The Bradford Progress
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Currently wearing the crown of UK City of Culture, Bradford celebrates its rich musical landscape with a two-day sonic journey led by Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller, the pioneering Charles Hazlewood and his Paraorchestra, and the people of Bradford themselves.
Over one weekend in May, the Bradford District will come alive with sound, as hundreds of musicians and singers from across the district create a musical map of the place they call home. This hugely ambitious event unfolds across multiple locations, beginning at sunrise on Saturday 17 May against the stunning backdrop of the Cow and Calf Rocks on Ilkley Moor. From there, it travels in an unbroken chain of performances, animating unexpected places (from Bradford Industrial Museum to Undercliffe Cemetery) with a dazzling array of musical styles: folk, punk, Bhangra, gospel, Baroque, Bassline, brass band, electronic, Sufi, Indian classical, and minimalist.
The public is invited to join for free at any point along the way, with the idea that events like these should be as accessible as possible. You might encounter Qawwali music on a bandstand, 60 Paraorchestra musicians performing Steve Reich in a shopping arcade, Handel arias echoing across the moor, or marching bands weaving through housing estates with a mix of pop and Bollywood. It all builds to a grand finale on the afternoon of Sunday 18 May, when every participating musician comes together for a climactic event that moves from The Broadway to the Mirror Pool in City Park, inspired by the layered, spatial compositions of American composer Charles Ives.
Large-scale, collaborative and participatory events like this are central to the practice of Jeremy Deller, a Turner Prize-winning artist known for works such as We’re Here Because We’re Here, The Battle of Orgreave and Acid Brass, which explore the intersection of art, music, and community. The Bradford Progress, in his words, “is about the people, it’s about the city and it’s about the rural, and the historical and contemporary connections. Music has the ability to describe the world around us like no other artform.”
Deller is working closely with Charles Hazlewood, an award-winning conductor and musical visionary out to dismantle classical music’s elitist image. He’s the founder of Paraorchestra – the world’s first large-scale professional ensemble of virtuoso disabled and non-disabled musicians. For over a decade, they’ve performed across the globe, crafting immersive, genre-blurring experiences that put audiences at the heart of the action. Named Best Ensemble at the 2025 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, they’re radically changing outdated ideas about both orchestral music and disability.
But despite the big names, it’s Bradford itself that is the star here. “Bradford wears its long history on its sleeve”, says Charles Hazlewood. “It has terrifically rich musical contours, from old factory folk music to a multitude of South Asian traditions; from male voice choirs to brass bands – we aim to stitch all of these bright colours into our tapestry – a tapestry borne aloft by our mighty Paraorchestra.”
Guided by Jeremy Deller’s vision and Charles Hazlewood’s musical direction, The Bradford Progress feels like the epitome of Bradford 2025, bringing diverse communities together to celebrate the people, the places, and the stories that define Bradford.
The full route has now been announced. Take a look via the button below.
