[Queen Square 2022]
It’s that time of the year when Bath is full of music and song – and its all free!
Tonight’s Party in the City sees the start of The Bath Festival, this year celebrating its 75th anniversary.
From 5pm the city centre will be filled with the sound of music as bands, choirs and orchestras perform in dozens of venues, including Bath Abbey, Queen Square, Parade Gardens, pubs, churches and museums – and it’s all for free! Pick up a Party in the City flyer for details of who’s playing where or look on Bath Festivals’ website.
The festival, which runs until Sunday 21 May, features over 130 events, including some sublime classical music concerts and the festival’s annual guided, themed walks exploring Bath’s links with film, literature and royalty.
The Guildhall will be the festival hub, with events featuring authors and well-known people, including Vince Cable, Jeremy Bowen, playwright Michael Frayn, comedians Fern Brady and Cariad Lloyd and author Joanne Harris. The Guildhall will also host the festival pop-up bookshop, run by Mr B’s Emporium and a festival café.
Highlights include the Concert for the People of Bath in The Forum, when Bath Philharmonia will be joined by Schools’ Voices, a Bath Festival choir made up of young people from a dozen local secondary schools. Komedia will be the venue for an evening with the Polari Salon,a celebration of LGBTQ+ words and music, which will include poetry and a performance by Miss Hope Springs, bringing music and some scandalous showbiz tales.
Bath-based writer Max Porter will be bringing his latest book, Shy, alive with an exclusive dramatic reading by the author during a unique event at Komedia, which will end with a drum’n’bass session from local DJ Nicho, fitting 90s music for a book set in 1995.
For the first time this year The Bath Festival is offering a flexible pricing model to allow as many people as possible to enjoy live arts events.
Go to https://bathfestivals.org.uk/the-bath-festival/whats-on-party-in-the-city/ for more information.
