Marky Is minic do bhris béal duine a shrón. - Irish proverb Watching this cormorant on the Wharfe hold open its wings to the admiring sun, I recall Marky Malone on his stag night removing his silk suit jacket very slowly to show off his Bullworker pecs to us and the man he'd picked out to fight - who smartly coshed him across his beak and swanned out of the silent public bar…

After the amazing response to the recent children's art competition, I didn't envy the judges’ job of picking a few winners and runners-up. There was an array of styles and mediums from ages four to eighteen. I wanted to show the world all the talented artists, but it would take a whole newspaper to include everyone.

This novel opens in the Henderson household, the everyday ‘chitchat’ establishing the ‘cosy’ genre. Who knew that a small florist’s business in the Lake District could be so busy, but Simmy is rushed off her feet. Husband, Christopher, is just as busy at his auction house in Keswick and between them, they juggle the care of their only son, Robin, who is two.

There is a particular pleasure in returning to a recording again and again as a reviewer and finding that it yields something new each time, while one thing remains constant. With this latest Chandos disc from Elena Urioste and Tom Poster, that constant is the sheer beauty of the playing: the balance between soloist and accompanist is judged to perfection, and the engineers have done what Chandos so often manages, capturing the sound with such transparency that the listener seems to be eavesdropping on the duo rather than hearing a recording at all. It is sublime, moving and endlessly captivating.

Despite a shaky start, Simon Cowell's December 10 seems to be finally making headway. With the assumption that a Netflix series would propel them to instant international success and huge chart acclaim, they appear to have fallen very far short of those anticipations.

The North York Moors Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 18th consecutive year this August with the premieres of six brand new compositions from some of the UK’s finest contemporary composers.

Yorkshire crime author Roshan Pitteea will travel to Scotland later this month to meet readers and fellow writers at one of the UK's fastest-growing independent author events.

Theatre by the Lake has announced the cast for the world premiere of The Farmer's Wife, a new play by Hannah Khalil inspired by Helen Rebanks' Sunday Times bestselling memoir of the same name.

A blue plaque has been unveiled at Liverpool ONE to mark the spot where piano star Brad Kella first performed at the centre more than 10 years ago.

As families prepare for the summer holidays, The Hepworth Wakefield is encouraging parents to press pause on screen time and rediscover the joy of making, exploring and playing together – with all family activities free for kids.

Few artists capture vulnerability with the grace and honesty of Bongeziwe Mabandla. Across his acclaimed catalogue, the South African singer-songwriter has built a reputation for crafting intimate songs that blend folk, electronic textures and Xhosa storytelling into something deeply personal yet universally resonant.

Following the success of his 2026 Academy for Young Conductors, Vasily Petrenko reflects on what it takes to shape the next generation of conductors – and what he wishes he’d been taught in his early years This week, as I wrapped up the Academy for Young Conductors in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for another year, I was struck by a recurring thought: I wish something…

Having earned a reputation as one of Australia's most electrifying new acts, Headwreck already have their sights set on world domination.

Ripon Theatre Festival continues to unearth stories that deserve a wider audience, and Down to Chance is one of its finest discoveries yet.

While there is no denying that there is amazing kudos in having a Primark range already raising their profile, the lack of single success means December 10 has notches both for and against their enduring success. However, their debut EP speaks volumes about what should be their destiny. Slick production, a strong balance of bops and ballads and, most importantly, striking vocals and an awareness of how to play to each band member's strengths – this is a solid introduction to a group that wishes to be taken credibly as the next big boy band.

Welser-Möst and his orchestra match her at every step, the scoring tracking each swerve of feeling with unusual sensitivity: a trilling xylophone stands in for the ringing telephone with real wit, and the string textures underneath give the whole thing an unexpected warmth even at its bleakest.

Andrew Palmer continued his enthusiastic support of Ripon Theatre Festival and found Stephen Smith's virtuoso solo turn as Edgar Allan Poe left him breathless — exhausting, exhilarating and utterly captivating, in a masterclass in gothic horror that stopped his heart. There are shows that entertain, and there are shows that leave you wrung out with admiration.

Group Editor Andrew Palmer steps into the crimson-tinged darkness for the second night of the Ripon Theatre Festival — and discovers that an evening celebrating redheads is no place for the faint-hearted, the rhythmically restrained, or anyone who left their jazz hands at home. He emerged several shades redder, considerably more glamorous, and entirely unable to stop humming.

American-Armenian art-rap collective Samuum continue to push boundaries with their striking new single, Coffee Cup Reading (Yaman, Pt.2), a genre-blurring release that fuses Middle Eastern influences with rap, punk and rave energy.

How do you prepare yourself for seeing sunn O))) live other than making sure you have the best earplugs imaginable? Walking up to the venue, I'd never seen so many people on the way to a gig carrying ear defenders, and once inside, the person in front of me put earplugs in, then a set of ear defenders over the top.

A change is as good as a rest they say and this novella is certainly a change. If you need waking up, this is the book for you, with its short chapters and fast pace. Despite the narrator’s protestations, it is not an advice manual, not a manual of good advice, at least.

The singing itself is the chief pleasure here. Just fifteen sopranos and altos produce a remarkably well-blended sound under Searles' direction, the tone consistently lovely and the diction unusually clean for a choir working in such a resonant space. Phrasing throughout is intelligent and unforced.

I defy anyone not to start moving their legs in Charleston fashion with this seductive celebration of 1920s glamour. Nostalgia and a hearkening back to an age of nightclubs, novelty and no small amount of nerve. There is a moment, early in the opening track, Sax-O-Trix, when you realise Chad Smith is not so much playing the saxophone as interrogating it. The virtuosity is immediate and slightly alarming — watch him perform, and you may find yourself short of breath on his behalf.

Since its birth in a stairwell in Connecticut, it’s been quite a ride! Stairwell Books founders Rose Drew and Alan Gillott reflect on how it all began… ‘It was 1994 and I was a single mum living in a house in Connecticut, about 45 minutes from New York City,’ remembers Rose Drew, the editorial half of the team.

A former young carer from Leeds who found freedom and confidence in the Yorkshire Dales is premiering a new documentary about the power of nature, friendship and time away from screens.

Applications have opened for the 2027 Leeds International Piano Competition, and with them came the most sweeping set of reforms in the event's 64-year history. Sir Stephen Hough, one of the most admired pianists of his generation, has been appointed Artistic Director and Chair of the Jury — and he has used the role to tear up the rulebook.