rise @ bluebird is our Acomb evening arts venue.
The space regularly plays host to live music, spoken word, art exhibitions, theatre, comedy, family- friendly nights and much more.
Rise aims to be a vibrant and independently-run creative hub, driven by love and support from the local community - and an ardent sense of adventure.
Pop down and check us out - we’re looking forward to you helping shape this place just as much as we do.
Gallery
What's on
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Supper Club: Eylem's Kurdish Kanteen
Our legendary Supper Club returns! This time its hosted by Eylem - who will be bringing a taste of her Kurdish cuisine to Acomb! SOLD OUT
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Baps and Buns Burlesque
We are thrilled to announce that York’s Burlesque Queen, Freida Nipples, is back at Rise this May.
Freida is an internationally award-winning burlesque artiste who will seduce you with astounding aesthetics and enthral you with her captivating stage presence.
Alongside her will be a selection of sensational cabaret artists. From drag queens to acrobats, you always know you will be in for a fun night at Freida’s shows which have been sell-out successes across York for the past six years, at venues such as York Theatre Royal, The Basement, Impossible and more.
So - prepare yourselves for an evening of debauchery & glamour in Acomb. The big question is, are you ready for it?!
Tickets include a welcome drink on arrival. (Non-alcoholic option available).
- 31/05/2025
18:00 - 23:00
DJ Nights
Free
Dusko
Join us for Dusko — a night of house music through the decades in a chilled-out café setting. These nights will bring talented DJs to transport you right back to the old-skool clubbing scene - with classic uplifters, retro anthems and dirty beats. Pop down, grab a beer, catch up with mates and - when the music takes over - get yourselves on the dance floor. All with the promise of a full eight-hours of beauty sleep.* *any after-party activity is entirely at your own risk.
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The Only Living Boy in New York: The songs of Paul Simon
Gary Stewart returns to rise to share a selection of Paul Simon's greatest hits.
Gary Stewart is a singer/songwriter from Perthshire, who cut his teeth performing on the Leeds music scene for 15 years, before moving to York where he currently resides. Stewart writes songs in the Folk/Pop vein and is influenced by the Folk Artists of the '60's and '70's. The Scottish Songsmith has released four Albums to date, his latest, 'Lost, Now Found',self-recorded, produced and released in June 2021. The debut single, 'Leopard' received steady A-List radio play on YO1 Radio, BBC Radio Scotland and Amazing Radio and last year another song from the Album, 'Tu Eres Mi Media Naranja', was played on Mark Radcliffe's Folk Show. The second single, 'Hot To Trot', features backing vocals from Rosie Doonan (Birdy/Peter Gabriel).
When not performing his own music, the multi-instrumentalist busies himself fronting his own reworking of Paul Simon's Classic Album, 'Graceland', with a seven-piece band who have played many a Theatre and Festival, including Shrewsbury, Towersey, Costa Del Folk, Moonbeams and Underneath The Stars to name but a few. Gary cites Simon as his chief musical influence and grew up learning and performing the extensive canon of songs from this legendary New York singer/songwriter. Tonight expect to hear classic tunes like 'The Boxer', 'Mrs, Robinson', Me & Julio down By The Schoolyard', 'Kodachrome', 'Graceland', 'The Obvious Child' alongside lesser-known 'deep cuts', such as 'Song For The Asking', 'Duncan' and more.
