the Friends of Friendless Churches, a small charity that rescues and repairs redundant places of worship in England and Wales in order to preserve their rich architectural history and make them available to their local communities.
Saturday, 28th June 2025
GOTHANOVA
14:00-17:00
St Marys Church, Garden, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Let your dark side shine as Androo Arnold – under the project name Gothanova – presents his own “Groovy Songs for Spooky Souls”. Played on electric baritone guitar this is music that fuses strong rhythms to tales of memory and mortality. Numbers such as “Zombified”, “Plague and Poison” and “The Ghost of Love” will surely have your feet tapping and your spine tingling.
www.gothanova.com
Kyson Point is husband and wife duo Kelly and David Edward Booth. Contemporary folk inspired by classic singer songwriters and the stories and moods found all around us in the natural world.
“A staggeringly confident set. Kelly and David build incredible songs around the words.”
(Fatea)
Drew has been crisscrossing the globe soaking up stories and experiences and translating the human experience into songs of longing, love, loss and learning. Drew has been co/writing with some of the top writers across the globe and is constantly writing, touring and recording. During the Lockdown of 2020, with life of the road no longer an option, Drew began a comprehensive re- invention and spent a full year writing and recording music. A series of Nashville recording sessions, with some of the top session players in Music City, resulted in 60 completed songs. Drew has been releasing these songs as singles and to date there has been an aggregate of over 3 Million streams across the catalog and the numbers continue to grow. Most recently, the single “Don’t Run Out Of Time” hit the iTunes Country
chart at #2 in Spain.
Drew is no stranger to the road and is constantly running the highways in the US and is always looking to hit as many stages as possible.
Drew crosses the pond a few times a year to the UK and Sweden. Some highlights being the Maverick Festival, and The Long Road Festival in the UK, Live at Heart in Sweden, Camden Club, The Green Note and The Bedford in London and multiple appearances around the UK and Sweden
Drew and acclaimed film-maker JB Lawrence produced a Mini-Doc “ From Dust We Came” that has been making the film festival and venue circuit. Drew has been screening the 16 minute film, followed by a Q&A and a performance. To date, the film has placed in prestigious film festivals including the Atlanta Documentary Festival and the Greek Film Festival, Drew is also the co-founder of the Tiveden Americana Songwriting Festival in Sweden and brings writers and artists from across the globe to the forests of Sweden. Drew also is a speaker at numerous conferences across the globe and runs workshops on “Dissecting the Digital Dollar”
Acoustic Original Showcase – Jon Greaves
15:00-18:00
Hemlocks, 185 High Street, Maldon, CM9 5BU
Jon Greaves (AKA Greavesey) is probably best known on the local music circuit for his extensive repertoire of songs predominantly from the 1950’s to 1990’s, which he’s been performing in clubs and pubs since he first started out over 30 years ago. Working then as a soloist he soon became known as The Human Jukebox and has since taken his act all across the South of England, onto the continent and as far away as Africa.
However he also has a vast catalogue of self penned songs, which have been well received over the years. Writing in many styles he sites his main influences as being the likes of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Supertramp and Roy Harper. But he has also put a number of comical pieces together too.
Jon’s first success in this field was in getting an amusing little ditty called ‘This Ole Guitar Of Mine’ published in a local song book. Soon after, another was picked up by Amnesty International and he was asked to perform it at many of their events. He has also been instrumental in writing songs for local businesses and places of interest including Stow Maries Airdrome, Purleigh Vineyards and The Maldon Mud Race.
During the early 2000’s Jon co-wrote a festive piece with his friend Angela Gardner called ‘Lets All Go Raving Looney For Christmas,’ which won a radio Christmas song competition, and for a short while became a best seller on the 7Digital Indiestore website. More recently they co-wrote a piece in tribute of the famous Aviation Pioneer Amy Johnson which is currently being used by Jane Priston who runs the Amy Johnson Project in Herne Bay.
Jon and Angela often perform together as The Dengie Duo but have recently been joined by bassist Beth Pratt to form a trio called the Elixir and both girls will be joining Jon on stage during the latter part of his appearance at Hemlocks, to play some old favourites to round up what promises to be a fun filled afternoon of entertainment.
