Curating A Southampton Summer Night 2023 at Turner Sims

‘A Southampton Summer Night 2023’ is coming to Turner Sims on July 14, and this year The Art House is honoured to have been asked to curate it.

This was not an easy task – in the fourteen years I’ve been organising gigs at Southampton we’ve seen so much extraordinary talent grace our stage, to choose just a few to represent that excellence on one night was daunting, but I’m thrilled to share with you now my selection!

First up, Spitdust. They have been making hair-tingling music at The Art House practically since we opened. Why they aren’t on the main stage at Glastonbury by now, is a mystery.  They create huge cinematic soundscapes, drawn from a patchwork of original modern folk and experimental rock. The resulting futuristic ocean of sound takes you deep and is quite unlike anything I’ve heard before – and yet it is strangely familiar. In their latest incarnation they draw upon the retro-futurist nostalgia of 1960s and 1970s counterculture and science fiction. It’s what has given me and the Turner Sims crew the idea behind the aesthetic for the night, which I think will need to be seen to be believed, with discarded computers, cables and a projected backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world. I cannot wait to hear Spitdust in the wonderful Turner Sims auditorium where their sound will have the space to soar!

Spitdust are: Grahame Cleaver bass, beats, Richard ‘Bas’ Barret keyboard, Paul Charisse guitar, Ros Mizen voice, Dan Little guitar.

I have always loved music that defies description, which I know is making a rod for my own back in terms of getting audiences through the door, but you have to do what you love, right? I’m not into booking tribute acts – they’re fine if you like that sort of thing, but I get a kick from hearing where the muse has taken a musician.

And so to my next choice – the genre-busting Babsie Brown and The Miniature Orchestra, pictured top, four fully grown humans playing dark tunes on ridiculously small instruments. Watch them take over the world via the medium of tiny things. As they like to say “it looks kinda funny, but sounds remarkably rad.” Kate Mellors first came to my attention as one third of Polly Gone Wrong, a wonderful acapella trio, one of the many musical projects she’s involved with. Babsie Brown is chaotic, experimental and very very silly.. yet all the musicians are professional and talented and so, they can expertly get away with it. They are great at engaging with the audience and you are guaranteed a laugh .. but with some truly sublime and quite moving moments.

Babsie Brown and The Miniature Orchestra are: Aniya Savage voice, ukulele bass, tiny piano, kazoo, Joel Knee voice, pianos, plastic trombone, kazoo, ukulele, Kate Mellors voice, pianos, kazoo, piccolo, Kieran Murphy voice, tiny drums, tiny percussion, kazoo.

I wanted to provide a real tapestry of very different, yet complementary, acts and wanted someone to represent the amazingly strong singer-songwriter side of Southampton, but who could really fill the acoustic space of the TS auditorium. I was pondering on this when we had Pip Summers come and play at The Art House one night, as she has done many times before, but this time with her merry boys, The Wandering Waterbears. And that was it. They were in! A finely-tuned balance of controlled, chaotic fun, honest and heartfelt (but tuneful) screaming from transfemme multi-instrumentalist, Pip, and just great song-writing. There’s an emotional earnestness and honesty that runs through everything they play. You will fall in love with them!

Pip Summers and The Wandering Waterbears are: Pip Summers guitar, voice, Jess Turpin bass, Lewis Bond guitar, Bailey Harcourt drums, Manuel Guillen violin, Devin Valentine cello (hopefully!), Dean King keys.

So what else can you expect to see? Well, keep an eye out for golden grandee, Albert de Lyon. Under the exclusive management of entertainer Guy Heathcote, Albert is one of Hampshire’s most distinguished and decorated big cats. When not combing his mane, polishing his crown or napping under the nearest tree, you may catch him playing paw-tapping tunes on his trusty squeezebox as he wanders the foyer and the University grounds. Alternatively, he might be in the mood to share one of his many dexterous party tricks, which are sure to earn a roar of approval. Or perhaps he’ll simply drop in for a purr-sonable chinwag with his adopted pride? It’s always hard to tell with Albert… and who’s going to argue with an actual LION???

The evening will kick off at 6:30 PM in the stunning gardens at Highfield Campus outside Turner Sims. Bring your picnic and blanket, and join us for a Summer Nights cocktail, organic ice cream or an amazing home-made vegan pasty or slice of cake from The Art House To Go table.

The night will wrap up with DJ Sir Hubert Carpet (me!) – I’m going to be mixing up some great transcendent dance and world-beats full of vibrant sonic colours and pulsating rhythms. (I am not in the least bit nervous about this!)

‘A Southampton Summer Night 2023’ is a unique chance to hear some of the great unknown bands in and around Southampton. It’s a one-off. It won’t be repeated. So, don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to experience the best of what Southampton’s music scene has to offer.

There’s a booking link and more information on The Turner Sims website.