'That's Pop with Pizzaz' - For Folks Sake
'Reminiscent of a 1960's bedsit-era Paul Simon' - Northern Sky
'Definitely onto a winner' - This Is Fake D.I.Y - 07/06/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Resurrection - Indie Revival
Playing the best Indie tunes from the 80's & 90's. Food available from 6pm
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PAMPHLET LAUNCH: Janine Bradbury, Maya Caspari, Becca Drake
Join us to celebrate the pamphlet launches of three York poets: Janine Bradbury, Maya Caspari & Becca Drake. Doors at 7.30pm - readings at 8.30pm. Becca Drake is a poet and researcher based in York and will be reading from their pamphlet: Unstill Landscapes (Guillemot Press, 2025). She/they completed a PhD on the sea in late-medieval English and Icelandic literature at the University of York (2023). Her/their work focuses on East Coast environmental histories and literature, and the place of the human in the natural world. Becca was poet-in-residence at the Hull Maritime Museum (2021), publishing her/their chapbook The Maritime Museum & The City (Thin Ice Press, 2023). Maya Caspari is a poet and Lecturer at the University of York. Her debut pamphlet Almost, with Tenderness was published with Out-Spoken Press in 2025. Her poetry has also appeared in journals including Poetry Review, Ambit, Butcher’s Dog and Perverse. She has been highly commended in the Forward Prizes, shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and twice longlisted in the National Poetry Competition. Janine Bradbury is a poet and critic who lives in York. Her debut pamphlet, Sometimes Real Love Comes Quick & Easy (ignitionpress, 2024), was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice. Her writing explores the sentimental politics of girlhood, motherhood, fandom, and love. Her poems have appeared in Oxford Poetry, Magma, Blood & Cord: Writers on Early Parenthood (Emma Press, 2023), and Black Lines: A Journal of Black British Writing. Her prose has been published in The Guardian, and she is a regular guest on BBC Radio 3 and 4. She is a Senior Lecturer at the University of York.
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Stout Boots
Stout Boots are set to bring their signature high-energy sound home with their first-ever hometown headline show at Rise in June. What started as an idea in the pub has turned into over a decade of unforgettable performances at venues, parties, festivals and pretty much anywhere else across the North of England and Europe.
Keeping their Celtic pub songs played hard approach at its heart the band is crafting special show that blends the energy of their festival sets with rich storytelling and brand-new original material. Expect a foot-stomping mix of Celtic pub songs, Irish favourites Scottish reels, Americana, rock – and maybe even the odd tune made up on the spot! -
Holgate Windmill & Bluebird Bakery - a celebration of food and provenance!
Join us for an enjoyable evening of talks, live music, quizzes and a raffle to win a free milling experience at the windmill. Find out about the history of the windmill and how grain is milled to flour, before it becomes the bread on your table. There will be lots of bread to try and live music by Steam Pigeon.
- 20/06/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Into The Groove
An eighties vinyl extravaganza!
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June Rise Up!
Our monthly celebration of poetry and spoken word - join us to welcome Rosie Garland, JP Seabright and Spencer Wood! ROSIE GARLAND writes poetry, fiction, song lyrics & sings with post-punk band The March Violets. Poetry collection What Girls Do in the Dark (Nine Arches) was shortlisted for the Polari Prize 2021. Her new collection, ‘This Is How I Fight’ (Nine Arches Press) is the Observer Poetry Book of the Month for June 2025.
Val McDermid has named her one of the UK’s most compelling LGBT+ writers, & in 2023 she was made Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature. JP Seabright (she/they) is a queer disabled writer living in London. They have six solo pamphlets published and four collaborations, encompassing poetry, prose and experimental work. They have been nominated for Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Forward Prize, and shortlisted (twice) for a Saboteur Award for Best Collaborative Work. More info at https://jpseabright.com via Twitter/X @errormessage and @jpseabright everywhere else. Spencer Wood (he/him) is a writer, facilitator and performer living in Leeds. His poetry and non-fiction has been published in journals and anthologies such as 14 Poems, Hinterland, And Other Poems, Broken Sleep and Modern Queer Poets among others. Spencer was recently awarded a Fast Track Cities grant to create Erasure Poetry posters to fight HIV stigma in Leeds and works for The Reader to lead shared reading groups in criminal justice settings.
