Hello,

Hope you are all well and looking forward to a break at Christmas, just in case you need a last minute gift, here's some news about a couple of shows which we are bringing to Sheffield in 2026, Peter's Field by Sean Cooney with Rowan Rheingans & Sam Carter and in April our Spell Songs friend Kris Drever will be heading down the road to perform for you. We hope you can make the shows, there's more information and links for both concerts below.

We are hosting Peter’s Field at Sheffield Centre Unitarian Church (Upper Chapel) on 13th March 2026.

Written bySean Cooney with Rowan Rheinghans & Sam Carter. Peter’s Field is an epic musical chronicle that tells the story of one of the most important days in working class history.

On 16th August 1819, 60,000 people gathered in the centre of Manchester. Many had walked miles to be there from all across Lancashire. They went to hear the famous radical speaker Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt who called for working people to have the vote. They were unarmed and peaceful. Local magistrates sent in the yeomanry cavalry and 15th Hussars to disperse the crowd and arrest Hunt. At least 18 people were killed and hundreds injured in the murderous scenes that followed. Women were deliberately targeted. It became known as the Peterloo Massacre. The magistrates and military were completely exonerated and it would be 100 years til working people had the vote.

Peter's Field is born from years of research and comprises 19 original songs by Cooney performed with Rowan Rheinghans and Sam Carter alongside a compelling spoken narrative derived from hundreds of eyewitness accounts.

What people have said so far

‘Peter’s Field is an astonishing work’Songlines

‘Peter’s Field is the most powerful evocation yet of Peterloo’

Professor Robert Poole, author of Peterloo:the English Uprising

7pm Doors

7.30pm Start

1 x Support from Sam Carter (35 mins)

1 x Peter's Field Set (70 mins roughly)

Venue - Sheffield Centre Unitarian Church (Upper Chapel), Norfolk Street, Sheffield City Centre, S1 2JD

Kris Drever is among Scotland’s most acclaimed and distinctive contemporary musicians, celebrated for his warm voice, virtuosically expressive guitar playing and imaginative and evocative songwriting.

Plus Support: Annie Dressner

Raised in the Orkney Islands, Drever has carved out a unique place at the intersection of traditional folk and modern acoustic music, as a solo artist and as one third of the award-winning trio Lau.

Over the course of his career, Kris has won hatfuls of honours, including BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for Best Singer, Best Original Song, and Best Group with Lau. His solo work combines lyrics of depth and authenticity with expertly pitched arrangements, exploring themes of place, identity, and social change, delivered with clarity, compassion, and poetic insight.

Kris will be playing some brand-new songs from his new album as well as a selection from his back catalogue of originals and his storied interpretations of traditional material.

7.30pm Doors

Venue - Firth Hall, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN