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
- 19/07/2025
18:00
DJ Nights
Free
Madonna - A Celebration
Join us for an ultimate celebration of Madonna, from 'Everybody' to 'I Dont search I Find' and everything in between.
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An Evening with David Gedge from The Wedding Present
Join us for an evening with David Gedge from The Wedding Present
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UNWRITTEN: The Literary Improv Show
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND AFTER A SELL-OUT SHOW IN MAY. Ever wondered what Whose Line Is It Anyway? would be like with a literary twist? The Bluffs take classic short-form improv games and infuse them with storytelling flair. Every show is completely unique, shaped by audience suggestions and spontaneous creativity. Expect scenes inspired by classic literature, unexpected character mashups, and even a fanfiction-inspired musical number. An evening of laughter, surprises, and plot twists awaits! The Bluffs are a dynamic improv troupe with a mix of theatrical, comedy, and musical backgrounds. From festival stages to panto and Theatresports, they bring years of collective experience to the stage—crafting fast-paced, unscripted stories that keep audiences laughing and guessing what’s next. TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
- 25/07/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
On My Way
Our Northern Soul residency with Michael Toy & Dan Guest (Brighton Beach). Expect Northern soul classics along with some upbeat Motown to get you moving. Don't forget your talcum powder!
- 26/07/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Dusko!
Join us for Dusko — a pilot early-nighter of house music through the decades in a chilled-out café setting. These new 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 after work, 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.
- 01/08/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Resurrection - Yorkshire special
Matt Aston is clebrating the launch of 'Reception' The Wedding Present musical with an Indie Yorkshire Special.
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The Lament of a Hart
Henry and his men have returned from the hunt of the mythical golden stag, revelling in their victory in the midst of a monstrous storm, when a strange woman arrives at the door seeking shelter and hospitality. Is the golden stag Henry’s final prize, or will his obsession drive him to offer much more than he can give?
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Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes
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- 30/08/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Sixties Spectacular!
Take a trip back to the swinging sixties with timeless hits from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and all the other legends who made the 60s an unforgettable era in music!
- 05/09/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free Entry
Resurrection - Indie Revival
Playing the best Indie tunes from the 80's & 90's.
- 12/09/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Into The Groove
An eighties vinyl extravaganza!
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Supper Club: Eylem's Kurdish Kanteen
The Kurdish Kanteen returns! Eylem will be bringing a taste of her Kurdish cuisine to Acomb! Be quick - last time it sold out weeks before the event.
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Paper flower workshop with award-winning designer, Susan Bradley
Come and learn how to transform simple materials - crepe and tissue papers - into striking hand-made blooms. Susan will show you how to create your own unique paper flowers by hand. You'll learn techniques to create different types of flowers, and different ways to customise each petal from delicate and subtle to dramatic and striking. Your blooms will be unique and personal to you, and really fun to create. You'll leave with your own bloom of beautiful paper flowers to take home. No water required and they never wilt!
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September Rise Up!
Our monthly celebration of poetry and spoken word - join us to welcome Ian Duhig, Kirsten Luckens and Henry Raby!
Ian Duhig has published seven books of poetry, won the Forward Best Poem Prize once, the National Poetry Competition twice and his New and Selected Poems was awarded the 2022 Hawthornden Prize for Literature. His most recent book of poems, An Arbitrary Lightbulb, was the 2024 Poetry Book Society Winter Choice. Kirsten Luckins is a Teesside-based poet whose work explores ekphrasis, ecopoetics and experimentation generally. Her latest pamphlet, Offworld (The Braag, 2025) tells the journey of two runaways as they planet-hop through a disintegrating empire of colonised worlds, where octopi seek out strip clubs and anything can be bought at a spaceport. Beautiful, shocking, funny and prescient, this pamphlet presents us with glimpses of ruined and defiant futures. Punk poet Henry Raby's work has been described as playful, highly-charged, passionate and anarchic! Henry writes about anger and hope - the twin emotions to keep you fuelled for the fight. You'll find him gobbing verse at DIY venues, protests and festivals (Manchester Punk Festival, Deer Shed, Latitude, Greenbelt and Boomtown Fair). Henry has been published by Burning Eye Books and co-runs York spoken word organisation Say Owt. He co-hosts the Vandal Factory podcast, looking at the magic moments where art and activism meet. - 27/09/2025
18:00:00
DJ Nights
Free
Dusko!
Join us for Dusko — a pilot early-nighter of house music through the decades in a chilled-out café setting. These new 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 after work, 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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Curtis Eller's American Circus
Curtis Eller is a banjo player, songwriter, dancer, and storyteller. The beloved show business veteran started his career at the age of seven as a juggler and acrobat, but has since turned to the banjo because that's where the money is. The iconoclastic troubadour has spent thirty years relentlessly touring the burlesque houses, beer halls, underground theatres, and punk rock dives of North America, Europe, and Australia. His band, Curtis Eller’s American Circus, has developed a devoted international following based on spellbinding stage performances that combine compelling songcraft with silent-film-style physical comedy, and explosive rock & roll energy. This October, Eller will return to the UK for a limited run of club and festival dates, joined by a heavy-hitting, four-piece lineup of The American Circus featuring musicians from both sides of the Atlantic.
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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!