What to expect from Weekend Respites Charity All-Dayer at HPBC
On Saturday 21st September Hyde Park Book Club is hosting ‘Weekend Respite’ a charity event hosting music and visual art from Leeds based creatives. We caught up with the team to find out more about this inspiring event.
We've heard about the charity event at Hyde Park Book Club on Saturday. Can you tell us abit more about it?
Yeah, you’ve heard right! On Saturday 21st September, we’re putting on an all day music and visual arts event called Weekend Respite. You can expect a massive celebration of Leeds’ multi-faceted, vibrant music scene, accompanied by some incredible visuals put together by some of our favourite artists. We’ve also got some fun bits and bobs like a record raffle, and a Samba drum workshop for everyone to look forward to as well!
How did the idea of ‘weekend respite’ come into fruition?
The idea came into fruition off the back of me and Seb finding a great cause to get behind in order to put something on. We’ve put on a couple of events before but this is definitely our biggest undertaking. We both have a really eclectic taste in music, and we’ve had experience playing across a variety of the scenes going on in Leeds, so we knew that we wanted to put something on to bring those scenes together, and reflect our own tastes too. The name Weekend Respite is a play on it being an event for people to come to in order to escape all woes, forget their worries and just become absorbed in the music and general festivities.
Why have you chosen the Teenage Cancer Trust as the partner charity for the event?
We chose Teenage Cancer Trust as a close family member of mine suffered with Cancer over the past year. They were treated in the Young Persons’ Cancer unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, and their support through the whole treatment and recovery process has really been invaluable. All the proceeds will be donated to that specific ward, however the charity have wards at hospitals all over the country, including here in Leeds. We wanted to raise awareness of the charity, as well as raise funds for donation.
Can you tell us a bit about the artists who will be there on Saturday?
Yeah! So we’ve got a whole host of Leeds-based talent on show, and we’ve aimed to provide something for everyone! Joshua Zero is opening up proceedings - he’s an incredible songwriter who’s played some blinding sets at Book Club in the past, and he’ll be showcasing his material with his full live band. We’ve also got Tall Talker bringing their crazy polyrhythmic, time signature bending riffs to the table, and they’ll be followed by a beautiful bunch all the way from London - itolyouiwouldeatyou. They blend together bits of math-rock, emo and indie, and they put out a killer debut album last year called ’Oh Dearism’ - CHECK IT. Tying off all of the rockier side of proceedings, Shaku will be shutting it down with some stonking Blues/Funk riffs, and potentially some B2B guitar solos? That’s what I’ve heard going round anyway!
Above: Long Legged Creatures
On the more electronic side of things, we’ve got Long Legged Creatures (LLC), Morpher and Hannibl x Dante! Morpher are a trio that blend electronics with jazz disciplines to create a huge sound that spans ambient music to drum and bass and hip-hop. LLC will be bringing the grit to proceedings - expect hard hitting basslines, abrasive sampling, and a cheeky hint of post rock! Closing things off before the big headliner, Hannibl x Dante are going to be sprinkling the last bit of spice over the evening with a live set that will be a huge journey through Jazz, Hip-Hop, Bhangra, Afrobeat, Samba...you name it! This will set things up nicely for 9-piece Project Hilts to close the evening - they’re a collective that fuses together grime, latin, jazz and r’n’b influences to bring the party. It’s gonna be large!
I feel like I’m rambling a bit here, but also shout out to Matias Barnes, Christian Veitch and Adam Pits - they’ll be spinning tunes throughout the day in between sets. Also, Elliot Buchanan is gonna be providing some unique live visuals to accompany the music, as well as Joe O’Shea!
Why have you chosen to hold the event at Hyde Park Book Club?
Book Club is just the melting pot for all things good in Leeds at the moment. They have a culture of putting on loads of different music, and it’s just the centre spot for Leeds’ creative scene - that’s how it seems anyhow. It’s a wicked venue, a great vibe, it’s always full of the best people, and it’s well inclusive. Also, lots of bloody amazing cakes (that’s the main reason to be honest).
What do you guys think makes Leeds such a great place to hold events like this?
In Leeds, you don’t get completely ruined by venue hire when putting on events, and there’s so many options of great venues that it’s just a welcoming place to try your hand at putting something on. There’s also just a wealth of wicked musicians, artists and creatives to meet and reach out to, and that are always itching to play a show, or put a piece together. Another thing is that everyone goes to each others events, and you can literally walk everywhere - nowhere seems to be too far for people to come.
Above: NECKTR
Do you have any plans further along the line events-wise?
We haven’t got any plans in motion as of yet, cause this has been such a big project for us, but putting on the occasional cool event is definitely something we’re both very interested in. In terms of upcoming things to look out for, we’re playing in our band, Necktr, supporting Gilles Peterson on Saturday 28th September. There’s also DJ Lubi’s Soul Rebels 7th birthday party on Saturday 5th October featuring TC & The Groove Family. Also, keep an eye out for B-ahwe’s Single Release Party down at Headrow House on the 1st of November!
How can people get tickets?
You can find tickets online through the Weekend Respite Facebook event. Alternatively, you can cop them on Eventbrite too. If not, grab one on the door! £8 adv or £10 OTD.
