Budapest Café Orchestra

Friday 28th February 2025 at 7.30pm

Doors & bar open at 7.00pm

Tickets: £20

Tickets are available HERE

By phoning 01728 454022, or in person Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10-12pm at the AJH corner office.

Budapest Café Orchestra play gypsy and folk-flavoured music in a refreshingly unique way. Evoking vivid images of fiddle maestros, Budapest café life and gypsy campfires it’s a hugely entertaining blend of virtuosity, profound musicianship and infectious energy.   

With 15 albums to their name, the quartet create an astonishing soundscape and aural alchemy combining violin, guitar, accordion, double bass, saz, balalaika, domra and percussion to dazzling effect. Whether in Hungarian, Balkan and Russian traditional music or their artful distillations of Romantic masterworks to soaring Gaelic folk anthems, BCO is a musical experience like no other. It is enough to make you want to book that holiday down the Danube!    

Two of the country’s celebrated international soloists revel at the heart of proceedings. Accordionist Eddie Hession is a supreme accordion champion of Great Britain. In his illustrious career he has accompanied Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Chris Rea.  Christian Garrick is one of the world’s most celebrated jazz violinists. He has played music with Dame Cleo Laine & Sir John Dankworth, Wynton Marsalis, Nigel Kennedy, Bireli Lagrene, Tim Minchin, Caro Emerald and John Etheridge. They are joined by one of Russia’s most enigmatic musical exports, Adrian Zolotuhin – a master of the strummed strings of domra, balalaika, guitar and saz – and veteran bassist Kelly Cantlon who first found fame with Northern Soul sensations Jimmy James and the Vagabonds.   

“Not so much a band as a whole genre of its own, Budapest Café Orchestra embraces an encyclopaedia of music and mischief.”  The Scotsman 

“the fiery vivacity and awe-inspiring musicianship of the finest purveyors of Eastern European gypsy music this side of a Lada scrap heap will leave you with a grin on your face and rhythm in your feet…”  The TImes 

The performance ends at approx. 9.30pm including an interval.