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David Ward Maclean CD and Book Launch
Doors 7:30pm
"I’m absolutely thrilled to share an evening of music with the marvellous Steve Kendra at the Bluebird Bakery, where I’ll be launching the release of a new CD, Sold As Seen, a beautifully edited and mastered selection of demos and live recordings, and a book of my lyrics from the last 20 years or so. Do join us." - 29/06/2025
10:00:00
Family Friendly Activities
Free
Summer Makers' Fair
Our next fair with our local creatives and makers'!
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The Sunday Social Comedy Club
Join us for The Sunday Social Comedy Club at Rise, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb. We're bringing another night of pure laughter, with a fresh lineup of five fantastic comedians that'll have you howling. Expect a mix of hilarious local talent and rising stars from across the comedy circuit, all hosted by the brilliant John Pease. Why join us? The Sunday Social Comedy Club isn't just another comedy night – it's a good time, surrounded by great people and even greater laughs. Whether you're coming with mates, a date, or just fancy a solo night out, you'll leave with a sore belly from laughing so much.
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Dawn Landes
PPY presents Dawn Landes
- 03/07/2025
18:00:00
Exhibition
Free
Art Preview
Our next art preview to launch the exhibition of Clare M Wood
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The Weeping Willows
3 x CMAA ‘Golden Guitar’, 2 x Australian Folk Music and Music Victoria Award winners, The Weeping Willows (Laura Coates and Andrew Wrigglesworth) are a couple of old souls, steeped in Bluegrass tradition and draped in Gothic Americana imagery. They regale their audiences with stories of sunshine and romance, God and The Devil, murder and decay. Real music.
The last 5 years have seen The Weeping Willows nominated for 14 x CMAA ‘Golden Guitar’ awards, 7 x Australian Folk Music Awards (AFMAs), 4 x Country Music Channel (CMC) awards, 2 x National Live Music Awards (NLMAs), performing Official Showcases at AmericanaFest (USA) and Folk Alliance International (USA) and appearing at Maverick Festival, Knutsford Music Festival, Beardy Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival (AU), Queenscliff Music Festival (AU) and the Australian Americana Music Honours. In recent years they have supported Lukas Nelson & POTR (USA), Hayes Carll (USA), Iris DeMent (USA), Willie Watson (USA), Eilen Jewell (USA), Mark Radcliffe & David Boardman (UK) and Katherine Priddy (UK) and completed national and international tours in support of their three LPs, including sophomore album, Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’, which received four-star reviews in Rolling Stone, The Australian and The Music. A Weeping Willows performance, whether live on location or caught on tape will always delight.
“…a mature, courageous and beguiling experience.” – No Depression (USA)
“…on the way to making some serious waves in Americana.” – AmericanaUK (UK)
“…stunning acoustic guitar work, heavenly harmonies, and a haunting melody rooted in
American Gothic.” – Pop Matters (USA)
★★★★ – Rolling Stone, Rhythms Magazine, The Music and The Australian. -
Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes
Doors 7:30pm
Over more than a decade LACHLAN BRYAN has built a reputation as a master storyteller, regardless of whether he’s performing solo, fronting his band The Wildes or collaborating with Country Music Icon Catherine Britt in The Pleasures. His songs range from hard hitting social commentary to deeply personal musings, but each contains a unique turn of phrase, dark humour and an ever-present sense of romance.
Lachlan has toured with icons such as Justin Townes Earle, John Hiatt and Shawn Colvin, as well as headlining his own tours and performing at festivals all over the world. He’s released five full length albums with The Wildes, all of which have received critical acclaim, featured in Yearly Top Ten lists and in some cases even charted strongly in the ARIA Official Australian Albums charts.
But it’s as a live act that Lachlan truly thrives. LACHLAN BRYAN & THE WILDES have built a devoted audience at home and are growing overseas thanks to their captivating performances – which have drawn comparisons to artists as disparate as The Bad Seeds and Wilco. As a solo act Lachlan slips effortlessly into troubadour mode, reminiscent of the Texas singer-songwriters who first inspired him.
