Our November rock newsletter! Some thoughts from Ken on the 2 acoustic tracks on Silent Spike, Appreciation for music of Aimee Mann, Joey Landreth and Imperial Triumphant. Recent reviews and more... conta.cc/47C3yBL

@englishsymphony.bsky.social is featured in Malvern Gazette/Worcester News in anticipation of Wednesday's performance - the opening concert of their Malvern Theatres' Residency featuring works by Haydn, Weill, Schulhoff, Milhaud, conducted by @kennethwoods.net: malvern-theatres.co.uk/event/eso-th...

JOIN US!Penarth Ex Servicemen's Club Friday 7 November admission! Blues and jams with a little extra desert hot sauce Doors at 730. Jams at 830. youtu.be/1j6_Exl4kmE

Mahler 9 and Strauss's Four Last Songs with the @englishsymphony.bsky.social in @Cheltenham Town Hall on the 2nd of December. This should be unforgettable. Make your plans today! TICKETS cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/englis... youtu.be/h7czscP_gOM

Mahler 9 and Strauss's Four Last Songs with the @englishsymphony.bsky.social in @Cheltenham Town Hall on the 2nd of December. This should be unforgettable. Make your plans today! TICKETS cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/englis... youtu.be/h7czscP_gOM

New single from the very exciting forthcoming record of Symphonies 8 and 9 by Christopher Gunning with the @BBCNOW on @SignumRecords. Complete album released world wide in November open.spotify.com/track/3EQdQL...

Tickets: www.ticketsource.co.uk/west-malvern... Join us for an evening of immersive Americana in one of the Midlands most intimate and acoustically excellent venues. West Malvern Social Club is treasured for it's fantastic atmosphere and it's great drinks selections.

Friends in Malvern, Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Join us at West Malvern Social Club on the 8th of November for a night of American music with a spicy kick. Tickets & details here www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/mal... More detail from the Malvern Gazette www.malverngazette.co.uk/news/2556530...

New single from the very exciting forthcoming record of Symphonies 8 and 9 by Christopher Gunning with the @BBCNOW on @SignumRecords. Complete album released world wide in November open.spotify.com/track/3EQdQL...

#NewConcertMc 12 November 2025 @MalvernTheatres Great @kennethwoods.net @englishsymphony.bsky.social present: #Haydn Symphony No. 60 (Il Distratto)! #Haydn in "The Joker’s Wild – Mischief in Music"!!! eso.co.uk/eso-the-joke...

Really looking forward to this fantastic programme at @MalvernTheatres with the @EnglishSymphony. Join us on 12 November! malvern-theatres.co.uk/event/eso-th... youtu.be/R38oeWWF-vk

Hi everyone Do I know anyone who illustrates (or aspires to illustrate) graphic novels (or knows someone brilliant who does). In this case, it's a historic theme, so the aesthetic will be western with a bit of steam punk for fun Please feel free to nominate yourself!

Put on your flapper dresses, spats, pearls and hats & join @EnglishSymphony on 12 Nov as @MalvernTheatres are gearin' up for the most wicked evening of music this side of a Chicago speakeasy Tickets - malvern-theatres.co.uk/event/eso-th... youtu.be/R38oeWWF-vk

Lily White - give it a listen? "The lyrics ache with unspoken horror, as Woods’ deep, rich, and world-weary voice delivers each line with a gravity that feels like he has furrowed brows amidst a candlelit room." Illustrate Magazine youtu.be/d4UqZE49uLc

The Joker’s Wild – Mischief in Music @Malvern Theatres Wed 12th November, 7.30pm Tickets: malvern-theatres.co.uk/event/eso-th... Haydn – Symphony No. 60 (Il Distratto) Weill – Cabaret Songs Schulhoff – Suite for Chamber Orchestra Milhaud – The Ox on the Roof April Fredrick, soprano @kennethwoods.net

May this be true of your tomorrow... and the next day... and... youtu.be/12zK3b6s-aA?...

Reform will apparently pledge today that they'd abolish indefinite leave to remain - including retrospectively, to people already granted it. Obviously this is a moral abomination but it is also a practical and legal impossibility.