Opera Gala Evening
St Marys Church, Garden, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Final details are yet to be released of this event.
Check back soon for more details.
Sunday, 29th June 2025
Tap Room Session
16:00-19:00
Tap Room, 10 High Street. CM9 5PJ
Join us at the Might Oak Tap Room for an informal afternoon featuring local musicians, real ale, and roast potatoes in a relaxed atmosphere.
Amorosa Choir
19:00-22:00
St Marys Church, Garden, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water
Mersea Island based choir, Amoroso, have been singing together since 2018 and recently performed this show at the Headgate Theatre to three sellout audiences raising over £3,500 for the theatre. We are delighted for the opportunity share our music with you at the 2025 Maldon Music Festival.
A thought-provoking evening of songs and ideas exploring the connection we have with music and the important role it plays in our lives. What is it about melody, harmony, lyrics and time that has such a profound effect on us? Is the connection deeper than that and, if so, does it explain how music really can help us through life’s ups and downs.
Wednesday, 2nd July 2025
Bewicks rock n roll night – with ELVIS
20:00- late
The Bewick Suit, Swan Hotel Bar & Grill, 73 High Street, Maldon, CM9 5EP
The Wednesday Live CLub is proud to have Michael Glaysher plus Louie B’s Jukebox Diner Show performing at The Bewick Suit. Tickets are separately priced for this event at £6.00 on the door.
Thursday, 3rd July 2025
Gabriel Dehaqany Trio
19:00-22:00
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Formed in 2022 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Trio Casella won first prize at the 2024 Piano Trio Society Intercollegiate Competition, the 2023 Ivan Sutton Chamber Music Competition and the 2023 St James Chamber Music Competition. They won third prize at the 2024 Renzo Giubergia International Chamber Music Competition and were shortlisted as one of 11 piano trios to compete at the 2024 Trio di Trieste International Chamber Music Competition. They have performed at venues such as Wigmore Hall, St Martin in the Fields, St John’s Smith Square, Barnes Concert Society, and Leeds Lunchtime International Chamber Music Series. Their multiple broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 include the UK premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s ‘A Thousand Tongues’ in 2024 and a performance of ‘Svartsjukans nätter’ (Nights of Jealousy) by Sibelius with soprano Caroline Bourg, which was described by The Arts Desk as ‘exquisitely delivered’ in 2023. Trio Casella have enjoyed performing masterclasses for musicians such as the Gould Trio, the Linos Piano Trio, the Takács Quartet and Ralf Gothoni.
Friday, 4th July 2025
A Musical Journey Through Time
19:00-22:00
Plume Academy, Stage Hall, Fambridge Road, Maldon, CM9 6AB
Maldon Orchestra has welcomed musicians for 76 years providing an inclusive environment for all standards of players. We play different styles of music from popular to classical. Our Orchestra consists of 50 musicians, who will be giving an amazing concert as part of the Maldon Festival at The Plume Academy in Maldon on 4th July at 7.30pm. Our M.D. Ron Bewers will guide us through many genres of music from light classical to modern-day film and pop music, from jazz to swing. “
Saturday, 5th July 2025
Open Mic
15:00-18:00
Hemlocks, 185 High Street, Maldon, CM9 5BU
Our very own Open Mic for would be acts at the festival – come down and play the afternoon away, showcase your talent.
A’ars Musica – From boys’ choir to male voice choir
19:30 – 22:00
When we think of choral music, the first thing that comes to mind are the famous boys’ choirs with their characteristic sound. It is no less special when a warm, homogeneous men’s choir sings, and tenors and basses create a powerful and romantic concert atmosphere.
On July 5, 2025, we can experience a little of both at St. Mary the Virgin. We will have the men’s choir Ars Musica from Thuringia in the heart of Germany as our guests in an a cappella choir concert.
The Thuringian men’s choir Ars Musica has its roots in the well-known Thuringian boys’ choir from Suhl. Since its founding in 1972, a good 50 years of musical fine-tuning have created an impressive men’s choir of particular homogeneity and richness of sound.
