There are two reasons to look forward to Friday, March 20 – it is both International Day of Happiness and the date for the annual Northumbrian Concert held in Morpeth Town Hall in aid of the town’s Northumbrian Gathering.

Concertina master Alistair Anderson will leading a galaxy of stars from the local folk scene with the best of the area’s traditional music, song and poetry.

New to the line-up at the Ballroom concert is rising star Teddy Cuthbert, who will concentrate on some of the Northumbrian songs in his wide-ranging repertoire that has made him much appreciated at folk clubs and events across the North East.

Making a welcome return is young Morpeth smallpiper Sophie Fraser, now at Newcastle University, who will also be joined by other talented music students from her course.

placeholder image — Ray Alexander as Sir John Vanbrugh.

The even younger Martha Darcy, 10 years old and hailing from Otterburn, was introduced to the concert audience last year by her music teacher James Tait, the well-known Coquetdale pianist and poet.

James will play some of his own compositions and Martha will demonstrate just why she was winner of one of the singing competitions at last year’s Gathering.

Also returning to the stage are fiddle and guitar duo Marina Dodgson and Maurice Condie, together known as Miggins Fiddle, and champion songwriter and humorist Graham Bell, who promises to include a new song celebrating the town’s well-loved and much-missed character Tommy the Boatman.

Ron Forster will be the concert’s MC, holding everything together in the guise of the new Morpeth Gadgy, and there will be interval refreshments and a raffle.

Tickets for the concert, which starts at 7.30pm, are priced at £16 for adults or £8 school-age. They can be bought over the counter at Morpeth Chantry TIC or by contacting the Gathering via emailing [email protected] or calling 01670 513308.

The Gathering itself will take place from April 10 to April 12 across the town’s indoor and outdoor spaces – with a wealth of concerts, street performances, dancing, re-enactments, crafts, the Saturday procession and lots of join-in events.

There will be plenty for all ages going on over the weekend, but mention must be made of the relaunch since Covid of the clog dancing competitions, including the Northumberland Championship, and school-age speakers and youngsters across the county are being encouraged to compete for the new Alex Swailes Memorial Award for junior reciting in memory of Ron’s predecessor as the Morpeth Gadgy, who died last year.

With 2026 seeing events across the UK for the 300th anniversary of the death of Town Hall architect Sir John Vanbrugh, a number of the Gathering’s concerts and activities take a special ‘Vanbrugh Revisited’ theme featuring Sir John himself returning to the town portrayed by actor Ray Alexander.

Ray was last in Morpeth in 2014 for the Town Hall’s tercentenary and this year stars in the opening Friday concert ‘Sir John’s Delight’ staged in the grand Ballroom, presenting Vanbrugh’s life story ‘A Life of Irony’ with music from fiddler Stewart Hardy and the Woolsington Strings.

Information about events, competition details, patron discounts and regular updates is available on the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering Facebook page and for a 2026 programme list, go to https://northumbriana.org.uk/gathering/programme