Autumn 2023: What's coming up for Down for the Count
As we move into autumn, we're looking forward to a very busy four months for Down for the Count! Here's a little bit about what we have coming up.
Sun 10 Sept: Songs from the Golden Age of Swing, Cadogan Hall, London
Our Autumn season kicks off with a very special one-off show at Cadogan Hall, London - a beautiful concert hall just off the King's Road in Chelsea. We're always honoured to be invited to return to this venue which we've often sold out in the past - and we'll be appearing there with our 30-piece Orchestra.
At this show we're premiering several brand-new arrangements (written by Mike Paul-Smith) of some beautiful jazz standards - including But Beautiful and Amapola. We're also introducing some new songs such as the Ella Fitzgerald/Nelson Riddle arrangement of Something's Gotta Give and the Rosemary Clooney/Nelson Riddle arrangement of You Took Advantage of Me - which is a feature for our bass trombonist, Simon Chorley.
We even have some exciting additions to the orchestra for this show! For the first time, we're having three trombones in the orchestra and we're also adding a harpist for a touch of Hollywood magic.
Our three singers (Katie Birtill, Lydia Bell and Marvin Marvin Muoneké) are busy brushing up the songs as we speak and we can't wait to perform them all for you. Final tickets available now!
Sept 10 ~ Cadogan Hall ~ Buy Tickets
12 Sept - 4 Nov: A Century of Swing
Two days after our Cadogan Hall show, we're back on the road with A Century of Swing!
This show features our 10-piece All-Stars line-up and is a joyful celebration of the best swing music of the past 100 years. We've been busy working on some new tunes for this leg of the tour - we've recently started performing Mike's arrangement of Duke Ellington's It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) which is a vocal feature for Lydia.
The beauty about this tour is that no two shows are ever quite the same - so feel free to come along even if you've already seen one of the shows on the tour!
We're particularly excited about touring the north of England - we're travelling to Manchester, Liverpool, York, Lancaster and Redditch, all brand-new venues for our All-Stars line-up.
SEPT 12 to Nov 4 ~ A CENTURY OF SWING ~ CHECK DATES
5 Oct: The Music of Motown, Pizza Express LIVE Holborn
It's not just about swing music - we also love performing soul and Motown music and, a couple of times a year, get invited to put on our Motown show at the Pizza Express LIVE venue in Holborn, London. This show will feature some of our soul and Motown songs - and, at the time of writing this article, there are fewer than 30 tickets left - so if you want to join us, don't delay!
OCT 5 ~ The MUSIC OF MOTOWN ~ BUY TICKETS
5 Nov: Sunday Jazz shows at Pizza Express LIVE Soho
Then we just have time to squeeze in two shows at top London jazz club Pizza Express Live, Soho. Because these shows usually sell out we now do two shows in a day - so you can decide whether to join us for Sunday lunch or Sunday dinner!
The experience of enjoying live swing music with delicious pizza and wine is something to savour, especially on a grey November day - so we look forward to seeing you there!
NOV 5 ~ PIZZA EXPRESS SOHO ~ BUY TICKETS
12 Nov - 28 Dec: Swing Into Christmas
And then it's the big one - a 22-show, 19-date tour with our 30-piece Orchestra - Swing Into Christmas!
We simply couldn't be more excited about this one, which is set to be our biggest tour to date. We're travelling to some new venues including Eden Court in Inverness, and the 2,500 seater Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. We'll also be returning to some of our favourite venues including The Forum, Bath and Cadogan Hall, London.
Like the last two Swing Into Christmas tours, this will be a celebration of the festive season - we'll be performing both festive and non-festive tunes, with plenty of our own original arrangements including some brand new tunes.
Some of the shows are already over 50% sold out - so if you're thinking about bringing the family along for this unique Christmas celebration, we'd encourage you to book early to avoid disappointment!
NOV 12 to 28 Dec ~ SWING INTO CHRISTMAS ~ CHECK DATES
About the author
Mike Paul-Smith has over 18 years experience in delivering bespoke live music and entertainment packages for wedding receptions and corporate events across London, the UK and internationally.
He is the company director, pianist and musical director of Down for the Count.
