Simon Armitage and LYR Unveil Blossom Week Event at Quarry Bank, Greater Manchester

LYR, comprised of current British Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, singer-songwriter Richard Walters, and multi-instrumentalist and producer Patrick J Pearson, have unveiled their latest project, Blossomise. The five track Blossomise EP is available to pre order and stream on digital platforms.

Blossomise is the product of an 18-month-long project in collaboration with the National Trust as part of the charity’s annual Blossom campaign. The band also worked closely with various collaborators, including choirs and talented young filmmakers, who created the music videos for each of the songs.

LYR will perform Blossomise on a limited tour of four key cities (Plymouth, Coventry, Manchester and Newcastle) across England that are hosting a variety of creative blossom inspired events as part of the conservation charity’s Blossom Week, 20th – 28th April 2024.

The events will take visitors on a journey through vibrant, vivid soundscapes created by Walters and Pearson, underscored by choral interpretations by local choirs and accompanied by Armitage’s emotive lyrics that both celebrate the ecstatic arrival of spring blossom just as they acknowledge its melancholy disappearance.

In a time where many can feel disconnected from nature, Blossomise seeks to build bridges between communities and nature.

Simon Armitage said: “Blossom is an extraordinary emotional milestone every year, a moment of illumination and resurgence after the dark winter months. Increasingly, we have seen that poetry is resonating with people from across the generations and from many different walks of life, not least when it shades into musical territory and performance. As such, this feels like the right project at the right time, designed to amplify the joy of blossom, encourage people all over the country to feel inspired by nature’s resilience, and to welcome the coming of spring.”

Patrick Pearson added: “Blossom is a fanfare, our hope is to highlight how important and beautiful this event is, not just for nature but for society.”

Richard Walters said: “To be able to perform these works in the vicinity of the natural wonder that is blossom, is going to be incredibly meaningful for us as performers, and I genuinely believe something totally unique and memorable for our audiences. We can’t wait!”

Tickets for the tour are on-sale on the National Trust’s website today. The currently confirmed LYR Blossomise performance dates are:

Saturday 20th April – Plymouth, Market Hall

Sunday 21st April – Coventry, Charterhouse

Saturday 27th April – Greater Manchester, Quarry Bank

Sunday 28th April – Newcastle, Wylam Brewery

A book of the same name, featuring a series of poems and haikus written by Simon Armitage inspired by the blossom season, as well as the lyrics to the five songs, is released today by Faber on World Poetry Day, 21 March 2024.

During Blossom Week, Simon Armitage will be doing readings of his poetry in Belfast and Manchester, with tickets priced from £5:

Thursday 25th April – Belfast, in partnership with Eastside Arts (private event)

Friday 26th April – Manchester, Castlefield Viaduct (very limited capacity)

Now in its fifth year, the National Trust’s blossom campaign features over one hundred events across England, Wales and Northern Ireland with the aim to recreate the Japanese tradition of “hanami”, where people across the generations get involved in enjoying the transient beauty of cherry blossom.

Annie Reilly, head of the National Trust’s Blossom Programme added: “Our blossom campaign has always been about encouraging people to take a moment to slow down in their hectic lives and take in the beauty of nature around them as it awakens from winter.

“Through the five Blossomise songs, LYR has created a 25-minute ‘time-out’ that allows us to do exactly that: to listen, to observe, and to be moved by nature’s incredible show of resilience and hope. We hope everyone will be inspired to celebrate spring’s greatest show with us, whether that is at one of our many events as part of the Festival of Blossom, or remotely, listening to Blossomise songs and poetry surrounded by the spectacle unfolding wherever they live.”

Through the blossom campaign, the Trust is also focussing on working with communities and partners across cities, including: Birmingham – with the ambition to create a new blossom neighbourhood; London – where various pop-up blossom gardens will bloom; and Manchester – with the second year of its Bloomtown trail – to encourage even more people to get involved and to experience the joy of this special time of year.

To find out more about LYR’s performances and to book tickets at this year’s Festival of Blossom, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk.