To mark John Newton’s 300th birthday, Angeline Morrison; Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne; Jon Bickley and John Palmer explore his life; the inextricable link between his hymn Amazing Grace and the slave trade; its iconic status as a protest against oppression and its relevance to today’s legacies of colonialism.
It’s a show built around the songs from a critically-acclaimed album that is also rated by Mojo magazine and The Daily Worker as one of 2024’s Top Ten, and has emerged from a three-year Arts-Council project.
The project has already produced a series of exhibitions, podcasts, videos, lectures, seminars and an album (currently being revised for the tour).
The live version of Grace Will Lead Me Home uses traditionally-based and new songs, linked by 18th century diaries and writings from Newton, Wilberforce, Equanio and other contemporaries, to highlight all aspects of his life; how Amazing Grace became such an iconic statement of protest and what it means in the modern world.
Praise
The Guardian: Stirring and Imaginative
Mojo Magazine: Echoes of Peter Bellamy’s The Transports – the sounds here are sweet indeed **** (Top ten album of the year)
Songlines: Powerful compositions, gorgeous arrangements
Folking: Heady stuff
Fatea: Passionately intense, simply beautiful and deeply moving
Roots Magazine: A truly triumphal experience
KLOF Magazine: A fine album with themes remarkably relevant to today
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