Posted on: 26th February 2025

Take a trip from Bond themes to bhangra beats in the company of Bradford’s mighty Black Dyke Band, chart-topping pop legend Marti Pellow, star soprano Carly Paoli, Punjabi Roots Academy and Bradford Cathedral Choir – and your host, BBC’s Zoe Ball. BBC Radio 2 Loves Brass is the opening concert in The Big Brass Blowout, Bradford 2025’s weekend-long festival of all things big, brassy and Bradford.

Alongside classic songs by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Wet Wet Wet, you’ll hear operatic arias and bhangra beats, powerful ballads and hymns, song settings by local lad and world-famous composer Frederick Delius – plus a new commission from Peter Graham, one of today’s leading brass band writers, that celebrates Bradford’s 19th-century ties with the ‘New World’ across the Atlantic. Top class brass.

This concert is being recorded for transmission on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.

Graham Thorpe, Bradford Cathedral’s Director of Music, says:
“We’re really excited to be working once again with the Black Dyke Band for the forthcoming Big Brass Blowout. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the choristers to sing on BBC Radio 2 and learn some repertoire of a completely different style from what they would normally sing.”

You can find out more – and book your tickets – on the Bradford Theatres website.