Starting a new series over on YT where we take our time telling the tales of how songs get written and come to life. I'm callin' it Storytime, and episode one is a doozy. Give it a listen here: youtu.be/2-VivRhKFHY Stream the album here artists.landr.com/silentspike

"... alt-Americana at its most uncompromising... a probing take on the largely forgotten role of Chinese immigrants involved in the construction of the Transcontinental Railway A tale of alienation, exploitation and ostracization which has lost none of its horrific impact" arcana.fm/2025/09/19/o...

Starting a new series over on YT where we take our time telling the tales of how songs get written and come to life. I'm callin' it Storytime, and episode one is a doozy. Give it a listen here: youtu.be/2-VivRhKFHY Stream the album here artists.landr.com/silentspike

This may sound a little Faustian, because it is.... Much as I loath splatify, their metrics are the doorway to radio play and media access. We just found out Silent Spike now appears on 901 playlists, which seems amazing to me. Bigger things happen at 1k. open.spotify.com/album/2qWMHO...

"Parry Karp steers an adroit path between delivering the intense soaring melodic invention with passion, and reining in the fervour to create contrast. The sinewy cello figuration is expertly delineated, with the complex rhythmic notation accurately drawn" www.thestrad.com/reviews/parr...

"Throughout the performance, Woods and the ESO devote admirable attention to clarity and balance, providing the listener with a wonderfully translucent reading, harking back to Paavo Berglund’s ground-breaking takes on the score. jarijuhanikallio.wordpress.com/2021/11/21/s...

RIYL @govtmule.bsky.social #allmanbrothers #Mountain #TomPetty Sundown Town "Some songs don’t just play through your speakers — they barrel into your chest like a freight train. “Sundown Town” does exactly that." artists.landr.com/056870384665

Have a listen to our single "Steel Stretcher" and see if you can solve this little riddle. The guitar sound used on the fills is an homage to the sound on a solo from a famous 80s pop hit. Can you guess what song it was and who played the solo on it? open.spotify.com/track/2qq3QG...

🎹 Freddy Kempf is our fabulous soloist for the 2025-26 Season-opening concert on Fri 19th September at #Cheltenham Town Hall 🎵 Hear Freddy play Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2: cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/englis... @kennethwoods.net #piano #concert #orchestra #rachmaninoff #gloucestershire

New from Cage Riot "Ken Woods and The Old Blue Gang have done it again. With Silent Spike, this powerhouse delivers a monumental, genre-consuming concept album that not only is born from history but is likely to also make it. www.cageriot.com/post/ken-woo...

Our current single, Tapiola RIYL #sibelius #symphonies #blackmetal #nature #scarystuff #orchestras #sibeliusagain #hauntedforests #demonsandmonsters open.spotify.com/track/5EBFnz... @englishsymphony.bsky.social @jeansibelius.bsky.social

Our current single "Steel Stretcher" Give it a spin! RIYL #srv #jeffbeck #JimiHendrix #mastodon #willienelson open.spotify.com/track/2qq3QG...

"With sharp lyrics, unpredictable arrangements, and a raw commitment to storytelling, Woods and his band interrogate forgotten history with grit and musical daring. Silent Spike is more than a concept album — it’s a provocative, unflinching listen" TAGG tagg.com.au/ken-woods-th...

Our pal @kennethwoods.net explains the advantage of baritone guitars. I've seen them, including a Gretch (at Gorby's Music in South Charleston, WV) but didn't know their character. www.youtube.com/shorts/xxhSs...

Check out the record here. See if you can spot all the baritone appearances on the album? artists.landr.com/silentspike

Yes, it's that time again! Another thrilling episode of The Guitars of Silent Spike. Time to meet my good friend, Bari. Please check out the album, and if you dig it, spread the word! #retro #oldschool #orchestration #guitar #baritoneguitar #gretsch youtube.com/shorts/xxhSs...

Yes, it's that time again! Another thrilling episode of The Guitars of Silent Spike. Time to meet my good friend, Bari. Please check out the album, and if you dig it, spread the word! #retro #oldschool #orchestration #guitar #baritoneguitar #gretsch youtube.com/shorts/xxhSs...

