Are you ready for a jampacked April of exciting events at the mill, and that’s not even mentioning our Open Days coming back! A series of collaboration with promoters, music lovers, farmers markets and more – there’s something for everyone – we advise to get booking those tickets as spaces are limited, unfortunately due to popular demand the Coffee and Calligraphy event has already sold out.
Hope to see you soon.
Red Deer Club 19th Birthday Weekender / Saturday 6th (7pm – 11pm) and Sunday 7th April (5pm – 9pm)
Back in 2005 the humble beginnings Red Deer Club started in the upstairs of a vegetarian café in South Manchester. A live music night that encapsulated a time and a moment of togetherness, riding the coattails of the ‘Nu Folk’ scene up until 2015, the night has been reborn and found a new home in the Colne Valley.
Nineteen years have passed so what better what to celebrate with two nights at Dark Woods Coffee with a weekender of experimental, forward-thinking folk music.
Saturday 6th April Live: Stick In The Wheel, Jim Ghedi (full band), Zandra & Andrew DR Abbott
Sunday 7th April Live: Daudi Matsiko, Penny, Good Good Blood & Test Card Girl
Fully stocked bar by our good neighbours Zapato!
Red Deer Club Weekend and day tickets available here / £10 - £25
Food Circle (Farmers Market) at Zapato / Thursday 18th April / 6pm – 7.30pm
A monthly food market selling seasonal, locally-produced fruit, veg, bread, cheese, meat, dairy and more! A one-stop grocery shop, but with PINTS!
With your help Food Circle Huddersfield is building a better food system for the Colne Valley. They are committed to:
- Providing local people with access to the best local produce available.
- Giving the community the tools and skills to make the most of fresh, seasonal ingredients.
- Creating a fair and sustainable food system.
Every third Thursday of the month / We also open as Pop up Shop (not café) in our mill space!
Coffee and Calligraphy (as part of the Huddersfield Literature Festival) / Wednesday 24th April / 7pm – 8.30pm
In this fascinating practical session, you will be introduced to traditional Arabic Calligraphy (Nastaliq Script) and have a go using bamboo pens and hand-mixed ink. You will also learn about the history of, and the relationship between, coffee and the Arab world. Everyone is welcome / Materials and coffee are provided.
/ Bio: Razwan Ul-Haq is an Artist and Author whose prime vehicle is Arabic Calligraphy, particularly the Nastaliq script. Whilst he has received training in calligraphy from different Masters of Arabic, his work is influenced also by Chinese and Japanese thought and contemporary art. He is a QEST Scholar (Royal Warranty Holders Association) and a widely exhibited Artist whose work has been displayed in galleries and museums in the UK and abroad. His commissions include work for the Queen, and Land Art for the inaugural Tour de France of Britain.
His work has appeared in various platforms including Channel 4, BBC Radio 4, The Times, ITV and USA Today. He is one of very few artists whose art was projected alongside Van Gogh's Immersive Experience. Razwan is currently working on a project looking at man vs machine with regards to Arabic Calligraphy. Here he is exploring what sets the human apart from Artificial Intelligence, and why in an age of technology, his workshops using traditional hand-crafted bamboo pens and hand-mixed ink remain popular.
SOLD OUT / Razwan Ul-Haq Website
&Piano Festival ((LISTEN)) - Classical Night / Saturday 27th April / 7.30pm – 10pm
After a sell-out gig last year, &Piano - the young and exciting Slaithwaite-based music festival that showcases classical music performed by some of the best professional performers in the North - kicks off it's 2024 with another classical gig like no other, and a return to the the cool and cosy surroundings of Marsden's award winning coffee roaster Dark Woods Coffee HQ, to share with you a fantastic mix of music from Opera to Musical Theatre, Classical to Folk and much more.
This year we're joined by Manchester-based, Irish violinist Mollie Wrafter to show off some fiddle playing, and share just a little slice of some of the music that's been written for one of the most popular and important instruments in classical music. Mollie studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, has won numerous awards, plays as part of the Treske String Quartet and has worked with Manchester Collective. Proud of her Irish heritage, you can definitely expect to hear some beautiful and moving Irish folk music.
Alongside Mollie, our singer this evening is Armand Rabot, a young up-and-coming Baritone singer from the Northwest, with a very exciting voice. He's been making a buzz in the world of Opera, having won numerous awards all over the country, and he's already performing roles with British Youth Opera and Grange Park Opera. He'll be showing off what a rich, low operatic voice can do with powerful Operatic Italian arias, hauntingly beautiful songs, and some lush Musical Theatre show-tunes. Guiding you through the evening and accompanying them both on keys again will be &Piano Artistic Director Chris Pulleyn.
& Piano £15 advance tickets here
