An eclectic mix of entertainment lined up for the Spring at the Apex
The Budapest Cafe Orchestra who are one of the many acts due to appear at the Apex in the Spring.
The Apex is planning for a Spring season of spectacular acts and events over the coming months featuring a host of varied artists and bands.
Gordon Buchanan has produced some of the BBC’s most popular wildlife programmes, including the “Animal Families & Me” series, and will share his favourite wildlife encounters on February 7.
There’s more uplifting animal and adventure stories from farmer and TV presenter Kate Humble on March 29, and Ray Mears will bring an invitation to reconnect with the natural world on April 7.
Dom Joly mixes comedy and danger when he talks about his exploits as a globe-trotter of dangerous travel spots in Dom Joly‘s Holiday Snaps on March 2.
After a Zoom gig fail, where he got muted by 639 people, comedian and actor Omid Djalili is now back on a stage and bringing “Good Times” on March 15 and 16, while master of the one-liner, Gary Delaney plays on April 12.
Jazz lovers will want to see The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars, who return to The Apex on January 6 with a new collection of music, narration and projections to celebrate Ronnie Scott’s “Soho Songbook”.
The National Youth Jazz Orchestra’s Amy Winehouse Celebration on January 23 brings a big band sound to hit songs and early works that Amy sang with the NYJO as a 16-year-old back in 2000.
Echoes of Ellington Orchestra return on March 21 with Duke Ellington’s Planets, following their memorable performance under the enormous moon in 2019.
Sultry hot jazz, as made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, meets Western swing in Hot Club of Cowtown on May 1.
Blues music is kept alive by Walter Trout (January 18), whose 50-year-long career includes stints in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Canned Heat.
The original Dr Feelgood guitarist and all-round guitar hero Wilko Johnson takes to the stage on February 11, blues band King King play on February 23, the Blues Band are on February 17, and Paul Jones returns with The Manfreds on April 28.
Country music is ably taken care of by Irish chart-topper Nathan Carter on February 24 and members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gretchen Peters on April 8 and Beth Nielsen Chapman on April 25.
Fans of folk get the full alliteration with Fairport Convention on February 27, The Fureys on March 9 and Feast of Fiddles on April 4.
Freedom to Roam on February 22 fuses folk music with classical, African, Celtic and Indian influences, crossing illusory borders and inviting us to see the world with new, and more hopeful, eyes.
If you like something a little less mainstream, The Budapest Café Orchestra with Christian Garrick (February 3) play traditional folk and gypsy-flavoured music from across the Balkans and Russia, evoking vivid images of fiddle maestros, Budapest café life and gypsy campfires.
Gong bring shades of psychedelia, space rock, jazz, avant-garde, krautrock and surreal soundscapes on March 14.
Rush – A Joyous Jamaican Journey tells the story of reggae and the Windrush Generation on February 28, narrated by comedian John Simmit, with live ska, rock steady, calypso, dancehall and reggae from JA Reggae Band.
Bradford’s finest, the ever-enduring New Model Army play on March 22, while electro-dub-reggae pioneers, Dreadzone perform on May 27.
You can also see Lloyd Cole (February 6), Glenn Tilbrook (March 24), Andy Fairweather Lowe (March 31), China Crisis (April 29), John Illsley (May 2) and Simon & Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene (May 16).
There are hundreds more acts at The Apex in 2022, visit the website www.theapex.co.uk or ring the box office on 01284 758000 for more details.