If you haven’t caught Lachlan on his own or with the band, you may have seen him on the road as piano-player and co-conspirator with his friend Henry Wagons – the two have most recently been supporting Canadians The Dead South in theatres and arenas across the USA, Canada, the USA and Europe. Failing that, you may have heard the multi-award-winning Dream of America album which he co-wrote and produced for Muscle Shoals Southern Gothic Queen Hannah Aldridge. In any of his guises, Lachlan Bryan brings a warmth and wisdom to the stage and studio that wins over fans for life.
Lachlan Bryan. www.lachlanbryanandthewildes.com
www.thepleasuresmusic.com. Insta: @lachlanbryan - 30/08/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Sixties Spectacular!
Dance and sing the night away to the best tunes of the Sixties.
- 16/09/2025
18:00:00
Family Friendly Activities
£28.00
Paper flower workshop
Susan Bradley returns to rise with another creative workshop
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Blair Dunlop
“The busy crowd… is testament to Dunlop’s talents. Dunlop brings an air of tenacity while displaying a fine repertoire of well-crafted songs spanning traditional and contemporary. He’s determinedly taking the traditions of folk in his own direction” The Independent
Blair Dunlop is an award-winning British singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has released 5 albums, 2 EPs and toured around the globe.
Blair burst onto the scene with his debut album ‘Blight & Blossom’ in 2012, showcasing virtuosic musicianship and lyrical maturity, and was awarded a prestigious BBC Folk Award in the wake of its release. A string of critically acclaimed albums followed, along with headline tours and festival appearances in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia. ‘Gilded’ and ‘Notes from an Island’ were released on his own label and singles ‘The Egoist’ and ‘356’ received national playlist status on BBC Radio 2. Following this, ‘Trails: Queensland’ (2021), Blair’s first live album, documented a tour of rural Australia, playing for isolated communities. From Glastonbury to Tuscany, Queensland to Palestine, Blair has brought his musicality and storytelling to audiences young and old. Album five was released 24th May 2024.
“From the outside, when listening to the music of Blair Dunlop, you get the impression that though he’s something of a natural talent he continues to work hard to progress both his songwriting and musicianship…. you can hear the folk heritage coursing through his veins as well as the originality he brings to the genre.” Songwriting Magazine
“A cult hero whose work is adored by those who come across it” Clash Music
“An adept guitarist whose epic songwriting instincts prevail on a personal-political fourth album” MOJO
“Blair Dunlop’s fourth album finds him fully ensconced as a singer-songwriter of maturity and sophistication… ‘Notes From An Island’ really ought to give Blair Dunlop the wider exposure he deserves” RnR Magazine
“On his fourth full length LP, ‘Notes From An Island’, he develops a more mature sociopolitical undertone to his music… Blair Dunlop could help bring the genre back to the forefront of the UK music scene.” Guitarist Magazine -
Edwina Hayes
Doors 7:30pm - Music 8pm
One of the finest female singer/songwriters this country has produced in years. Edwina brings together English folk, Americana and the rich Northern singer/songwriter tradition to create a sound that’s truly her own.
Highly accomplished she’s toured with such notable performers as Jools Holland, Van Morrison, Nanci Griffith and Loudon Wainwright III to name just a few.
Edwina numbers Michael Parkinson and Mike Harding among her fans and the title track of her album Pour Me A Drink was covered by Nanci Griffith who calls her 'the sweetest voice in England'.
Her cover of the Randy Newman song Feels Like Home was featured in the Cameron Diaz film My Sister's Keeper and has since had over twenty million plays on Spotify and over fifty million plays on You Tube.
Edwina's 4th album Ruby Rose was released in 2022.
'The sweetest voice in England. A wonderful young woman, so gifted and full of song.' Nanci Griffith
'Haunting, honeyed, solo songwriter.' The Guardian More events coming soon!