The Unthanks were our Artists of the Month for February, the same month in which they released their highly acclaimed album Mount the Air. Our review of the album made it very clear how we felt:
There are times in this life that come through fairly infrequently when you are overwhelmed with the feeling that this is about as good as it gets… the music asks you to consider everything you know and un-think it. It’s beautiful yet stark, orchestral yet intimate, clever yet with simple purity, dark yet kissed with light, ascendant yet earthy and rooted. (read the full review)
That praise was echoed across the music press so it may not come as a surprise to some that today The Unthanks have announced that they will take to Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage with an extended ‘orchestra’, conducted by Charles Hazlewood. This really is the icing on the cake for what has been one of the most highly praised albums of 2015 so far. Fronted by Rachel and Becky Unthank, the 26 piece ensemble, performing the arrangements of Unthanks pianist and musical director Adrian McNally and lead by BBC presenter and music establishment agitator Hazlewood, will hope for a glorious summer’s day as they open the main stage on Saturday.
Amongst the set will be Died For Love, the shimmering third single taken from the new album, described by Robert Wyatt as “really everything you could ever want from music” and by The Independent as “utterly beguiling”. Based on a traditional song and arranged by McNally, Becky Unthank tells the most heartbreaking of stories. Died for Love is released on June 8th, two weeks before their Glastonbury performance.
The Unthanks – Summer Festival Dates
27.05.15 Hay Festival Hay on Wye
27.06.15 Glastonbury Festival
(Pyramid Stage, The Unthanks with Orchestra, conducted by Charles Hazlewood)
10.07.15 Earagail Arts Festival Ireland
11.07.15 Folk at the Hall Trelawnyd, N Wales (Headliners)
19.07.15 Folk by the Oak Hatfield, Herts.
24.07.15 Folkfest Killarney Kerry, Ireland
26.07.15 Deer Shed Festival Topcliffe, N Yorks (Headliners)
01.08.15 Cambridge Folk Festival
02.08.15 Port Eliot Festival (Headliners)
14.08.15 Stockholm Culture Festival
22.08.15 Home Gathering Newcastle (Headlined and curated by The Unthanks)
23.08.15 FolkEast Glemham, Suffolk (Headliners)
29.08.15 Solfest, Silloth, Lake District (Headliners)
30.08.15 Greenbelt, Kettering (Headliners)
05.09.15 End of the Road Dorset
06.09.15 Moseley Folk Festival West Mids
17.10.15 Homegrown Bury (Headliners), Castle Armoury Drill Hall.
05.12.15 The Great British Folk Festival Skegness
Read our In-depth interview with The Unthanks here: Part 1 | Part 2