A JAZZ quartet with a unique sound are to hit the upper dale as part of a whistle-stop tour of the North Pennines.
Amanda Brown and The Common Ears, based in Liverpool, will play the Teesdale Hotel, Middleton-in-Teesdale, on Sunday afternoon, March 25.
Formed in 2015, the jazz and blues outfit mix their 20s and 30s sound with punk, bluegrass, rock and bebop.
Entry is free and the performance starts at 3.30pm, with a hat passed around at the performance.
Gig organiser Hollie-Ann Coleman, from Weardale, brought the band up to the Black Bull, in Frosterley, last year which sparked this latest mini-tour.
She said: “They have an authentic sound from the 20s and 30s with their own songs and others some people should recognise.
“Amanda comes from a background of 20s and 30s singing and she’s been in punk and rock and roll bands.
“They were asked back after they played the Black Bull six or eight months ago so I’ve organised some other gigs.”
The band features Amanda Brown on lead vocals and guitar, Parabhen Lad on double bass, Nick Branton on saxophone and Lucy Mercer, borrowed from pop outfit Stealing Sheep, on drums.
Promoter Michael Carr has brought a number of groups to Teesdale from his native north west.
He hoped the band would offer “something a bit musically unusual” to dale folk.
The highlight of the band’s career to date has been winning a slot on the much coveted BBC Introducing Stage at the 2017 Latitude Festival.
This saw them increase their listenership on the radio.
Normally a trio, the band released their first EP, Medicinal Biscuit in 2017 – which is available online.
Amanda Brown and The Common Ears will play at The Black Bull, Frosterley on Friday, March 23, and The Golden Lion, Allendale on Saturday, March 24, before heading over to Teesdale.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