#NowListening Ernest Bloch: Schelomo - Hebraic Rhapsody, Suite For Viola and Orchestra Parry Karp (cello), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Kenneth Woods #NewReleases2025 225/

Cellist Parry Karp and Kenneth Woods / BBC Wales outdo themselves on this new CD of Ernest Bloch music for cello and orchestra. They “…bring an intense interpretive depth to these works, colour and detail well thought through,” says Christian Hoskins in his Aug. Gramophone review.

📣 REVIEW | JANE EYRE at the Arcola Theatre 🎭 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 💬 “at once powerful and raw while remaining refined and focused” 📖 thespyinthestalls.com/2025/08/jane-eyre-3/ 👉 @arcolatheatre.bsky.social @kevinwilsonpr.bsky.social #️⃣ #review #thespyinthestalls #Bronte #JaneEyre #Grimeborn #Opera

Going where no other company has dared: Green Opera gives the stage premiere of Joubert's Jane Eyre in a full-blooded performance at Grimeborn Festival at Arcola Theatre with Laura Mekhail, Hector Bloggs, Eleanor Burke, Kenneth Woods. My review: www.planethugill.com/2025/08/goin...

📣 REVIEW | JANE EYRE at the Arcola Theatre 🎭 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 💬 “at once powerful and raw while remaining refined and focused” 📖 thespyinthestalls.com/2025/08/jane-eyre-3/ 📷 Camilla Greenwell 👉 @arcolatheatre.bsky.social @kevinwilsonpr.bsky.social #️⃣ #review #thespyinthestalls #JaneEyre #Grimeborn

#REVIEW #4* from Jackie Thornton for Jane Eyre at Arcola Theatre, London “opera like you’ve never seen before and at an affordable price tag” fairypoweredproductions.com/jane-eyre-re... #janeeyre #grimborn #arcola #theatre #london #fairypoweredproductions

Curtain call for John Joubert's opera Jane Eyre, by Green Opera company at the Arcola Theatre. The first fully-staged performance of Joubert's final opera.

"Make no mistake, these are deeply thoughtful and superbly realized performances which launch the ESO’s Sibelius cycle in impressive fashion." Richard Whitehouse, @arcanafm.bsky.social arcana.fm/2025/08/10/e... Listen here: open.spotify.com/album/3ETgiE...

And all these years they've been telling us it's God's house! Reverend Baker seems to have said the quiet part out loud. Time to change the Biblical text to: "Love thy neighbour.... unless they're making a racket" www.youtube.com/shorts/Gj9iB...

Opening night of Jane Eyre was pretty special. Can't wait for my two remaining perfs on Fri and Sat (tix available). Great to see this 5* response.Experience an inspired and immersive staging. Congrats Eleanor Burke and the whole cast, crew and orchestra thespyinthestalls.com/2025/08/jane...

Shock as parts of Constitution disappear from government site: 'Almost didn't believe it' www.rawstory.com/article-i-se...

"Silent Spike is a blood-and-rust roots-rock epic, where every note feels lived in and every lyric hits like truth long denied... www.melodrift.com/post/ken-woo...

Apparently he was auditioning for a new production of "Diddler on the Roof".....

It was taken up by Northern Sinfonia & Rudolf Schwarz a year later. There were also performances in Mainz (1977), Vienna (1978), & then a 33-year hiatus before Kenneth Woods championed & recorded all 4 symphonies with the @orchestraoftheswan.bsky.social

Born #OTD in 1890, the Austrian-British composer, author & teacher, Hans Gál. His 4th (& final) Symphony (Sinfonia Concertante) was premiered in Edinburgh by the Reid Orchestra & the composer in January 1975. open.spotify.com/track/2Me0lX... #britsymphyear

"The Old Blue Gang doesn’t just play music — they raise the dead... a searing concept album that’s part folk opera, part rock manifesto, and wholly uncompromising...." What a wonderful feature from Philomena Marie at WeSpeak Magazine wespeakmedia2.com/from-baton-t...