Today, ars musica consist of around 40 singers who, despite their geographical distribution all over Germany and Europe, meet regularly in their Thuringian homeland to rehearse.
In addition to making music together, the choir community is united by its social commitment. The choir regularly uses its performances to apply the proceeds to support social projects in Thuringia and further afield. On their concert tours at home and abroad, the singers inspire audiences with their music and, together with local actors, support social projects of all kinds.
In 2025, this year’s concert tour is taking the men’s choir to the UK. We invite you to this special a cappella choir concert with sacred and secular music from Germany, England, Europe and the world. The artistic director Maik Gruchenberg will also perform organ works from various eras.
This tour of ars musica is under the patronage of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Germany, His Excellency Andrew Mitchell.
Participants: Thuringian men’s choir ars musica
Director of Music and organ: Maik Gruchenberg
Sunday, 6th July 2025
Singer Songwriting Session
13:00-16:00
Conference Room, Maldon Town Hall, Market Hill, Maldon, CM9 4RL
“It’s hard not to view Townend as a sort of latter day Mark Knopfler. His lyricism and fretwork both share echoes of the former Dire Straits leader ”
– Elmore Magazine New York
“This ability to conjure up vivid imagery is a constant throughout the 14 tracks that comprise ‘Ticket to Memphis’ and it’s a rare thing for an album to hold your attention from the opening lines of the first track to the closing lines of the last “
– Americana UK
His music is original, thoughtful, sometimes eclectic, superbly arranged and always well played – In sum, this is a delightful gem of an album in search of a patient listenership”
– Pete Feenstra Get Ready to Rock Radio
Tap Room Session
16:00-19:00
Tap Room, 10 High Street. CM9 5PJ
Join us at the Might Oak Tap Room for an informal afternoon featuring local musicians, real ale, and roast potatoes in a relaxed atmosphere.
Band Jam
18:30-22:30
Hemlocks, 185 High Street, Maldon, CM9 5BU
Get your insturment out and come and jam with fellow musicians in a wonderful evening of free for all music. All abilities and styles welcome – full back line and pa provided. Hosted by Richard, Matt and Bill
Tuesday & Wednesday, 8th & 9th July 2025
The Wizard of Oz
Thursday, 10th July 2025
Blondel Workshop
14:00-16:00
The Octagon, St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Blondel bring you the sounds of their Medieval shawms, bagpipes and recorders, playing pieces from the 14th & 15th centuries including song and dance tunes. They’ll also talk about how the instruments work, how they are the same and how they are different from modern instruments that pupils might be more familiar and where and when music would have been heard in the Middle Ages. There might be a chance for some singing, body percussion work or dancing if time and space allow.
Blondel
19:00-22:00
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Blondel is a Medieval and Renaissance wind band made up of Belinda Paul, Emily Baines and Lizzie Gutteridge. Like the virtuosic wind players of the Middle Ages, we enjoy pushing the limits of our technique, performing music that many might not expect to hear on loud wind instruments, without losing the subtleties of phrasing, mood and balance of the original. Blondel play shawms, recorders, bagpipes and other early wind instruments. It is easy to imagine how the bold tones of a shawm band cut across the hustle and bustle of dance and banquet halls, or even a city square. More surprising to modern ears is the joyful and sophisticated beauty that results from this uniquely blended sound.
Our past performances include concerts in the Cheltenham Festival (broadcast live by the BBC) Cambridge Early Music, Brighton Early Music Festival, King’s Lynn Festival, Medieval Music in the Dales, Beaminster Festival, Leeds International Medieval Congress, the Wimbledon International Music Festival, Totnes Early Music Society, Barnes Music Festival, Worcester Early Music Festival, and Colchester Early Music.
Blondel Medieval & Renaissance wind band playing music from the 14th-16th centuries on shawms, bagpipes and recorders.
What makes a song leap across national boundaries and language barriers, slip from the secular to the ecclesiastic, and remain at the top of the charts for more than 70 years? We don’t have the formula, but we know why these pieces wedged themselves into the cultural background of medieval Europe. The music is fabulous.
