Yorkshire Venue Marsden Mechanics Joins Forces With Poet Laureate Simon Armitage And Band Lyr To Bring New Cultural Events To Rural Communities

Marsden Mechanics has announced ‘Tenterhooks’; a community arts project led by Marsden-born Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, the band LYR and Marsden Mechanics – a large scale creative endeavour culminating in a day of celebratory performances and viewings to be held as part of ‘Cuckoo Day’ Saturday 26th April 2025

Marsden Mechanics has announced that - supported by Arts Council England - they have joined forces in a collaborative creative endeavour to create ‘Tenterhooks’ a community arts project – which will be jointly led by Marsden-born Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, the band LYR and Marsden Mechanics.

Following the huge success of recent events at the venue which looked to the building’s history and its legacy to inform its latest series of live performances - providing rural communities the opportunity to experience high-quality concerts without coming up against cost prohibitive travel and accommodation - this latest venture embraces the same ethos, but is stepping up its ambitions with the additional goal of helping people within this rural community to be actively involved in the creation of the next generation’s artistic and cultural heritage.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage was born in the rural Yorkshire village and, together with Marsden Mechanics, formed a plan to create the next phase in an ongoing endeavour to ensure that everybody should have the opportunity to access top-calibre cultural and artistic events and experiences, no matter their location or financial status.

Armitage will be working with the band LYR (of which Armitage is one of the three founder members) Marsden Mechanic’s Development Manager Jonny Kelly, and, vitally, the people of Marsden. The plan is to create a visionary project which invites the local community to take part in a series of creative storytelling events to uncover untold stories of Marsden and its rich heritage. Armitage will take these stories and develop a series of new poems. Then, alongside his bandmates Richard Walters and Patrick Pearson, will set poems to music.

These poems will then be returned to the community for interpretation, and local creatives will be supported by Marsden Mechanics in creating brand new art - everything from songs to sculptures, literature to theatre; culminating in a day of celebratory performances and viewings to be held as part of Cuckoo Day on Saturday 26th Apr 2025. The goal of which, is for Marsden's collective voice to resonate in celebration of its past, present, and future.

Simon Armitage Photo: Paul Stuart Photography

Marsden is in my blood and in my poems. It's a modern village but one with a deep history, full of stories and myths, and the Tenterhooks project hopes to turn some of those memories, tales and legends of yesterday into the songs, tunes, paintings, writings and art works of today and tomorrow.

For a village so small, Marsden’s influence on our national identity is nothing short of colossal. It’s a place that has always punched well above its weight. Tenterhooks is here to celebrate that past and look to its future. The desire to do this in such a collaborative way, was naturally driven by a collective desire to set the foundation for events and artistic endeavours that are inclusive for all community members. Connection and inclusion which encompasses the whole community are our core values and we are proud that we are continuing to help to contribute to this, not only to making our relatively rural location a more animated and vibrant place to live, but also a more compelling place to visit and to work in, which in turn strengthens and grows the community further.