Buxton International Festival

Creative Tourist

Book now

Buxton International Festival 2023

6-23 July 2023

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Buxton International Festival 2023.
Book now

Buxton International Festival is back this summer, with a knock-out line-up of opera, jazz, music and book events taking place in venues across the town from 6-23 July 2023. Included in The Times’ top 50 must-see events around the globe, the Festival is one of the UK’s leading cultural events, and attracts the very best singers, musicians and speakers from across Europe. Here we round-up the highlights of this year’s programme.

Music is a big part of Buxton International Festival. In addition to a hugely impressive opera series (which we cover in more detail here) and a bold new musical (head here) built around the songs of Ivor Novello, the 2023 Festival will feature many highly respected names in classical music.

Nicola Benedetti.

 

Since winning the BBC’s Young Musician title in 2004, Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has forged a dazzling international career, and in 2022 she became the first Scot and the first woman to be appointed Director of the Edinburgh International Festival. On 10 July at Buxton Opera House she’ll perform a programme of Vivaldi, Corelli and Geminiani with The English Concert, one of the world’s leading period-instrument orchestras. Additionally, we’ve got our eyes on the fresh and imaginative Sacconi String Quartet on 12 July, the brilliant chamber music group Endymion on 15 July and Ensemble Molière on 17 July.

Pianistic talent will be in good supply at the Festival, not least in the form of Paul Lewis CBE, whose cycles of core piano works by Schubert have received unanimous critical and public acclaim worldwide. On 19 July at St John’s Church, he’ll perform three of Schubert’s glittering sonatas. Joanna MacGregor CBE will take to same venue on 14 July to play her own works alongside a programme of Bach, Schumann and Barber. Meanwhile, on 18 July, the church will also host internationally-renowned pianist Peter Donohoe and clarinetist Sacha Rattle in a concert inspired by ‘the lyrical romanticism of Brahms and Berg’.

Before MacGregor’s concert on 14 July, Dame Sarah Connolly, one of the finest singers of her generation, and Joseph Middleton, “one of the brightest stars in the world of song and Lieder” (BBC Music Magazine), return to Buxton following their sell-out appearance two years ago. This is the third concert in Middleton’s ‘Seasons’ series —  a sequence of song recitals, featuring guest singers Nicky Spence, Lucy Crowe and Ashley Riches, exploring responses to the four seasons.

As well as these classical highlights, there are many jazz concerts to look forward to, most taking place during the ‘Jazz Weekender’ which opens the Festival on 6-10 July, and for which separate tickets are available.

Wynton Marsalis by Rob Weyman.

 

Jazz highlights include the iconic trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who experiments in an ever-widening palette of forms and concepts that constitute some of the most advanced thinking in modern jazz. On 10 July, he’ll perform a specially-curated set in what is a relatively intimate space for an artist of his calibre: Buxton Opera House.

Another legendary performer making a rare appearance is the New Jersey-born soul singer, Madeline Bell, who performs with award-winning singer, pianist and broadcaster, Ian Shaw. This show debuts as an exclusive for Buxton, and you can expect searing ballads, swinging songs from the American classic canon, and a few surprises. Additionally, R&B meets rock when Geno Walsh and The Ram Jam Band perform an unmissable double header with Manchester-based Sad Café.

Young jazz talent comes in the form of pianist/vocalist Tom Seals, who brings his sextet to Buxton, fresh from his Sky Arts show and sell-out gigs at Birdland, Ronnie Scott’s and Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Shez Raja, meanwhile, is one of the hottest bass players around, and will present a sonic kaleidoscope of Indo-jazz, thundering funk, tuneful ragas and euphoric grooves at the Pavilion Arts Centre on 8 July.

Sir David Hare by Iona Wolff.

 

As for the book series Buxton again leads the way in conversation and debate with its line-up of authors, commentators and politicians.

Top guests for 2023 include award-winning English playwright, screenwriter, theatre and film director Sir David Hare, who discusses his latest collection of essays and poems We Travelled at Buxton Opera House on 8 July. Another big draw is Turner prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, who appears at the same venue on 14 July, to discuss his book Art is Magic.

Some of the country’s leading journalists are also set to appear at the Festival. The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen and Edward Stourton will speak at Buxton Opera House on 11 and 18 July respectively and the Guardian’s editor-at-large Gary Younge presents ‘Dispatches from the Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter’ at the Pavilion Arts Centre on 7 July.

Political guests include Alistair Campbell (22 July, Buxton Opera House), Jesse Norman (21 July, Pavilion Arts Centre) and Nick Thomas-Symonds (20 July, Pavilion Arts Centre), while social commentator Polly Toynbee (8 July, Pavilion Arts Centre) speaks on class and meritocracy, and Colin Grant (14 July, Pavilion Arts Centre) shares stories of his aspirational Jamaican family in Britain.

Travelling via Antarctica and across the world to become one of the UK’s foremost explorers, Sara Wheeler (18 July, Pavilion Arts Centre) tells the story of life in a notoriously testosterone-laden field; Isabella Tree (22 July, Pavilion Arts Centre) speaks on her seminal book Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm; and Dame Kate Bingham and Tim Hames (21 July, Buxton Opera House) tell the inside story of the race to vaccinate Britain during the pandemic.

As you can see, the programme is rather huge, and we’ve really only scratched the surface of the 130+ events on offer. For the full lowdown, and for more information on booking, head to Buxton International Festival’s website via the ‘Book Now’ button below.

Where to go near Buxton International Festival

Manchester
Gallery
Black Redstart Gallery

Black Redstart Gallery is located in the Northern Quarter and runs a busy programme of exhibitions from emerging and established artists.

RJC Dance Xmas Show
Leeds
RJC Dance

RJC Dance, based in Chapeltown, Leeds, champions youth and education, leading inclusive Black dance in the North through national partnerships.

texture logo
Manchester
Gallery
texture mcr

Possibly one of the city’s most mysterious art galleries, texture is a small and perfectly-formed independent space in Ardwick.

The Beacon at Cliffe Castle Park
Bradford
Park
Cliffe Castle Park

Cliffe Castle Park hosts the Beacon, a stunning performance space that will be touring the district throughout Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.

Hern Food
Leeds
Restaurant
Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
Shop
Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
Shop
Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

Leeds
Restaurant
Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
Restaurant
Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

What's on: Music

Until
FestivalsSale
Refract 25 at Waterside

Back for 2025, Trafford’s flagship arts festival returns to Waterside for six days of experiential performance and cultural delight.

Arun Ghosh launches Refract 25. Image courtesy of Dawn Kilner.
Until
MusicManchester
Live Music at Refract 2025

Refract returns to Waterside this July with a genre-spanning music programme that’s as playful and unpredictable as the festival itself – and much of it is completely free.

From £0.00
YAANG Press Image
MusicLiverpool
YAANG at The Jacaranda

The North West’s most fun new band rolls into Jacaranda this July, fresh off the back of their debut EP No and a place on the NME 100 list.

From £11.00

Culture Guides

Author portrait
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Two women stand next to an orange car.
Cinema in the North

August brings a huge LGBTQ+ film festival, plus a reggae classic and a spotlight on Japanese animation.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Blondshell by Hannah Bon.
Music in the North

From Lyra Pramuk’s sacred synths to the sugar rush of YAANG, our latest music picks bring ritual, rebellion and ridiculous levels of fun.

Exhibitions in the North

Monumental sculptures, charcoal confessions and a show of two paintings only - all this and more in this month's exhibition picks.