Cover Story tracks connections between people, places, texts and music. It follows the evolution of popular late medieval melodies across Europe as they are copied, rearranged and repurposed over years, and even decades.
Catchy dances and lyrical chansons, ingenious rounds and dazzling divisions by Machaut, Dufay, Wolkenstein, Bedyngham, Binchois, and many unnamed masters.
Inspired by the virtuosic wind players of the Middle Ages, Blondel bring you their signature rousing blend of shawms and bagpipes, and introspective mix of recorders.
This year’s Cover Story concerts, and our forthcoming recording, are supported by grants from the Continuo Foundation and Angel Early Music.
Friday, 11th July 2025
Silent Movie Night
19:00-22:00
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Jonathan P. Eyre is widely heralded for his creative and unique abilities in liturgical organ and silent film improvisation.
Concert appearances across the UK include Westminster Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, Truro Cathedral, Portsmouth Cathedral, Leeds Minster, among many others. He has been a featured artist for the Cinema Organ Society, and Viscount Classical Organs. Jonathan regularly plays recitals and services, and leads workshops in choir training, service playing, and organ improvisation.
He is Professor of Organ at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, where he teaches both repertoire and improvisation. Jonathan is also Chapel Organist for Trinity Laban based at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, where he plays for weekly services, broadcasts, CD recordings and other special services.
From 2012−2016, he was Sub-Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral. You will find a number of his CDs available to purchase in the Cathedral Shop. Previously, he held posts at Willington Prep School (renowned for its boys’ choir), St Nicholas Church, Harpenden (where he founded the girls’ choir), and St Paul’s Church, Bedford.
Jonathan studied organ at the University of Sheffield with Neil Taylor, Andrew Fletcher, Gordon Stewart and Colin Walsh. He holds Fellowship and Choral Conducting diplomas from the Royal College of Organists and Trinity College London.
Saturday, 12th July
James Housego
14:00-17:00
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
James Housego, from Maldon, is a pianist currently reading for his undergraduate degree in Piano Performance at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD), studying with Caroline Palmer. He has performed across London and Essex as a soloist and as a Chamber Musician. In September 2025, He will begin his Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano at GSMD
He is an experienced accompanist, having previously been organ scholar for St. Mary’s Maldon from the ages of 14 to 18, and works regularly with other instrumentalists and singers. He is also a highly capable soloist and tries to bring attention to composers of more obscure name.
Lee Probert
15:00-18:00
Hemlocks, 185 High Street, Maldon, CM9 5BU
Lee Warren Probert is a local musician who co-founded the Rock band “The Blue Sunset” before forming Maldon’s very own “Doll Set Tones”
He currently Lives in Suffolk and is the frontman and songwriter for the “Lee Live Trio” He also plays solo and as part of a duo called “Jess and the chords”
He’s been in and around the music scene coming on 30 years and is still putting on impressive performances.
He’s powerful rock vocal range and self-penned popular original songs always draw a crowd and guarantee a good night for music fans.
The Festival Close
St Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Maldon, Essex CM9 5JB
Join us as we close our festival for another year.
More details of this event will be released shortly.
Thank you for your participation
Previous Festivals
2025 Spring Awakening
We relaunched the Maldon Festival in March 2025, with a fantastic evening of enjoying an evening of entertainment featuring Beethoven’s Spring Sonata, Noel Coward and more. Attendees can look forward to performances featuring former festival director, Colin Baldy, with James Davey on St Mary’s organ, Megan Hill on violin and James Housego on Piano.
2023 Coronation Celebrations
In 2023 the Festival adopted the theme of Coronation Celebrations. It featured contemporary artwork and historic music that has been used to celebrate past coronations, some of which was heard again in Westminster Cathedral in May 2023.
2022 The French Connection
In 2022 the musical world celebrates Ralph Vaughan Williams, who was born in 1872 exactly one hundred and fifty years previously. The Maldon Festival took this anniversary as an opportunity to explore the sources of inspiration that shaped the work of Vaughan Williams.