Our Favourite Places' guide to festive music in Sheffield
Festive sounds will ring out across Sheffield this December. Expect classic carols, choral repertoires, and a jolly set from the city’s premiere comedy-ukulele quintet.
For more tips on gigs and concerts coming up in Sheffield, see the Music Picks on Our Favourite Places.
A rockin' Christmas
After a summer residency at the Leadmill, the city’s favourite crooner Richard Hawley is back at the iconic venue for a string of Christmas shows on 19 December, 20 December and 22 December. The Everly Pregnant Brothers also return to the Leadmill for their annual Christmas show on the 13th – now with added matinee performance to keep up with demand for their unique mix of comedy and ukuleles. Local prog-rock cult legends Haze, meanwhile, will be over at the Greystones for their annual Christmas show on the 18th, celebrating their 44th anniversary.
A classic Christmas
Live music by the warmth and glow of candlelight is the perfect way to set the festive scene. London Film Music Orchestra will bring a candlelit Montgomery to life on 1 December with Christmas at the Movies, playing tunes from big-screen classics like The Snowman and Home Alone. Candlelit concerts at Sheffield Cathedral this December include a string quartet performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on the 9th and Piccadilly Sinfonietta on the 16th. And the following day, join the Brigantes Orchestra for a late afternoon of music and carols over mulled drinks and mince pies.
It isn't Christmas without some brass
It’s not Christmas without a bit of brass band. Grimethorpe Colliery Band, of Brassed Off fame, come to Sheffield Cathedral on 20 December. Over in Crookes, join Stannington Brass Band for an evening at the Punch Bowl on the 14th. The latter are also on the line-up for the Christmas Festival of Music, taking over the Octagon Centre on 16 December.
Something just that little bit different
And if all the Christmas music gets too much, escape into the captivating sounds of Iranian classical music with Medhi Rostami and Adib Rostami on 8 December at The University of Sheffield's Firth Hall. Or take a weekend trip into the worlds of goth, post-punk and electro at the Black Midwin2r Festival at Shakespeare’s on 16–18 December.
You can't beat a bit of traditional music at Christmas
Join in the folk tradition of the Sheffield Carols this November and December, filling pubs with the sound of locally written songs that have passed down the generations. Some of these songs are only sung in Sheffield; some only in one pub. Staying on the folkier end of things, The Magpie Arc come to Firth Hall on 15 December, supported by a repertoire of festive songs from Nancy Kerr, James Fagan and special guest Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span. Also at Firth Hall, Sheffield University Chamber Choir will sing music both sacred and secular, new and old, on the 17th.
And finally...
On top of all that, East 17, the boy band behind iconic 90s Christmas hit Stay Another Day, are coming to spread some festive cheer at Sheffield City Hall on 7 December. And the folks at mental health charity Sheffield Flourish are holding a fundraising Christmas do at SADACCA (Sheffield And District African Caribbean Community Association) on the 8th. They’ll have music from Franz Von of the afrofusion band K.O.G. & The Zongo Brigade, Neighbourhood Voices choir and vinyl DJs Smee and Lonan.
