Grizzly Bear
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Tuesday, 7pm, dlwp.com
After their fourth album, Grizzly Bear found themselves at a crossroads. There was a feeling among the group that a good rest was in order. Five years later they’re back with fifth record Painted Ruins – and we can all be grateful for their reappearance. Of their comeback album, the band say: “Even though there are serious themes we tried to keep the sound as light as possible.”
Milton Jones
Theatre Royal Brighton, Wednesday and Thursday, 8pm, atgtickets.com
The comic is known for his quick, surreal wit which is often seen on television panel shows – as well as his collection of Hawaiian shirts and dishevelled mop. In this new show, he talks about why buying a seesaw was the best decision he ever made. He’s also got vague designs on being Prime Minister, although he acknowledges he’d probably do a worse job than Theresa May. Like the best comedians, Jones looks at life sideways on and is adept at judging the national mood. Don’t miss his two nights in Brighton.
Medea Electronica
The Old Market, The Old Market, Hove, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7.15pm, theoldmarket.com
You can’t accuse this production of not being ambitious. Performed by electronic musicians Pecho Mama, Medea Electronica brings together a few different and apparently unrelated elements. It’s a bold reworking of the ancient Greek tragedy Medea, set amid the technological chaos of the 1980s. Driving it all is the a stimulating electronic soundtrack with a hint of prog-rock. This mishmash doesn’t sound like it would hang together but audiences and critics have enthused about it.
Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
Brighton Dome, Sunday, 2.45pm, brightondome.org
The undeniable first signs of winter are dismally apparent, but the change of seasons is not without its benefits – like the new programme for the city’s beloved Philharmonic Orchestra. This first concert of the BPO’s new season focuses on the greats of Romanticism, including Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Brahms. Barry Wordsworth leads the ensemble as usual, joined by a highly promising young Romanian pianist by the name of Alexandra Dariescu. She was named as one of “30 pianists under 30 destined for a spectacular career” by International Piano Magazine.
Richard Thompson
Brighton Dome, Wednesday, 7.30pm, brightondome.org
While he might not quite have the profile of some of his British songwriting contemporaries, Thompson is a vital and hugely influential artist. His songs have been been covered by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant to name two, and Rolling Stone magazine hailed him as a “perennial dark-horse contender for the title of greatest living rock guitarist”. His guitar playing is both technically awe-inspiring and emotionally broad; he can sweep from delicacy to drama in a bar.
Sir Michael Parkinson
Pavilion Theatre, Worthing, Tuesday, 7.30pm, 01903 206206
English broadcaster, journalist and author Sir Michael Parkinson will be making a special appearance in Worthing for an intimate evening in conversation with his son Mike, who will be celebrating the life and career of Parky, who has interviewed more than 2,000 of the most important cultural figures of the 20th and 21st centuries. Showing highlights from the Parkinson archive, this new theatre show will provide a unique opportunity to get an intimate, entertaining and informative look at Sir Michael’s remarkable journey from humble upbringings in a Yorkshire mining town, to becoming one of the most familiar faces on television.
Richard Alston Dance Company
Theatre Royal Brighton, Tuesday, 7.30pm, 08448 717650
The respected dance company embarks on a tour with three works, including Carnaval, a new piece by Richard Alston. The work is inspired by a piece of the same name for piano, by German composer Robert Schumann. Alston’s precise musicality and meticulous eye for detail is also distilled in his Chacony, which received its London premiere at Sadler’s Wells in June. Alston has also revived his much-loved Gypsy Mixture (2004). Chacony is inspired by Britten’s String Quartet No. 2, conceived as a tribute to Purcell. Britten composed his Chacony in 1945 following a visit to the recently liberated concentration camps of Europe with violinist Yehudi Menuhin. On the difficult subject, Alston said: “I didn’t want to trivialise it. There is something very dark in the music that I wanted to get to grips with and express. I felt it should not be about obvious grief stricken images but about people being very tender with each other.”
Private Lives
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne, Tuesday to next Saturday, 7.45pm (2.30 matinees on Wednesday and Saturday), 01323 412000
Noel Coward’s popular play is revived in Eastbourne. A classic battle of the sexes, Private Lives is set in the South of France in 1930. Two newly-married couples occupy adjoining honeymoon suites in the same hotel. As an orchestra plays, Sibyl gazes adoringly at charismatic husband Elyot, while Victor admires his new wife, the sophisticated Amanda. Champagne flows as the newlyweds prepare for the evening ahead. But when Amanda overhears a familiar voice singing a forgotten song, an old spark reignites, with spectacular consequences.
Holly McNish
The Old Market, Hove, Sunday, 7.30pm
With Benjamin Zephaniah stating, “I can’t take my ears off her”, Kate Tempest describing her poetry as “welcoming, galvanising and beautiful” and fans ranging from Robin Ince, Pink, and Tim Minchen, Hollie McNish is a poet whose readings are not to be missed. She is an Arts Foundation Fellow in Spoken Word, has garnered over seven million YouTube views for her online poetry performances and was the first poet to record at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios. Here, she will perform poems from her new collection PLUM, which charts Hollie’s journey from childhood to adulthood.
Sister Act Live Choir
Brighton Dome, Saturday, 7.45pm, 01273 709709
Sister Act, the classic 1992 musical comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, is the latest film to receive the live cinema treatment. Sister Act Live Choir boasts a choir made up of 35 gospel singers and a full band as they accompany the onscreen nuns with live performances of songs from the film soundtrack.
The Mountain Goats
The Haunt, Brighton, Thursday, 7pm, thehauntbrighton.co.uk
Formed in California in 1991, the alternative rock four-piece have established themselves as a group capable of great emotional breadth. With their 16th release Goths, frontman John Darnielle explores a theme closer to his heart than many might assume by listening to his band’s music.
Squeeze
Brighton Dome, Thursday, 7pm, 01273 709709
Formed by songwriting duo Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, Squeeze shot to public attention after releasing their debut album in 1977, enjoying a series of pop-rock hits thereafter. Jools Holland was a long-time member. A decade ago Difford and Tilbrook reformed the group and they’ve been going strong ever since.
Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton
Komedia, Brighton, Thursday, 01273 647100
The founders of folk group The Be Good Tanyas come together for a new project about North America. Both musicians have lived and travelled through various states in their lives up to now – not to mention Canada, where they formed the band – and this gig sees them attempt to get to the heartland of the US. Expect new material along with songs from The Be Good Tanyas’ back catalogue.
The Pretenders
Brighton Dome, Tuesday, 7pm, 01273 709709
This tour follows the release of Alone, the first Pretenders album for eight years. The album was recorded by Chrissie Hynde in Nashville with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and sees the punk frontwoman at her dynamic best. Sure to be explosive.
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